| Porthole 14 Jul 15

Phil Hoffmann has
experienced many of the world’s
cruise ships, but missed out on
the christening ceremony for
Princess Cruises’ Royal Princess.
Although invited to the
ceremony, which took place
in Jun 2013 in Southampton,
Hoffmann was unable to attend
due to a prior commitment, he
told the ATAB conference in
Sydney last Thu (see p1).
Instead, he sent two of his top
cruise staff to the christening in
his place – unfortunately though,
without telling his wife Alison
they had been invited.
It turned out the event
included a personal meet and
greet with none other than
Kate Middleton, the Duchess
of Cambridge, who is the
godmother of Royal Princess.
“Alison didn’t talk to me for
about three months after that,”
Hoffmann confided.