I Sent My Mom on Princess Cruises’ ‘The Love Boat’ Sailing—Here's What Happened

My mom had nothing but great things to say about sailing aboard The Regal Princess. She told me, "The ship was very nice and immaculately clean. There were lots of available activities onboard and the staff was super friendly, accommodating and efficient—certainly a winning combination. And then there was great food and entertainment."

As a cruiser, she's seen quite a lot, but this was "my first cruise with a Medallion." FYI, the Medallion is the all-access key-to-the-ship.

She continued, "It was easy to have it on a lanyard, and some guests had it on a wristband like a watch. It allowed us to check in at restaurants. As we approached staff in the restaurants, it displayed our names and the staff were able to greet us by name (took a day or two to figure out how they 'remembered' us!). When approaching our cabin, the door automatically unlocked, a nice convenience rather than rummaging for a keycard. When I was in the salon, I was trying to contact my sister, and the staff was able to tell me she was at the pool, as you can locate each other with the Medallions. In addition, when viewing an electronic map on the ship, the Medallion made it possible to key in to where you were. And there were options to view your own information for reservations, etc. I was able to use it to charge items to my room—the only place needing cash was the casino. Very simple."

As for the rooms? Another rave.

"I loved our room. We had an outside cabin with a balcony. The beds were extremely comfortable, and the room was very spacious with a couch and desk/mirror."

One pro tip? She suggests asking for a power strip if you have a lot of electronics to plug in (hair dryers, phone chargers, etc.).

Another thing I know about my mom? She loves a pool day.

She told me, "We sat by the pool and enjoyed the pool area many times on our seven-day cruise. There was plenty of room to sit around it on long benches and cool your feet, or as we did, hang out in the center. It is a very pretty pool area."

"Where we were had entertainment, clips shown on the huge screen and games led by the activities director. There were plenty of chairs and lots of tables in the shade to enjoy our lunch or play a game. Ice cream, food and a bar were all available right on the pool deck."

She also recommended a trip to the spa. "The Aroma Hot Stone Massage was great—definitely a winner."

And as much as she loves a pool day, she still made time to enjoy excursions during port days. She told me, "We chose to go to Discovery Dolphin and Manatee Encounter in Cozumel at Chankanaab Park. Transportation was included in the tour, and we had a wonderful time. I would highly recommend this excursion. It was all-inclusive, with a beach and pool available in addition to a 40-minute in-water dolphin experience. We also got 20 minutes to feed and be in the water with manatees. (Fun fact: Who knew that manatees are closely linked to elephants? Not us. Fascinating, and these giant creatures are so gentle.)"

"In Roatan, Honduras, we chose the Ultimate Beach Adventure.  We took a short aerial chairlift ride to the beach, which was lovely.  Also included was a clamshell (two lounge chairs with shaded covering), kayaking, snorkel equipment and a personal raft to float in the water! Again, I would highly recommend."

My mom immediately sent me a photo from her room when she received a surprise treat of chocolate-covered strawberries and bubbly. But that was just the beginning when it comes to her review of the ship's food.

"The ship had a very good buffet with a different international theme each night, in addition to carving stations and the normal fare. It is hard to pick a favorite specialty restaurant, but it's between the Crown Grill, with delicious filet mignon (and lobster if you choose) and special desserts every night, and Sabatini's Italian Trattoria. But beware of the large portions at Sabatini's!"

"There are two main dining rooms, one with reserved seating and the other with reserved seating and room for walk-ins. The food in all locations, including the buffet, was excellent."

Now, we get to what made this sailing extra special: the Love Boat theme and the presence of the cast onboard. And, yes, of course that includes Charo.

And Charo took my mom by complete surprise. "Though I was never specifically a Charo fan, we went to her show and it was great. She is extremely talented and is an award-winning guitarist...who would have thought?" 

"We also went to the more theatrical show, Born to Dance, and it was fabulous. So many talented dancers and singers. They highlighted the major influences on stage dancing, for example Bob Fosse, and did a Broadway number in his style of choreography. It was fascinating to see the different styles of dance compared in this way—total enjoyment. And there was even a standing ovation in the 1,000-seat venue, the Princess Theater."

Apparently, when Princess promises The Love Boat, they go all in. That means meet-and-greets, photo opps, the aforementioned performances and more.

"It all started with a Sailaway Celebration with the cast members of the Love Boat series. Jill Whelan (Vicky) introduced the other cast members in attendance: Fred Grandy (Gopher), Ted Lange (Isaac), Lauren Tewes (Julie McCoy) and Bernie Kopell (Adam Bricker). Jill was only a child on the series, but she emceed and led a lot of the themed events."

"There were themed events around the clock for the fans of the show that many families cherished. These included: Memories on Deck, several cast meet-and-greets, a Cocktail Demo with Isaac (Ted Lange), Love Boat Trivia, a Marriage Match Game Show and a Love Boat Vow Renewal."

"In a jam-packed panel, the cast members shared their most memorable scenes, ports of call and much more with their fans. Every day for an hour or two, fan-favorite episodes were aired on the large screen on the main pool deck."

"At one of the earliest events (the first day) at a special event for VIP fans—which was sold out at 1,000 attendees—I was surprised and impressed by the excitement and enthusiasm of the fans ranging in age from early 20s to 70+."

"The older fans in particular were avid Love Boat fans, with many saying their families faithfully watched the episodes together week after week as they were growing up. Some said they even continued this tradition with their children."

"Many of their fans had t-shirts, hats, door decorations and much more. I overheard several asking when the next Love Boat cruise would be (this was the third one)."

An indication of just how excited the fans were? "An hour before one of the meet-and-greet events, the line of fans extended the full length of the ship and wrapped around on the other side. These fans were excited and so gracious to the cast members. There was a definite 'family' feel to the relationship between the cast and fans."

One of my mom's personal favorites? "An episode of a new podcast featuring Jill Whelan, Ted Lange, Bernie Kopell and Fred Grandy was taped in the Princess Theater (again with over 1,000 fans in attendance)."

Needless to say, my mom enjoyed herself.

"This was my first Princess cruise and the Regal Princess was great. Would I go back? Yes!"

Sounds like next time I'll have to go with her.