CELEBRITY
Meghan Trainor Says Son Riley Is ‘So Excited’ for First Real Vacation Aboard Royal Caribbean’s Utopia of the Seas (Exclusive)
The singer was named godmother of the new ship and will be aboard for a kickoff cruise with her family and 52 of her biggest fans later this month
A month after releasing her sixth studio album, Timeless, Meghan Trainor is back with more big news.
On Friday, July 5, Royal Caribbean International announced that the “All About That Bass” singer has been named Godmother of their newest ship, Utopia of the Seas. Trainor spoke with PEOPLE about how she plans to bring her own family in on her new role.
In the maritime tradition, a ship’s godparent christens the vessel with luck before it heads out to sea. Trainor, 30, follows other celebs like Ted Lasso actress Hannah Waddingham and singer Kelly Clarkson, as well as figures like Kate Middleton and Princess Diana, in being named Godmother of a cruise ship.
Later this month, Trainor will hop aboard the Utopia for a three-night inaugural cruise to The Bahamas — and she plans to make it a family affair.
My son is coming, my husband’s coming, my parents are coming because they’ve never been on a cruise before. They’re so excited,” Trainor tells PEOPLE. “My older brother is also coming and he’s the most excited, I think, out of anyone. Out of everything I’ve ever done, he was like, ‘This is the coolest one.’ ”
Ahead of her upcoming tour this fall, Trainor has had a busy summer between album promotions and rehearsals. But she’s looking forward to enjoying finding family time aboard the Utopia of the Seas — especially because her son Riley, 3, has never been on a true vacation before.
“This will be Riley’s first vacation for reals. He loves big ships and he has no idea what’s about to happen, but he’s already so excited. He’s like, ‘We’re going on a big ship,’ ” she says.
The cruise, which departs on July 15, will include a naming ceremony as well as a live performance by the “Like I’m Gonna Lose You” artist at Royal Caribbean’s private island CocoCay.
During the naming ceremony, Trainor said that she was hoping to live up to the godmother title as much as possible.
I’m going to play a ukulele song night one. I’m going to play ‘All About That Bass,’ I think, and just get everyone excited. I’m trying to bring my sparkly bejeweled ukulele, so I look like a true godmother,” she says.
According to Trainor, over 20,000 of her fans entered a lottery for a chance to win one of the 52 available spots onboard for the celebration — a number that she couldn’t believe.
“I was like, ‘Excuse me, how many?’ ” she says. “52 of my super fans are going to be on this ship with me, and they’re going to be singing every word to all these new songs. So that’s the dream. That’s the best part of all this.”
Trainor is especially excited about the venue for the concert at sea.
“It’s like the coolest stage I’ll probably ever be on. It’s behind this big pool and behind me is the ocean. So it’s going to be very iconic,” Trainor says of the spot. “My parents have never been more proud of me, honestly.”
Utopia, currently ranked as the world’s second-largest cruise ship, boasts 23 bars, two casinos and five pools among other amenities — and Trainor plans to explore all of it.
“We are going to find every water slide, every game room, every pool. We’re going to make the most of it,” she says. “My goal is to start right at 8:00 a.m., get some breakfast, and run around with Riley all day.”
Vacations have always been a big deal for Trainor’s family. As a kid, she remembers the excitement of learning about family trips during the holidays.
“When I was younger, there was a couple Christmases where my mom would do a scavenger hunt, and me and my two brothers would run throughout the whole house trying to solve these clues. And then at the end it was like, ‘We’re going on vacation!’ And it was our big Christmas gift and it was the best thing ever,” she recounts.