Princess Cruises will be celebrating their 50th anniversary in 2015 and is planning a number of spectacular events to celebrate the occasion.  Some of these plans involve the cast of The Love Boat, closely associated with Princess Cruises for decades.  Not long ago, California-based Princess Cruises announced that they would not waste any time jumping into the 2015 celebration year, operating their first-ever float in the Rose Parade on New Year‘s Day.

In line with the nautical tradition of christening a ship before it sets sail on its maiden voyage, Princess Cruises Vice President of Public Relations Julie Benson broke a confetti-filled champagne bottle against the bow of its Rose Parade float before it set sail on its first test run in front of the Pasadena headquarters of Phoenix Decorating Company, the float’s builder.

“I name this float Regal Princess. May God bless her and all who cruise down Colorado Boulevard on her,” said Benson at the time.

Depicting the cruise line’s newest ship Regal Princess symbolically sailing through some of the world’s most fascinating destinations and iconic landmarks, the Rose Parade float will pay tribute to The Love Boat television show that made Princess Cruises one of the most famous names in cruising and kick off a year of 50th anniversary celebrations in 2015. As a special feature, the six original cast members of The Love Boat will ride on the float’s bow.

Princess Cruises’ Rose Parade float will be 60 feet long and 24 feet high, and will be decorated with more than 24,000 thousand flowers and natural materials.

The Rose Parade has been a world-renowned tradition since 1890 and is broadcast to approximately 80 million viewers around the world every New Year’s Day.