Photo courtesy of Princess Cruises
Princess Cruises christened its new Regal Princess and celebrated 50 years of seagoing vacations during a star-studded and nostalgia-fueled ceremony in Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday evening.
The traditional naming ceremony was amped up with the presence of the cast of TV's "The Love Boat," a program often credited with beaming the joys of a cruise vacation into millions of American homes every Saturday night for 10 years. Adding spice, humor and memories were 24 celebrity guest stars who appeared on the TV show, everyone from A to Z - that is, from Loni Anderson to Adrian Zmed.
The man who wrote the famous "Love Boat" theme song, Charles Fox, took the stage briefly with Jack Jones, who then sang the tune live on the round stage between the swimming pools.
Everyone's favorite TV mom, the woman known as Carol Brady - the saucy and entertaining Florence Henderson - took over as mistress of ceremonies, replacing Tori Spelling. The daughter of "The Love Boat" Executive Producer Aaron Spelling, Tori was previously announced as the MC, but she was a no-show and no explanation was given (although Henderson briefly mentioned Tori's "questionable husband" - TMZ alert!).
Appearing on stage with the 1970-80s TV stars were the top executives of the cruise company. Carnival Corp. CEO Arnold Donald - who Henderson dubbed "the man with two first names" - gave some brief remarks. Carnival founder Micky Arison was there, as was Stein Kruse, CEO of Holland America Group, which includes Princess, Holland America Line and Seabourn.
Henderson also introduced Princess President Jan Swartz, who joked that the wind whipping through her hair on the pool deck was starting to make her look like the Princess logo, the "sea witch" with her billowing locks.
Swartz said it was "passion" on the part of many that built Princess Cruises into an iconic brand. She introduced a video that recounted the history of the company and featured recollections of founder Stanley B. McDonald, who today is 94 years old and lives in Seattle.
Interestingly, also in attendance was Jeraldine Saunders, the one-time Princess cruise director who wrote the book "The Love Boats" that inspired the TV show.
And then there was Charo, the Spanish fireball who made the most guest appearances on "The Love Boat" and is known by her catch phrase "cuchi-cuchi." Clad in a blue sequined catsuit, she played a classical guitar solo to much enthusiastic applause.
Next up: Father Ronald Perkins, of the Seafarers house at Port Everglades. "I've had some tough acts to follow, but I've never followed Charo," he joked.
After his blessing, the original "Love Boat" cast stood to pull the lever to launch 50 bottles of champagne outside the ship, "one bottle for each incredible year," Henderson said. The ship's jumbo screen above the pool deck showed the bottles crashing into the ship's hull (a few bounced off unbroken, but let's not quibble). Then, with another pull of the lever, a giant bottle on the pool deck crashed into the wall. It didn't break the first time it hit, but as it bounced back, it smashed in satisfying fashion as fireworks exploded and paper steamers were launched. And the ship's horn tooted the "Love Boat" theme.
It was an event Aaron Spelling could've produced.
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