Oceania Cruises officially christened its first newbuild on February 5 in Miami.

The launch of the vessel was rather light, with a lack of major media attention, as Oceania strangely opted to schedule the christening event on Super Bowl weekend in North America.

The new 66,000-ton, 1,252-passenger build from Fincantieri joins ex-Renaissance ships: the Nautica, Regatta and Insignia in Oceania’s fleet.

Entertainment Tonight host Mary Hart christened the ship which is set to be followed by sister ship Riviera in April 2012. Oceania let an option for a third ship expire and delayed the launch of Marina due to what a source said were “market conditions.”

As the Riviera joins the fleet in 2012, Oceania will offload some North American capacity by chartering the Insignia to Hapag-Lloyd Cruises for a two year period.