Miss USA Deshauna Barber To Serve As Godmother Of New Carnival Vista

Barber to Officially Name 133,500-ton Vessel During Shipboard Ceremony in New York That Will Also Feature Concert for Military Families by Country Superstar Carrie Underwood

News provided by

Carnival Cruise Line

Oct 05, 2016, 12:29 ET

MIAMI, Oct. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Miss USA Deshauna Barber has been named godmother of Carnival Cruise Line's newest and largest ship, Carnival Vista. Barber made history earlier this year when she became the first woman serving in the U.S. military to win the title of Miss USA.

Barber will officially name the massive 133,500-ton vessel during a shipboard ceremony that is part of an overnight gala event honoring Operation Homefront and featuring an exclusive invitation-only concert by seven-time GRAMMY-award winning country music super star Carrie Underwood. In addition to the concert, the festivities will include overnight accommodations, meals, activities and entertainment for hundreds of military families.

The concert and overnight gala event are the culmination of Honor. Family. Fun., Carnival's year-long celebration designed to raise funds for Operation Homefront to help the organization fulfill its mission of building strong, stable, and secure military families.

"Deshauna is the ideal candidate to serve as Carnival Vista's godmother, embodying the spirit of commitment and sacrifice to those who protect our freedom each and every day," said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. "Carnival is a longtime supporter of the military carrying more active and retired Armed Forces personnel than any other cruise line so it's our honor and privilege to have Deshauna serve as the godmother to our newest and largest ship."

The daughter of a retired Army master sergeant who was a member of the Special Forces, Barber joined the Army Reserve as a quartermaster officer in 2011. After earning her bachelors in business management from Virginia State University, Barber went on to complete her masters in computer information systems from the University of Maryland University College. She currently serves as logistics commander for the 988^th Quartermaster Detachment Unit in Rockville, Md.

A passionate advocate for the U.S. military and a champion of gender equality, Barber will focus her efforts on PTSD treatment for soldiers returning from deployments and suicide prevention throughout the Armed Forces.

"It is truly an honor to be named the godmother of Carnival Vista and I'm very excited to represent the U.S. military and be a part of the ship's official naming ceremony next month," said Barber. "I love that Carnival carries more families, including military families, than any other cruise line and I'm looking forward to checking out all of the ship's many innovative features when I'm on board next month."

As the line's newest ship, Carnival Vista has introduced a number of groundbreaking innovations including the first brewery on a North American-based cruise ship, the first IMAX Theatre at sea, the most elaborate water park in the fleet highlighted by the 455-foot-long Kaleid-o-slide, a groundbreaking bike-ride-in-the-sky attraction called SkyRide, and the new Family Harbor with specially designed staterooms for families, a family concierge and more.

Currently sailing its inaugural season in Europe, Carnival Vista will reposition to the U.S. in November operating a pair of 11-day sailings from New York before launching year-round six- and eight-day Caribbean service from Miami later that month.

For additional information and reservations on Carnival Cruise Line, contact any travel agent, call 1-800-CARNIVAL or visit www.carnival.com. Carnival can also be found on:

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About Carnival Cruise Line
Carnival, a unit of Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), is "The World's Most Popular Cruise Line®" with 25 ships operating three- to 16-day voyages to The Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, New England, Bermuda, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. The 133,500-ton Carnival Horizon is currently under construction and set to debut in 2018. Additionally, two new 180,000-ton ships are scheduled to enter service in 2020 and 2022.