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Princess Cruises has finally announced the Greatest Romantic. Based on a contest requiring contestants to be nominated as the Greatest Romantic, a search was launched by Princess Cruises. The winner is the father of four and a minister named Phil Roberts of Lexington, Ky. He won out over nearly 100 romantic hopefuls across the country who submitted heartfelt videos nominating themselves or someone in their lives for the honor. The line’s Department of Romance experts narrowed the field to five finalists, and then thousands of people voted for their favorite entry. The promotion garnered a multitude of national attention, and the response was all that Princess Cruises had hoped for.

Roberts personally received the news this morning from “Love Boat” star Gavin MacLeod (”Captain Stubing”), who is also part of Princess’ Department of Romance. “I was shocked and amazed when I picked up the phone this morning,” said Roberts. “First, I was so excited to win the contest and I’m truly touched that America felt my video and story was romantic enough to receive this honor. Then, to hear Gavin MacLeod on the other end giving me the good news - I was stunned! The entry deadline was the 10-year anniversary of my proposal to my wife Lisa, and what better way to honor this special memory than to win a contest that helped me pay tribute to my wife and family.”

Roberts’ winning entry, which he titled “The Greatest Romantic???,” received a large majority of the votes. In the cleverly produced video, Roberts nominated himself with a creative and touching poem narrated by his 3-year-old daughter, Ashley. The 37-year-old shared the ups-and-downs and joys of his nine-year marriage to his wife, Lisa, and said that romance has always been the core of their relationship. After learning that Lisa had always dreamt of becoming engaged at the ocean, Roberts created a beach scene in his apartment in Ohio, complete with a thousand pounds of sand, stars in the sky and a fluorescent beach scene painted on the walls. Roberts’ video can be seen at www.princess.com/romance.

With four children, the Roberts don’t get a lot of opportunities for date nights. But one way that they spend quality and rewarding time together is through monthly meetings with families of premature babies at the Lexington Ronald McDonald House. Their work also supports their charity, Project Seahorse (www.projectseahorse.net), created in memory of their daughter, Emily, who passed away at birth. Winning this Princess cruise will be their first real vacation without their children.

“I just loved Phil’s video and his story, and I’m so glad the public felt the same way,” said MacLeod. “His entry had it all - it was touching, emotional, creative and truly romantic.”

MacLeod, together with the other experts in Princess’ Department of Romance, selected the five finalist videos they felt best embodied romance, along with creativity and originality. The other department members include Dr. Ruth Westheimer, the always-provocative couples therapist; Alex Michel, the first “Bachelor” on ABC’s hit show; Trish McDermott, vice president of love at Engage.com; and Lisa Light, destination wedding expert and author.

“We’re delighted to name Phil as our new ‘ambassador of love’ and have him join our Department of Romance for the next year,” said Jan Swartz, Princess Cruises’ senior vice president. “We agree with voters that he embodies what it means to be a romantic, as he makes romance a part of his daily life. His personal love story is very inspirational and touched many people. So we’re looking forward to enabling him to share his advice to others through our web site.”

After Roberts is officially inducted into Princess’ Department of Romance, his story, advice and podcast will be featured on www.princess.com/romance. In addition to becoming one of the line’s romance ambassadors, he will also receive a seven-day cruise for two to the Caribbean or the Mexican Riviera, so he can truly celebrate with the love of his life.

The other finalists included Brian Krall of Manchester, N.H., who nominated his wife in “Everyday the Greatest Romantic;” Lydia Kimball Gibbons of Orem, Utah, who nominated her husband Ted in “40 Years of Romance;” Kacey Evans of Ramsey, N.M., who nominated himself in “Our Story - Ashley and Kacey Evans” and Justin D’Ambosio of Jersey City, N.J., who also nominated himself in his “Practice Makes Romance.”

All five finalists will receive prize packages including decadent chocolates from Godiva Chocolatier, pampering products from Princess’ exclusive Lotus Spa and flowers from Teleflora.

Long known as a leader in romance, Princess has been offering romantic cruise vacations around the world for more than 40 years. Additional information about Princess Cruises is available through a professional travel agent, by calling 1-800-PRINCESS, or by visiting the company’s website at www.princess.com.