Princess Cruises celebrated the naming of its new ship, the Sun Princess, today, April 23, 2024, in Barcelona, with the ship’s godmother, the award-winning British actress Hannah Waddingham. The naming ceremony of the largest and most luxurious love boat ever created took place in the ship’s theater with executives from Carnival Corporation, celebrities, and three cast members from the TV series "The Love Boat": Bernie Kopell - Dr. Adam Bricker, Ted Lange - Isaac Washington, and Jill Whelan - Vicki Stubing.

“This ship is going to be an incredible experience. But to make that happen, it takes someone who can take the ship from a shipyard with amazing leadership, amazing teammates, all on board, and bring it to life. And that's what you've done, Captain Craig Street. Thank you so much for everything you've done,” said John Padgett, President of Princess Cruises.

“It’s a huge honor and a privilege for me to be standing here. Commanding this fantastic ship really is the pinnacle of my career. With a fantastic team on board, I have to say I can't do this alone. 1,650 teammates have been selected from around the Princess Cruises fleet, the very best that we have to offer. And really, it's down to them. We've worked tirelessly to breathe life and soul into this wonderful ship and to bring it to our wonderful guests. So, I want to thank them. It's been a huge honor working alongside them,” said Captain Craig Street. 

“I don't know whether anyone knows, but as much as theatre ripples through my bloodstream, I have the strongest history of maritime in my family. We still have my grandfather, he's 107, and he was on North Atlantic, convoy scraping the ice off the bow of the ship. So it is in my blood, in my bones, and it's really great privilege to be on this ship,” said Hannah Waddingham.

The Godmother delivered the traditional maritime blessing -- “I name this ship Sun Princess. May God bless her and all who sail on her” -- which officially christened the vessel.