Love Boat Stars Christen the New Regal Princess Cruise Ship

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We were so happy to have the opportunity to not only inspect the new Regal Princess, but to spend two days on her and celebrate Princess Cruises 50th Anniversary. For those of us who remember or watch TV Land, the Pacific Princess was the set for the very popular TV series “The Love Boat.” The Godparents were the original cast of The Love Boat series and they were all there: Captain Steubing (Gavin Macleod), Doc (Bernie Kopell,) Gopher (Fred Grandy,) Isaac the Bartender (Ted Lange,) Julie the Social Director (Lauren Tewes) and Vicki, the Captain’s daughter (Jill Whelan.)

We had a beautiful view from our balcony which we enjoyed for the two days we were dockside. Our cabin was pleasantly generic.

The crowning glory of the Princess ships is the Atrium. Every Atrium has a distinct charm and the Regal Princess has the most elegant Atrium I’ve seen on any Princess ship. It is large and open, with seating in the center area. It’s surrounded by different food and drink venues and is just a delightful spot to have a coffee, drink or gelato.

Day and Night there are different musical offerings such as a Caribbean “Pan” which is a steel drum but sounds like there are many instruments. There is also a String Quartet with four women in stunning red gowns who delight the audience with classical music. Other times, there is a piano player with a varied repertoire.

Regal offers the same luncheon and dinner menus in three separate dining rooms on different levels. They are themed to music. We took a photo of the Concerto Dining room. Food was very good both nights and a new focus on chocolate was most welcome. Desserts were a treat!

Prior to our first dinner we saw a “Salute to Sam Cooke” in an intimate theater. It was very entertaining with two singers and three musicians. After dinner we went to the Vista Lounge for a “Salute to the Beatles”. This was a larger venue and the Fab 4 that portrayed the Beatles were amazing. They looked like and sounded just like we all remember and they did an amazing job.

There was a spectacular show in the large Princess Theater but we didn’t make it. Everyone we talked to said it was excellent.

Day two was a day of leisure but all were told to be on Pool Deck 16 and 17 for a 4:15P Pre Celebration and a 5:15P Naming of the Regal Princess. A record breaking 50 bottles of champagne smashed Due to the fact every guest on the ship was there, it was very crowded and there were no seats at all. We didn’t see the actual Christening and we were unable to hear a thing on the Jumbotron as we watched because the happy crowd was so noisy. We did see several celebrities on the Deck or around the ship (all had been guests on The Love Boat) including Rich Little, Dick Van Patten, Doris Roberts, Florence Henderson, Charo, Lee Merriweather, Jack Jones (he sang the theme and sounded great), Loni Anderson, Jamie Farr and others.

Time for cocktails and dinner. The Gala dinner featured dishes from past decades with a new spin and champagne and chocolates. The spectacular ending to the two day event was a fireworks display that was awesome. We had a great view and it felt like you could almost reach out and touch it. Each one was so wonderful that I didn’t know how we would tell when it was ending. Silly of me. The last minutes the fireworks staccato was unbelievable as they shot one shell immediately after the other into beautifully rich colors and designs that melded together. Wow.

Perfect ending! Bravo Princess. Happy 50th, many more and thank you for inviting Atlas.

Here are some pictures of the beautiful new Regal Princess Cruise Ship. Images are from Princess Cruises.