Los Angeles - UPI
Six of the original cast members of TV's The Love Boat served as the godparents at the christening of Princess Cruises' newest ship in Florida.
The ceremony for the naming of the Regal Princess also served as a Love Boat reunion and a 50th anniversary party for the cruise line.
On hand for Wednesday's festivities were Love Boat co-stars Gavin MacLeod, Fred Grandy, Ted Lange, Bernie Kopell, Lauren Tewes and Jill Whelan, as well as the show's frequent guest stars Charo and Florence Henderson.
Also among the attendees were 1970s and '80s TV icons such as Loni Anderson, Joyce DeWitt, Jamie Farr, Pam Grier, 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 -- all of whom appeared on the show as guest stars.
"The Love Boat put Princess Cruises on the map, bringing the romance and adventure of our cruise vacations into millions of viewers' homes for the decade it was on air. So, it was fitting that the cast was selected as godparents for Regal Princess as we begin our 50th anniversary celebrations," Jan Swartz, the line's president, said in a statement.
The 1977 pilot episode of The Love Boat was shot aboard Princess' 730-passenger Sun Princess, with Pacific Princess and Island Princess then becoming the primary floating stars of the show.