Celebrating a special occasion, such as a birthday, anniversary, or bachelorette, is a great reason to take a cruise. Rather than celebrating for a day, the fun continues for at least a couple days, or more, depending on the length of the sailing.
For Irene, who just turned 103 years old, a carnival cruise was the perfect way for her to commemorate her birthday.
The birthday girl and her family embarked on a 7-night cruise to King’s Wharf, Bermuda, onboard Carnival Venezia on August 31, 2024, which sailed round trip out of New York City.
But while the family knew they were in for a week of fun, they likely weren’t expecting how excited the approximately 1,424 crew members onboard the Vista-class vessel would be to celebrate with Irene – who quickly became “cruise ship famous.”
Perhaps the most wholesome special memory created by the crew members was when Lee Mason, the current cruise director, and several of the senior officers surprised Irene with an elaborate chocolate cake while she was enjoying dinner with her family at Marco Polo restaurant.
Mason posted a video of the surprise to his Facebook page, showing Irene’s joy as she received the two-layer cake and the crew sang her happy birthday. There was even a ‘103’ on top that looked like it was carved out of chocolate.
Irene and her loved ones then posed for a rare photo opportunity with the senior officers and cruise director – with smiles all around.
Once Irene became “cruise ship famous,” it wasn’t long before she became an instant fan favorite from the top cruise ship personalities and their followers. She even found herself pictured on Brand Ambassador John Heald’s Facebook page, not once, but twice.
Heald’s first post, which was posted a few days before Irene’s cruise set sail, included a picture of the smiling woman holding a Carnival cup from a 2023 Alaska cruise and wearing a shirt that says “103 years loved.”
Heald asked his followers to send Irene their birthday wishes, and he received over 4,000 responses.
“Oh my she looks awesome! I could only hope to look that good when I’m 80! Have a happy birthday and a great cruise. I hope you have many more in your lifetime! Cruise on Irene!,” commented one Facebook user.
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On embarkation day, Heald re-shared a selfie that was originally taken and posted by Mason. The photo features the cruise director smiling with Irene and her daughters and the family members sporting matching shirts.
“The [picture] below was of the Carnival Venezia leaving New York and had a special guest on board. Irene with her family celebrating her 103rd birthday,” Heald captioned the photo, which has been liked nearly 6,0000 times in less than a week.
The crew members clearly went above and beyond for Irene and her family, and afterall, it’s not a very common occurrence to get to celebrate a 103rd birthday at sea.
For other guests celebrating a birthday who would like to make their cruise extra special, it’s always worth checking out Carnival’s gifts and stateroom decor options.
For $64.95, Carnival will decorate your loved one’s stateroom as a pleasant embarkation day surprise – and there are additional options to have celebratory drinks, flowers, and other gifts delivered to the person of honor’s cabin as well.
