Royal Caribbean International’s newest cruise ship is named Star of the Seas, so it’s only fitting that its godmother is an astronaut.
Kellie Gerardi, a research astronaut and payload specialist who was the 90th woman to visit space, officially named the ship during a ceremony earlier this month. Cruise lines select godmothers – and sometimes godfathers – to sponsor new ships as part of a maritime tradition intended to bring luck and safe passage to the vessel and its passengers.
Cruise ship godparents participate in a ceremony to officially name the ship. Historically, they have also broken a bottle of Champagne on the vessel’s bow as part of its christening (though that’s typically done by button or lever these days). Their responsibilities generally end there, though they may continue working with the cruise line.
Gerardi, who was also named one of USA TODAY’s 2025 Women of the Year, shared what it was like to visit space, her favorite places to travel back on earth, her unpopular travel opinion and more from onboard the cruise ship. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Kellie Gerardi: You know, I’ve traveled a lot for work, all over the place. But I think for me, any favorite travel memory is time when I really get to have that quality time with family. My daughter (Delta Victoria) is with me today, and even just walking up to this ship from the parking lot and seeing her jaw on the floor, both of our jaws, but hers in particular, and getting to experience that through her eyes – anytime I get that moment, that spark, it just absolutely fills my soul.
Delta has only been on one cruise before, so this is going to be her second cruise, and she just has no idea how lucky she is. I’m like, “You are stepping on board the world’s newest and largest cruise ship. Your mom is getting to participate in this incredible time-honored tradition and this naming ceremony.” Second grade hasn’t even been in session for one full week yet, and she’s already, you know, on a deck somewhere eating ice cream today. So, I’m like, “You need a reality check soon,” but she’s loving it.
It was such an extraordinary honor. … To have dreamed of something for your entire life – in my case, I really had this North star of a career goal of wanting to be a part of opening up access to space for the next generation of scientists, and using space as a laboratory to benefit humanity. To be able to participate in that in my own lifetime, and get to be a part of that, and then the deep sense of humility and just profundity of seeing that view with my own eyes is something that I think will be my mental screensaver for the rest of my life. It’s just so precious to me. And I was well prepared on the science side. I spent more than a decade here on Earth in microgravity flight campaigns, so I felt very confident on the science side. I don’t think I was fully prepared for the emotional side of human spaceflight. And I think that’s something that I’ll always hold very, very close to my heart.
Gosh, I love travel in all forms. I mean, space travel is obviously pretty exhilarating and pretty special, and I would rank it pretty high, but this is an entirely different and almost equally appreciated sort of scenario, because I get to have my family here with me, and we get to do something adventurous and something memorable and something so out of the ordinary. So, planes, trains, spacecraft, automobiles, you name it. I’m a travel junkie, so I appreciate it all.
Window always. … I love a window seat. People have asked me, “Does it get old traveling on a normal airliner after you’ve been to space?” And I’m always so surprised by that question, because to me, just human flight in any form is so exhilarating and so special. So, I’m someone who is always that first person, perhaps annoyingly sometimes, opening the window shade during takeoff, watching us lift off and sail onward into the clouds and really appreciating that moment and all of the engineering and decades of innovation that led to that ability.
I was born and raised in Jupiter, Florida, which is very on brand for someone with my passions in life. I would say one of my other favorite places is Vermont, especially in the fall. My family has spent a lot of time there growing up, and my mom is there right now, and so I’ve always loved visiting that, especially during fall. We don’t get a lot of seasons in Florida. We’ve sort of got one season pretty consistently, and so the ability to experience that transition of seasons – I would say upstate, you know, East Coast is probably a very happy place for me.
A portable charger is just my must-have. It’s kind of a joke in my family. I’m just always on low battery constantly. I’m just always draining my battery, maybe physically, metaphorically, literally, so I always have a portable charger with me. … I try to have all of the essentials for my daughter, just to make travel really easy and convenient as a family. Snacks are a must for all of us, and so I make sure we’re well-stocked there, well-hydrated and always with a little bit of entertainment, whether that’s a fun book for her, something to do.
I’m probably someone who overly documents everything, and I know there’s a lot of pressure, especially nowadays, to unplug and really be present in the moment. But I actually am that rare person who will go home and look at my camera roll and re-watch something that could have equally been enjoyed in the present, but I like having that memory. And I think with a 7-year-old with me, it’s really fun to be able to re-live that again together as a family, and re-experience special things. So I am that person often with my phone out and, you know, trying to just inconspicuously preserve that memory.
Before I ever even knew that I was going to be given this incredible honor, my daughter had shown me so many YouTube videos of Star, and one of the things that she was most enamored with was the zip line (at Crown’s Edge). And I broke the news to her that, unfortunately, for safety reasons, there’s a weight limit on that. … I told her that when we were on the way here today, and there’s quiet in the back of the car. And then I look back miles later, and she is like shoveling candy into her mouth, as though to try to bulk up for the zip line. And I said, “That is not how this works.” And so, it’s just like a funny moment, but what stood out to me from that is that I think Star is a truly (multigenerational) ship insofar as there are so many things for any age to enjoy, and then there are so many things to come back and look forward to. So, we have our pick of every pool, slide, and fun thing today. And then in a year or two, as she gets a little older, there’s still going to be more to look forward to.
Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.

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