Wonderful Rose Parade Float!

[shredie]

Yay! Pictures!

[dobiemom]

Pics from another thread (thanks Rosefloater!): http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=45104732&postcount=6

[Cruisin' Chick]

One thing not mentioned by the announcers, as it's more of a local thing, is that one of the members of the Oregon band just lost his father last week. The whole family had been looking forward to seeing their son at the parade and at halftime today. The mother (who I know because our kids overlapped one year in the same high school marching band) was at the parade and some of her friends took a screen grab of her son from the TV coverage and posted on Facebook for her.

[dobiemom]

Beautiful pics, thanks! :)

[CruisinCouple2010]

Hi Everyone:

 

Happy New Year!

 

Have been watching the parade and the Princess Float was quite spectacular. They did a great job and was so pleased to see them win the Craftsman Trophy. Great job Princess. Congratulations!

 

Harriet

[lynwar]

Hi

I turned the parade on late but did see our Princess float. It was quite the surprise because I hadn't seen this thread yesterday. It was gorgeous and I was so proud of Princess when I saw it. We have plans to be on the Regal in January 2016 but were on the Royal Princess last year.

 

Back in my college days-in the 1960's, our college choir tour went out to California and I had the chance to see where the floats are made, as my roommate was from Pasadena. That was cool. And, we all got to see the actual Rose Bowl stadium. All in all, it was a thrill to drive down Colorado Blvd when we entered the city. We sang at a local restaurant there, too. Watching the parade gives me fond memories of that time.

 

The entire parade was beautiful and well presented, as usual.

 

Happy New Year, Everyone!

Lynne

[Cruisin' Chick]

It was always a tradition in my family to watch the parade, but we never went to see the parade in person. My brother marched in the 1968 parade in his high school's band (that was back when the LA schools would compete for this honor and in 1973, the all city band was formed instead so the high school musicals would audition for that, but they don't take windwoods). Early in the parade we would try to figure out the order of the parade on the various local stations (at that time four or five TV stations carried it) and were turning the dial so we could see the band on as many channels as possible. We lost my brother a few years later in an accident so that memory of seeing the band was precious to me. Almost ten years ago, the band director (he was my orchestra teacher) passed away and a blogger who had been in the high school band, put up a couple of official Rose Bowl photos of the band, so I was able to copy those (even though my brother isn't seen in those).

 

My college (UCLA) made it to the RB game when I was a senior. I didn't see the parade as I was in Rally Committee, the group that organizes and designs the card stunt show, and we were inside the stadium putting the stacks of cards and instructions under each student seat. Just 29 years before that day, my parents (who had recently moved out to LA) saw that my father's alma mater was playing that day and decided to drive to Pasadena and see the game. Yes, there were tickets available for that day's game.

 

So 59 years of New Year's Days living in LA and have never been to the parade in person.

[AZbeachboy]

As usual it was a great parade. The Princess float was a hit. Being a Lutheran I also enjoy seeing the Lutheran Hour float. Both winners.

[Waimea'sMom]

I lived in Pasadena for twelve years - right at the termination of the parade. They used to block off our streets for a few days, and stored the floats across the street from our house for a few days after the Parade. Every year I grumbled about the street closures, traffic, crowds and people camping on homeowners lawns - leaving behind trash and peeing in people's gardens.

 

I moved a little over a year ago and this is my second New Year's Day being away and now I am nostalgic for it. It was sort of nice in retrospect to have eyes of the world on your town. I remember once a Princess assistant waiter from Eastern Europe that asked where I was from, and when I said Pasadena, his eyes lit up and he shouted, "Rose Parade!"

Edited January 1, 2015 by Waimea'sMom

[sprinkles]

I was born, raised, worked and retired in So Cal (even helped decorate a float once in school). This is my second New Year's in Oregon, I realized this morning how weird it was not hearing Bob Eubanks and Stephanie Edwards commentary during the parade. Both broadcasts here had commercials and hardly showed any of the horses and marching bands! Really made me miss my "home" - but I did get a big kick out of seeing the Princess float and all the cast members - nice job Princess.

 

Tammy

[lappy22]

I was born, raised, worked and retired in So Cal (even helped decorate a float once in school). This is my second New Year's in Oregon, I realized this morning how weird it was not hearing Bob Eubanks and Stephanie Edwards commentary during the parade. Both broadcasts here had commercials and hardly showed any of the horses and marching bands! Really made me miss my "home" - but I did get a big kick out of seeing the Princess float and all the cast members - nice job Princess.

 

 

 

Tammy

 

 

I've checked in on the the other broadcasts over the the years and they are just a little short of awful. Haha. We are very lucky in So Cal to have the knowledgable and funny team of Bob and Stephanie. Us locals only watch KTLA for the parade. Sorry you missed it!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[julie3fan]

HGTV showed the parade commercial free. Like the rest of you, I really enjoyed the Princess float. It is so amazing listening to the commentators describe all the seeds, flowers, grasses, etc. used on the floats. What imaginations!

[Cruisin' Chick]

I love that if you get up for the start of the parade, you can see the whole thing without KTLA breaking away for commercials. And if you missed a part (for a bathroom break or a run to the kitchen), you can catch a few repeats during the rest of the day.

 

I'm biased for marching bands so it bugs me when some parades and games cut short the bands. I'm looking at you, Hollywood Christmas Parade TV producers. My daughter's marching band was in this parade within the last few years, and they were on screen for about 15 seconds (I started timing each band when I noticed this was happening). Since they stopped televising this live, they edit out much of the actual parade and stick in several plugs for businesses that pay for this (such as the Scientology book store in Hollywood).

 

I still remember when you can watch a football game on TV and the halftime shows were shown.

[shredie]

I've checked in on the the other broadcasts over the the years and they are just a little short of awful. Haha. We are very lucky in So Cal to have the knowledgable and funny team of Bob and Stephanie. Us locals only watch KTLA for the parade. Sorry you missed it!

 

You know it's New Year's Day when you hear Bob and Stephanie start talking!

[dmwnc1959]

As mentioned earlier, the Princess Cruises float in the Tournament of Roses Parade was the Craftsman Trophy Winner, awarded for Exceptional Achievement in Showmanship and Dramatic Impact in a float over 55' in length:

 

"The Love Boat cast, including Gavin MacLeod (Captain Stubing), Fred Grandy (Chief Purser Gopher), Ted Lange (Bartender Isaac), Bernie Kopell (Doc), Lauren Tewes (Cruise Director Julie) and Jill Whelan (Captain's daughter Vicki), recently named Regal Princess, having served as the ship's godparents before the cruise ship's maiden Caribbean season and their appearance in the New Year's Day parade.

 

Millions of viewers recognized the Sydney Opera House, the leaning tower of Pisa, the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, a traditional Japanese pagoda, the Golden Gate Bridge and the tropical flowers and water falls of the Caribbean, Hawaii and Mexico, as well as the majestic mountains and wildlife as featured on Alaska cruises – just some of the sights travelers will see when sailing with Princess, whose ships visit 350 destinations around the globe.

 

The Princess Cruises float measured 60 feet long and 24 feet high with more than 24,000 flowers and natural materials. Flowers included roses, orchids and carnations, dendrobs, tulips, cymbidiums, delphiniums and gerbera daisies.

 

Paying tribute to the parade's theme, Princess conducted a contest asking its past guests to share an inspiring story that occurred aboard a Princess cruise for a chance to ride on the float. The grand-prize winner was 91-year-old World War II veteran Nathan Keith Abbott, who took a Princess cruise back to the South Pacific, as he had long wished to revisit the islands where he served during the war.

 

Other riders who were selected told their inspiring stories about a variety of special celebrations including an engagement in front of a glacier in Alaska, a renewal of vows to mark 50 years of marriage, a celebration of life after surviving breast cancer, and a mother and daughter college graduation cruise to celebrate both of them receiving their degrees.

 

As a tribute to Princess' 25,000 crew members and employees around the world who the company credits for delivering incredible cruise vacations to their guests, the float incorporated flower vials that were personally signed by 16,0000 employees, signifying their important role in the company's successful past and exciting future."

 

LARGE version of picture HERE

Original size picture (very large) HERE

 

(Image Courtesy of Princess Cruises and PR Newswire)

Edited January 2, 2015 by dmwnc1959

[westendgirl]

Thank you Dave (DMWNC1959) for the great info! She certainly was a beautiful float.

[sprinkles]

HGTV showed the parade commercial free. Like the rest of you, I really enjoyed the Princess float. It is so amazing listening to the commentators describe all the seeds, flowers, grasses, etc. used on the floats. What imaginations!

 

Thanks Juliefan, I'll make a mental note of that. I had already told DH that next year I was going to scroll through ALL the channels to look for one without commercials. We had run out for a big evening and at the last minute set the DVR for the two prime channels showing it here. At least I did that or would not have seen it at all, for the first time in forever we did not get home until 3:00am - lol.

 

For the rest of you locals, yes I'm envious. How many of you remember the year that KTLA tried to replace Stephanie Edwards with a "younger" woman? I felt so bad for her out in the rain - but she was a trooper and at least public opinion won out and the next year she was back in the booth.

 

Tammy

[JimmyVWine]

We also watched on HGTV. There is no better coverage. I thought that the Princess float was great but could have been so much better if they had built in a center staircase out of poppies and larger balconies out of blue geraniums! [emoji6]

[mph045]

Loved the float and its crew-great see them all together!:p

[Taku]

For those in the SF Bay Area, KICU channel 36 (channel 6 on most cable services) carries the KTLA coverage of the parade throughout the day -- first without commercials and then repeats with commercials.

[Nancyquilts]

For those in the SF Bay Area, KICU channel 36 (channel 6 on most cable services) carries the KTLA coverage of the parade throughout the day -- first without commercials and then repeats with commercials.

 

Wish I'd known that. ABC and NBC seemed to have very few floats and bands and lots of talking heads. Since those of us on antennas no longer get the usual football games on NBC, it would seem that they could cover the parade better. But we did get to see the Princess float, and it was beautiful.

[abisha]

As mentioned earlier, the Princess Cruises float in the Tournament of Roses Parade was the Craftsman Trophy Winner, awarded for Exceptional Achievement in Showmanship and Dramatic Impact in a float over 55' in length:

 

"The Love Boat cast, including Gavin MacLeod (Captain Stubing), Fred Grandy (Chief Purser Gopher), Ted Lange (Bartender Isaac), Bernie Kopell (Doc), Lauren Tewes (Cruise Director Julie) and Jill Whelan (Captain's daughter Vicki), recently named Regal Princess, having served as the ship's godparents before the cruise ship's maiden Caribbean season and their appearance in the New Year's Day parade.

 

Millions of viewers recognized the Sydney Opera House, the leaning tower of Pisa, the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, a traditional Japanese pagoda, the Golden Gate Bridge and the tropical flowers and water falls of the Caribbean, Hawaii and Mexico, as well as the majestic mountains and wildlife as featured on Alaska cruises – just some of the sights travelers will see when sailing with Princess, whose ships visit 350 destinations around the globe.

 

The Princess Cruises float measured 60 feet long and 24 feet high with more than 24,000 flowers and natural materials. Flowers included roses, orchids and carnations, dendrobs, tulips, cymbidiums, delphiniums and gerbera daisies.

 

Paying tribute to the parade's theme, Princess conducted a contest asking its past guests to share an inspiring story that occurred aboard a Princess cruise for a chance to ride on the float. The grand-prize winner was 91-year-old World War II veteran Nathan Keith Abbott, who took a Princess cruise back to the South Pacific, as he had long wished to revisit the islands where he served during the war.

 

Other riders who were selected told their inspiring stories about a variety of special celebrations including an engagement in front of a glacier in Alaska, a renewal of vows to mark 50 years of marriage, a celebration of life after surviving breast cancer, and a mother and daughter college graduation cruise to celebrate both of them receiving their degrees.

 

As a tribute to Princess' 25,000 crew members and employees around the world who the company credits for delivering incredible cruise vacations to their guests, the float incorporated flower vials that were personally signed by 16,0000 employees, signifying their important role in the company's successful past and exciting future."

 

LARGE version of picture HERE

Original size picture (very large) HERE

 

(Image Courtesy of Princess Cruises and PR Newswire)

 

I watch the parade every year. The Princess Float was beautiful. I loved how they captured the reflection of the ocean on each cabin window with flowers...very clever design. It's always great to see the love boat cast. I still catch the show on reruns, and never missed an episode back in the day.

 

I saw the Regal Princess in port when the cast was just getting on it and before it's inaugural sail from Ft. Lauderdale (I was embarking on the Ruby). The Ruby was so impressive (my first Princess cruise), so I booked the Regal as soon as I got back home. I cannot wait!

 

Congrats to Princess on a lovely float, 50 years and a new tropy to put on the shelf!

[Cruisin' Chick]

Wish I'd known that. ABC and NBC seemed to have very few floats and bands and lots of talking heads. Since those of us on antennas no longer get the usual football games on NBC, it would seem that they could cover the parade better. But we did get to see the Princess float, and it was beautiful.

 

Since regular broadcast signals were discontinued about eight or so years ago, I haven't been able to get the ABC channel on my kitchen TV because we live in the foothills (that signal can't get through in our direction) and if the winds are kicking up, some of the other channels get lost too. And now that Time Warner has scrambled broadcast channels (which I used to be able to get on my computer tuner that's attached to the cable modem) since November, I've had to use their flaky TWC-TV app, which doesn't allow all the channels listed to be watched on PCs, despite what their commercials say. And yesterday, I discovered that ESPN is one of the channels I can't view on my computer -- so no Rose Bowl game nor this afternoon's UCLA game.

Edited January 2, 2015 by Cruisin' Chick

[lynwar]

Hello,

That's terrible about not being able to get the channels. Our satellite did a self-check at the beginning of the game. All of a sudden everything stopped... and the reset began. Grrr. It's a good job it wasn't the 4th quarter. The Rose Bowl ended being one sided and may Floridians weren't happy. The Sugar Bowl with Ohio State and Alabama was a nail biter down to the end. :D

 

We watched the parade on our NBC affiliate, although, I had Hubby check it on HGTV and it wasn't listed on the Guide. We should have checked, anyway. We even tried to find it on the 3-D channel but it wasn't there, either, so we had Al Roker and Hoda? as our commentators.

 

I was so surprised, but happy, to see the Princess float. I missed most of the floral details, though, because I was engaged in watching the Love Boat crew. LOL. I'll have to catch it in pictures. Dave did send us a splendid one, though. Thanks, again.

 

So, for me, I've started to save my pennies and change, literally, towards the payments for our Regal Jan. 2016 cruise. Every cent counts!!! LOL.

 

Lynne

[GoofyontheHiSeas]

We went to see the floats yesterday. Truly an amazing experience to see these up close and personal. It was to bad the Love Boat cast was not there to see.