Regal Princess to Host a “Love Boat” Reunion

The original Love Boat cast will serve as 
godparents for Regal Princess

Princess Cruises recently announced that the Godparents for their newest ship Regal Princess will be the original cast ensemble from the iconic television show, The Love Boat. Performing the naming honors will be Gavin MacLeod (Captain Stubing), Fred Grandy (Gopher, the chief purser), Ted Lange (Isaac, the bartender), Bernie Kopell (Doc, the ship’s doctor), Lauren Tewes (Julie, cruise director) and Jill Whelan (Vicki, the Captain’s daughter).

Adding to the excitement of the naming ceremony is a celebrity guest list and Love Boat cast reunion taking place in Ft. Lauderdale next month.

“We’re incredibly excited to host what will be one of the largest Love Boat reunions ever aboard our newest ship Regal Princess,” said Jan Swartz, president, Princess Cruises. “What better way to kick-off our 50th anniversary celebration than reuniting the show’s cast with some of the wonderful guests from its ten year run.”

As well as serving as the Mistress of Ceremonies for the Regal Princesss naming ceremony on Nov. 5th, Tori Spelling, daughter of Love Boat producer Aaron Spelling who made two appearances on the show at age 10, will conduct “gold carpet” interviews with a host of celebrities who all made guest appearances on the show, including: Loni Anderson, Joyce DeWitt, Jamie Farr, Pam Grier, Florence Henderson, Jack Jones, Christopher Knight, Diane Ladd, Lorenzo Lamas, Carol Lawrence, Rich Little, Kristy McNichol, Lee Meriwether, Don Most, Tracy Nelson, Mackenzie Phillips, Doris Roberts, Marion Ross, Frank Sinatra, Jr., Charlene Tilton, Joan Van Ark, Dick Van Patten and Adrian Zmed. In addition to these well-known celebrities, the guest star with the most number of appearances on the show—Charo—will give a classical guitar performance that evening. “Cuchi-cuchi!”

The Love Boat first aired on Sept. 24, 1977 and sailed into television history for ten seasons. Viewers began their decade-long love affair with the show and its memorable guests and eventually it became one of the highest rated and longest-running shows on television. The Pacific Princess and Island Princess were the primary floating stars of the show, while later episodes and specials were filmed aboard other Princess ships in cruise destinations around the globe.

The show was based on the non-fiction book, The Love Boats, by real-life Princess cruise director Jeraldine Saunders and was preceded by three made-for-TV movies. Famed television producers Aaron Spelling and Doug Cramer steered the show throughout its 10-year run, creating a beloved series that brought comedy, drama, and romance to millions of viewers each week, all set aboard Princess ships. Today the show is in syndication worldwide.

The 3,560-guest Regal Princess, which entered service in May of this year, is arriving in Ft. Lauderdale to begin her maiden season of Caribbean cruise vacations. The ship’s naming ceremony is just the beginning of the celebrations that will mark the company’s golden anniversary. Guests sailing on any of the line’s 18 cruise ships during 2015 will enjoy a wide range of 50th anniversary experiences.

Image Courtesy of Princess Cruises