Cruise lines are always looking for an excuse to promote a cruise (it's called marketing 101) but it's not always one that could be described as good for your health. Especially if it involves Valentine's Day. Boxes of chocolates. Rich desserts. Pile of the frosting. Candies galore. Not to mention washing it all down with something that will be a test for your liver, or at least your calorie count.
Princess Cruises has come up with one that IS good for your health.
It's called Cruising for a Cause and the cause is a healthy heart for Valentine's Day, which beats having a heart broken either physiologically or emotionally. The cruise is on the Ruby Princess, from Fort Lauderdale, leaving February 10th…four days before the traditional day of hearts and flowers. To show that the cruise line is serious about heart health, they are dedicating a portion of each passenger's fare to the American Heart Association — for the second year in a row — and lining up some expert guest to educate passengers who may be unaccustomed to preventative measures until the unhealthy heart comes calling.
Princess estimates the passenger contribution will be $500,000, which the cruise line will match, dollar for dollar.
There will be seven speakers on the ship, all of them with a connection to the human heart. Dr. Kathy Magliato is a cardiothoracic surgeon who's recognized as an expert on heart disease in women. David and Karen Gamow are co-authors of Freedom from Stress. Marc Anthony Bynum is a Food Network Celebrity Chef whose specialty, at least on this cruise, is cooking healthy.
Diana von Welanetz Wentworth is a heart-attack survivor who turned her misfortune into a career as an author and speaker on the subject. Jesse Sapolu played 15 years in the National Football League, somewhat anonymously because he was an offensive lineman for the San Francisco 49ers, and his biography is called I Gave My Heart To San Francisco…but more importantly, he is a spokesman for the AHA — at 6-4 and close to 300 pounds, he might be considered a poster boy for the importance of heart health.
And then there is Bernie Kopell. You might say he's there to pull on the heart strings…for a decade he was known as Doc Bricker on The Love Boat, aka the Pacific Princess, whose TV passengers were in his "care."
Presumably, this will not be a typical Valentine's Day cruise. The last one we were on — with Princess — was high on calories, which means it was low on ways to have a healthy heart.
Celebrity Solstice
18 nights
February 3, 2014
Auckland, Bay of Islands, Tauranga, Akaroa, Dunedin, Dusky Sound, Doubtful Sound, Milford Sound, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Esperance, Perth
Inside: $1,599
Cost per day: $88
www.ncl.com
www.celebritycruises.com