Mark October 23 on your calendar. Mark the Today Show beside it, for whatever time NBC's morning cast appears in your locale. Mark it because, if you like cruising and one of the people who helped make it as big as it is, that's the day for This Is Your Captain Speaking.
His name is Captain Merrill Stubing, or Gavin MacLeod in real life. An actor of remarkable talent and of many years, MacLeod launches not a boat but a book that day. If you haven't figured out the title, you're not reading very closely.
He is "Your Captain" for followers of The Love Boat, the TV show that made Captain Stubing a household name and cruising a household pastime. And he is "Your Captain" for Princess cruisers who have been entertained by or possibly even met him, during his promotional and public relations work for the cruise line that just committed to keep him busy for another three years….and he is an indefatigable 82 years old.
The book is not just about his cruise-ship character Stubing; in fact it is more about the life and times — good and bad — of Gavin MacLeod.
On Friday night, we happened to be at a screening of his last movie, the inspirational The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry and in a Q-and-A session with the audience when the movie ended, MacLeod dropped enough literary tidbits to sell more than a few books. From the highs of becoming a born-again Christian to the depths of two attempts at suicide, his life is all there, told with the candor and ebullience of this gifted and caring man who makes friends wherever he goes.
After the Today Show, Captain Stubing will hustle south to Florida to greet the Royal Princess as she arrives in North America, and he'll be making all the usual rounds of book signings, in stores and on TV, around the country.
His book is expected to be available on all Princess ships, and why not?
After all, This Is Your Captain Speaking.
Holland America Veendam
18 nights
December 3, 2013
San Diego (return): Hilo, Honolulu, Nawiliwili, Kona, Lahaina, Ensenada
Inside: $1,199
Cost per day: $66
www.hollandamerica.com