<p>NEW YORK -- Leave it to Carnival to come up with something fun and lively for the christening of its largest ship ever, the 130,000-ton Carnival Dream.</p>
<p>In a humor-laced and jovial ceremony late today on the ship in New York, the line called on Academy Award- and Tony Award-winning actress Marcia Gay Harden to do the "break-the-bottle" honors as the ship's godmother with, of all things, a New York Yankees baseball bat.</p>
<p>The star of Broadway's God of Carnage swung the bat at a six-foot-high champagne bottle placed on stage in the ship's filled-to-capacity, 1,964-person Encore! theater. The giant on-stage bottle exploded with confetti while a second, smaller bottle simultaneously broke against the side of the vessel.</p>
<p>"I've been a godmother before, but usually for ... little babies," an upbeat Harden had noted from the stage moments earlier. "This is awesome. A thrill."</p>
<p>The bat, signed by the Yankees' star Alex Rodriquez, will be auctioned off to raise money for St. Jude's Children's Hospital.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The invitation-only naming ceremony also included a dance performance by Fun Force, a street performance group, and the running humor of Carnival's much-loved senior cruise director, John Heald.</p>
<p>The 3,646-passenger Dream emerged from the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy, in late September and sailed three voyages in Europe before crossing the Atlantic to New York this past week. The ship will operate a series of voyages from the city over the coming weeks before repositioning to Port Canaveral, Fla., to sail year-round seven-night Caribbean cruises.</p>
<p>The Carnival Dream boasts such new-for-Carnival concepts as an indoor/outdoor caf&eacute; and entertainment venue called the Ocean Plaza, and "scenic whirlpools" that extend out over the ship&rsquo;s sides. The vessel also has new accommodation categories including "cove balconies" that are closer to the water line and five-berth, two-bathroom cabins aimed at families.</p>
<p>The Dream is about 15% larger than Carnival's previous record holder, the 113,000-ton, 3,006-passenger Carnival Splendor. With its debut, the line now has 22 vessels at sea.</p>