‘We are so excited about the generosity and compassion of the Carnival passengers,’ said Wilkerson, who took the stage to a standing ovation. Carnival senior cruise director John Heald presented the godmother with a $50,000 check for St. Jude.
The festivities in the Showtime Theater began with a sizzling opener by the Carnival Singers and Dancers, decked out in black top hats with feathers and thigh-high leather boots.
Cahill popped out of the red helicopter in an illusion borrowed from Carnival’s biggest production show, ‘Destination: Unknown,’ starring Las Vegas magician Jason Byrne.
Byrne, in a white tuxedo and tails, conjured up a rose for the godmother, the bottle of champagne and a key to open a box housing the button Wilkerson pushed to send the bottle smashing against the bow.
Cahill recognized Fincantieri for ‘a fantastic job,’ Capt. Giovanni Cutugno, the Carnival team and lead architect Joe Farcus.
‘This is your finest work ever,’ Cahill told Farcus, to strong applause.
Noting that Carnival is all about participatory fun, Cahill recapped how the company’s 700,000 Facebook fans were invited to submit ideas including naming a dish for the new Italian restaurant Cucina del Capitano and coming up with slogans for the coasters in the RedFrog Pub.
