Princess Cruises Plans Valentine’s “Cruise with a Heart”

Get ready to spend Valentine’s Day cruising with your special someone when Princess Cruises’ second “Cruising for a Cause” sets sail in February from Ft. Lauderdale to celebrate Valentine’s Day. On board will be a special line-up of expert guests and celebrities who will help educate passengers about heart health. The benefit cruise will raise funds for the American Heart Association’s (AHA) programs and educational outreach.

Sailing the Caribbean from Feb 10-15, 2014 aboard Ruby Princess, the 5-day voyage will offer passengers a heart-themed experience, focused not only on “affairs of the heart,” but also a variety of onboard features themed around healthy living and heart health awareness. Among the educational opportunities available exclusively for this cruise are training in the American Heart Association’s Hands-OnlyTM CPR; seminars on how to better manage stress, diet, and exercise; and a heart disease and stroke survivor reception. Passengers can also take advantage of complimentary blood pressure screenings and participate in a fundraising walk on deck, patterned after AHA’s successful HeartWalks. Valentine's Day themed programming will include a special onboard renewal of vows and other romantic touches. The cruise will be capped off with a Ruby Red Gala party.

Special guests appearing exclusively on this sailing include:

• Dr. Kathy Magliato, MD, MBA, FACS: Dr. Magliato is one of the few female cardiothoracic surgeons in the world with specialization in heart failure, heart transplantation, and artificial/mechanical heart technology. A nationally recognized expert on heart disease in women, she is currently the Director of Women’s Cardiac Services at Saint John’s Medical Center in Santa Monica, California.
• Jesse Sapolu: Four-time Super Bowl champion Jesse Sapolu played center and offensive guard for the San Francisco 49ers during his 15-year football career. He now serves as the 49ers’ alumni coordinator, and is a motivational speaker and author of the biography “I Gave My Heart to San Francisco.”
• Chef Marc Anthony Bynum: Cook Healthy; Cook Delicious! A finalist on Food Network's “Chopped,” celebrity Chef Bynum will be offering fun, innovative healthy cooking demonstrations for passengers.
• Diana von Welanetz Wentworth: An award-winning author and national speaker on many facets of heart health, Wentworth’s passion for nurturing women’s hearts arose from her own surprising heart attack.
• David & Karen Gamow: The authors of “Freedom from Stress,” the Gamows have provided workplace stress management training to clients including NASA, CBS, GE, Marriott, Intuit, Nokia, Stanford School of Medicine, and the U.S. Army.
• Bernie Kopell: For 10 seasons, Bernie Kopell looked after the health of passengers aboard TV’s version of Pacific Princess as Doctor Adam Bricker (“Doc”) on The Love Boat. Kopell will be available to meet with and sign autographs for passengers.

A portion of each passenger’s cruise fare, totaling approximately $500,000, will be matched by Princess Cruises with an additional $500,000, for a total of $1 million. The proceeds will be used to support the American Heart Association’s mission to build healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke. The American Heart Association cruise will sail on a Western Caribbean itinerary roundtrip from Ft. Lauderdale, with calls at Grand Cayman and Cozumel. A tax-deductible portion of each fare ranging from $100 to $300 per person, depending upon cabin category, will be donated to the American Heart Association.

The cruise is the second of the company’s new “Cruising for a Cause” initiative where Princess will dedicate entire sailings to support select charitable causes.

Image Courtesy Princess Cruises