Celebrity Cruise’s newest ship, the Celebrity Reflection, was christened this past Saturday in Miami, Florida – the Reflection’s new homeport.
The Reflection had just completed a transatlantic cruise a day earlier and was christened by four Godmothers, all Celebrity employees who have either donated time and talents to supporting breast cancer patients, or employees who have overcome breast cancer. The Godmothers of the Celebrity Reflection are…
- Jovanka GoronjicĀ – Jovanka joined Celebrity Cruises’ AquaSpa staff in 2009, after previously working with Celebrity’s sister brand, Royal Caribbean International. Her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005, and endured several rounds of treatment. In tribute to her mother and the cause, Jovanka donated her hair for the creation of wigs for cancer patients. With support from Celebrity, she arranged time off to be with her mother at critical times during her treatment. Her mother has since defeated the illness, and Jovanka now is AquaSpa Manager onĀ Celebrity Constellation.
- Megan MathieĀ – Megan is a glassblowing artist in the Hot Glass Show aboardĀ Celebrity Solstice, and previously performed the same role aboardĀ Celebrity Eclipse. Earlier this year, she was informed that both her sister and mother were diagnosed with breast cancer, and flew home to spend time with them. However, both convinced her to return to the ship to continue her work. Determined to support the cause, Megan and her team now host a “Hot Pink Glass Show” on every cruise. There, she shares her story with her audience and through her art, in honor of her sister and mother. At each cruise’s end, she auctions a one-of-a-kind pink glass creation to raise funds for Celebrity’s charitable partner, The Breast Cancer Research FoundationĀ®.
- Helen O’ConnellĀ – An eight-year employee of the company, Helen manages Community Relations, and has a clear and contagious passion for serving her community. She is widely lauded internally and externally for leading the corporation’s annual “G.I.V.E. (Get Involved, Volunteer Everywhere) Day,” and events leading to it in South Florida and in many of the company’s offices and ports of call around the world. Helen also serves as the corporation’s primary liaison with Make-A-Wish Foundation and supports Celebrity’s fundraising activities for BCRF. Before being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009, she traveled to New York every weekend for three months to help care for her father, who was battling bone cancer. Helen is known for always putting others’ needs ahead of her own, such as volunteering with numerous organizations in South Florida and caring for her sick aunt in Ireland, while also making her work a top priority.
- Rosey RodriguezĀ – A 17-year employee of RCCL, Rosey is manager of the company’s Special Events team and recognized at Celebrity for being a key contributor to planning and implementing the events surrounding every Solstice Class ship launch. She is a devoted single mother of two children, Joey, 21, and Alexis, 15. On June 8 of this year, she was diagnosed with stage-3 breast cancer, and has since been resolute in her commitment to beat it. While many women would legitimately take short-term disability at this stage, Rosey instead takes her laptop to treatments to allow her to work remotely. Her colleagues say this is entirely in character, as she puts everyone and everything – including her work – ahead of her own desires. She is considered a dedicated leader of her team, admired employee of the company, loving mother and selfless individual.
The Celebrity Reflection will remain homeported in Miami, sailing 7 night eastern Caribbean cruises until May, where she will then sail from Rome, Italy.
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Photo and Godmother descriptions courtesy of Celebrity Cruises.
