CRUISE giant Royal Caribbean International has made maritime history by unveiling a 3-D animated movie character as the godmother of its $1.5bn Allure of the Seas, the world’s largest cruise ship.

Princess Fiona from the Shrek movies was the surprise choice to perform the naming honours at a ceremony in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, attended by about 3,500 guests, as part of a tie up with Hollywood movie giant DreamWorks Animation. She activated the traditional breaking of a Champagne bottle with a swift karate-chop.

Royal Caribbean chairman and CEO Richard Fain said: “It’s never easy choosing the right godmother, but we realised we had the perfect candidate right in front of us.

“We felt such a unique ship deserved a unique godmother and Princess Fiona symbolises the fun and entertainment that is so extraordinary on Allure of the Seas.”

The ship features a park longer than a football pitch complete with 12,000 real trees and plants. It is longer than 40 London Routemaster buses. At 1187 feet, the new ship steals the title as the world’s largest cruise by just 50mm from its sister ship Oasis of the Seas.

The pair sailed through the Solent last month as Allure travelled from Finland, where she was built, to her home port in Florida.

Royal Caribbean revealed that two thirds of its British guests are booking the best rooms on its new monster ship.

The cruise lovers have paid more to book on early sailings to stay in style in balcony rooms overlooking sea or park views or deluxe and suite accommodation.