Celebrity Cruises has chosen a travel agent from the US to name its new ship Celebrity Silhouette – the first naming for the premium line in the German port of Hamburg.
Michelle Morgan is the president and chief executive of Signature Travel Network, a cooperative of North American and Canadian travel agents.
She will become first travel industry executive to serve as Godmother of a Celebrity Cruises ship, when the naming ceremony takes place on July 21.
Richard Fain, chairman of Celebrity Cruises and chairman and chief executive of parent company Royal Caribbean Cruises said: “We are thrilled and honoured to have a woman of Michelle’s calibre serve as Godmother of this exceptional ship.
“Her achievements in business are remarkable, and her personal life is as inspiring as her professional life.”
Morgan has been in the travel business for 33-years and joined Signature Travel in 1991, when the company had 30 locations in Southern California.
Its membership now covers 350 locations in 38 states and two providences in Canada, with sales exceeding $5-billion.
Morgan added: “It’s not about me; it’s about the incredible staff at Signature – many of whom have been with me as long as 15 years – and the hand-selected agencies that are members of our organisation.
“Their commitment to the highest service standards, ethical practices and professionalism is at the core of what makes Signature extraordinary. I’ve worked tirelessly over the past 20 years to ensure these small business owners can compete and prosper.”
The decision to make Morgan Silhouette’s godmother follows a trend of the line honouring people associated with breast cancer for all of its Solstice-class ships.
While Morgan has herself successfully battled the disease, so has her 85-year-old mother. She is a grandmother herself having raised two daughters as a single parent from when they were aged three and six.
Celebrity Cruises president and chief executive Dan Hanrahan added: “Michelle Morgan personifies all of the qualities we seek in our Solstice-class godmothers: remarkable strength and courage in both her professional and personal life, along with optimism, warmth and a very engaging personality, all of which have made her so admired throughout the industry.”