Princess Cruises has announced that the original cast of the hit TV show, The Love Boat, will christen and be the godparents of the Regal Princess. The Regal Princess was completed in May 2014 and is currently sailing 12 night cruises in the Mediterranean.
The christening and naming ceremony will be held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on November 5, 2014. The ceremony will reunite all 6 cast members from The Love Boat which first aired 40 years ago.
The actors include Gavin MacLeod (Captain Stubing), Bernie Kopell (Doc, the ship’s doctor), Fred Grandy (Gopher, the chief purser), Ted Lange (Isaac, the bartender), Lauren Tewes (Julie, cruise director), and Jill Whelan (Vicki, the captain’s daughter).
Many insiders have credited The Love Boat for helping the cruise industry’s rapid growth into what it is today. The show brought the appeal of a cruise vacation into the living room of millions. Now in 2014, over 21 million passengers are expected to take a cruise.
Jan Swartz, the president of Princess Cruises, gave the following statement:
“We can think of no more suitable godparents for our newest ship than the cast of the show that put Princess Cruises on the map.The show has been such a visible part of our company’s history, it made sense to kick off our anniversary celebrations with this special tribute.
The ship’s naming ceremony is just the beginning of the celebrations that will mark our company’s golden anniversary.”
The ceremony on November 5 will kick off anniversary celebrations for Princess Cruises as the line celebrates the milestone of 50 years of cruising. Passengers who are sailing on any of the 18 Princess ships in 2015 will get to partake in a number of special anniversary experiences.
The Regal Princess is a sister ship to the Royal Princess and can carry up to 3,560 passengers. The ship is currently the 11th largest cruise ship in the world at 142,229 gross tons. The Regal will sail one short 3 night cruise to the Bahamas before sailing 7 night cruises to the Caribbean.
How cool! They should do a reunion show and kick off a new series. This show was super!!