Princess Cruises named its Enchanted Princess ship on Dec. 13, honoring three members of The Explorers Club who will serve as godmothers of the newest ship in the fleet.

“This unique approach to the naming of Enchanted Princess honors our legacy of bringing people together and creating lasting memories on board our cruises by letting us share the excitement of the ceremony with more people than ever and giving Princess fans a more intimate look at our newest MedallionClass ship,” said John Padgett, president, Princess Cruises. “It also allows us to recognize the contributions our godmothers — Captain Lynn Danaher, Dr. Vicki Ferrini and Jenifer Austin — have made to ocean conservation and stewardship, as the ocean provides our livelihood and serves as the home for our more than 25,000 employees who serve millions of guests while they explore the world on a cruise vacation with us each year.”

The Explorers Club, since 1904, traversed the earth, seas, skies and moon on expeditions of exploration; the multidisciplinary professional society is dedicated to field research, scientific exploration and conservation. The three chosen godmothers of Enchanted Princess are recognized for their success in expeditions, oceanography and mapping oceans.

Captain Lynn Danaher has been a U.S. Coast Guard licensed master and dive master since 1994. She founded Pacific Islands Research Institute in 2008, and Friday Harbor Film Festival in 2013. As an Explorers Club member since 2005, she has completed eight Explorers Club Flag Expeditions and is Vice President: Mission Programming and Chair of the Headquarters Renovation Committee.

Dr. Vicki Ferrini, a PhD in Coastal Oceanography, works to map, explore and characterize the majority of the global ocean. As a senior research scientist at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, she leads several efforts to preserve data for access by scientists and the public. She joined The Explorers Club in 2021 and was selected as one of 50 explorers changing the world.

During her nearly 14 years at Google, Jenifer Austin co-led the team that launched the first virtual map of the ocean in Google Earth and Google Maps, and launched Underwater Streetview in Google Maps and Global Fishing Watch. She also started oceanagenda.com to bring together groups to support holistic ocean conservation and stewardship. She is a fellow of The Explorers Club and served on the W40 Women’s Committee and more.