A Ship By Any Other Name

How do you put a name to something you know little about? I guess the argument can be made that each of us were named before we formally made a name for ourselves. But when it comes down to it, it’s no easy task finding that perfect name. The task is elevated when you tack on a few stipulations: it must end in “of the Seas” and cannot begin with Liberty, Freedom or contain any of its sisters’ given names. You may have guessed we’re not talking babies anymore. We’re talking cruise ships. Specifically Royal Caribbean’s soon-to-be newest and most awe-inspiring “babies”—now code named “Project Genesis I and II.” In an unprecedented naming contest launched with USA Today, Royal Caribbean has opened up the naming of what will be its most prestigious and innovative cruise ships to date to the general public. And you thought naming one little baby was hard?! Try culling down 60,000-something entries—all equally creative in their own right. The winner(s) don’t necessarily have to name both of the Project Genesis ships. The honor could go to two individuals—one for Project Genesis I, launching in 2009, and the other for Project Genesis II, debuting in 2010. That said, from what I’ve seen, some pretty creative pairs have been entered—Adam and Eve; Pioneer and Frontier—as have some quite comical single names: Chicken of the Seas; Mermaid of the Seas; Earth of the Seas. And there are still two weeks left to enter.

I think this is why I love public relations. You honestly never know what will be thrown your way from week to week. There's little college could have done to prepare me for what I've encountered in this industry, and there's no textbook definition of what we “do.” This week it looks like my main title will be “panelist,” as I'll be helping to trim down these thousands of entries before the panel of experts take over. Next week... who knows? I'll report back.