“What if this cruise could save your life?” was one of the many highlights of day 1 of Cruising for a Cause: Princess Has Heart. This special “Cruise with Heart” sailing is raising money for the American Heart Association.
Raising upwards of $1 million to help fight heart disease is secondary to the seminars and activities that are being offered onboard to help improve the lives of those not only on the ship, but also their family and friends.
Princess Cruises is donating a portion of each passenger’s cruise fare to the AHA and also giving a penny for penny matching contribution. The cruise line is looking to make a difference in people’s lives and brought a lineup of distinguished guests and speakers on the cruise.
Day 1 kicked off with celebrity chef Marc Anthony Bynum giving a cooking demonstration in the theater. While demonstrating how to cook a healthy meal, he added some humor and a few nuggets of wisdom that sank in with the audience.
One of the things that Chef Bynum stressed was “Don’t be ignorant about what you put into your body”. You should know exactly what you are eating or drinking and don’t be afraid to ask your doctor about what medicine you are taking.
He stressed how there should be a balance in what we eat and that “we should eat to live, not live to eat”. He said that coconut oil is always a good choice and that if we eat steak, it should be medium or medium rare, not well done. Or as Bynum put it, “steak that is like shoe leather”.
Chef Bynum also talked about his new restaurant “Hush” that he is opening on Main St, in Farmingdale Long Island. The restaurant will be serve burgers for lunch and will be fine dining for dinner. He plans on opening the restaurant in April and it will have 28 seats for patrons.
Diana Wentworth, a New York Times best selling author and the author of “Love Your Heart”, gave a heart to heart talk with the audience about being a heart attack survivor.
She said that the most important question you could ask is “What if?”. That one simple question has led to every major discovery in the world. She then followed that up with the question,”What if this cruise could save your life?”
Wentworth spent a few minutes talking about her book and how to follow the red thread of a heart centered life. She talked about how heart disease is the #1 killer of women and that we should all look at our families history of heart disease and know how to take care of ourself.
Her best tip for the cruise?: The 1st bite tastes the best, the 2nd is good, and the 3rd is just ok.
After Wentworth, Dr. Kathy Magliato took the stage. She is one of the few female heart surgeons in the world with specialization in heart failure, heart transplantation, and ventricular assist devices. She is a nationally recognized expert on women’s heart disease.
She entitled her segment “Angina Monologues”. She began her session by asking the question, “Why are you in here instead of out there (pool deck)?”. She followed that up with, “Oh, you want to live”.
During her presentation, the audience could sense her desire for everyone to have a healthier heart. It is a preventable disease if you choose to live a healthy life. Risk factors include age, family history, high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, and high cholesterol.
In her book “Heart Matters”, she shares her journey through her career in medicine, while providing advice and tips on heart disease that could save your life.
Passengers on board the cruise were also able to visit the ship’s medical center and view the facilities that are available on board the Ruby Princess.
Day 1 also included a demonstration by Ary Nunez, a celebrity fitness trainer and fitness expert who is sponsored by Nike. Passengers were also able to meet the doctors on board and to learn more about what they do on the ship.
The Cruising for a Cause is a 5 night cruise on the Ruby Princess out of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida with stops in Grand Cayman and Cozumel, Mexico.
Bernie Kopell (the medic from the hit show The Love Boat), David and Karen Gamow, and 4 time Super Bowl Champion Jesse Sapolu are also scheduled to speak during the cruise.
