‘The Real Love Boat’: Who Is the Cruise Director

The three-person crew in the new CBS reality dating competition series The Real Love Boat includes cruise director Matt Mitcham. Matt will help the single contestants navigate their journey onboard the Princess Cruises ship, and we have everything you need to know about the cruise director.
Matt Mitcham | Photo: Sara Mally/CBS
Meet the cruise director in ‘The Real Love Boat’
A cruise director is a high-ranking member of a ship who is responsible for planning entertainment and passenger activities. So viewers might see Matt guide the contestants through the challenges and dates in The Real Love Boat.
Matt is 36 years old and lives in Vancouver, Canada, although he was born in Great Britain. As per LinkedIn, Matt has been a cruise director with Carnival Cruise Line since 2011.
His bio reads, “For 14 years, Matt lived the real-life version of The Love Boat, making vacation dreams come true as a cruise director. He even met the girl of his dreams onboard in 2016, and they are now happily married. Matt is a total romantic who jumped at the opportunity to help people find what he has.”
Fans can find Matt documenting adventures with his wife, Chloe Giguere, and behind-the-scenes photos from The Real Love Boat on Instagram.
The other crew members include the captain and the bartender
Bartender Ezra Freeman and Captain Paolo Arrigo will join cruise director Matt onboard The Real Love Boat on CBS.
Ezra’s bio reads, “For Ezra, matchmaking is a passion, and romance is her weakness. She believes there is no better place to have an intense romantic experience than aboard a cruise ship surrounded by beautiful views and beautiful people. Ezra has been with Princess Cruises since 2019.”
Paolo’s bio reads, “A highly accomplished mariner whose career spans more than a quarter-century at sea, Captain Paolo Arrigo joined Princess Cruises as a deck cadet in 1996 after serving for a year in the Italian Coast Guard.”
And married actors Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O’Connell will serve as the hosts of The Real Love Boat.
It’s time to meet our crew members! ? Paolo our captain, Matt our cruise director, and Ezra our bartender are here to help our singles find love while aboard the #RealLoveBoat! ?️❤️ pic.twitter.com/LllcmF1jLU — CBS (@CBS) September 19, 2022
What is ‘The Real Love Boat’ about?
Twelve singles, five women and seven men, will board The Real Love Boat during the premiere, where the hosts and the crew members will greet them and guide them through the show’s process.
The cast of The Real Love Boat includes:
Alisa Shah (24) from San Diego, CA
Brett De Laura (36) from Dana Point, CA
Brooke White (34) from Los Angeles, CA
Daniel Cooper (25) from Atlanta, GA
Emily Stone (24) from Colgate, WI
Forrest Jones (30) from Houston, TX
Jordan Malabanan (26) from Windsor, Ontario
Marty Hassett (33) from Charlotte, NC
Michael Gonzalez (35) from New York, NY, and Los Angeles, CA
Nathan Kroger (24) from Cincinnati, OH
Nicole Wong (28) from Vancouver, British Columbia
Shea-Lynn Noyes (28) from Toronto, Ontario
The contestants will compete in a talent show during the premiere, allowing them to get to know one another. And at the end of episode 1, they will participate in the Sail Away ceremony, where the women will choose one man to partner up with. The two men left single will have to depart the show.
The Real Love Boat premieres on Wednesday, Oct. 5, at 9 p.m. ET on CBS.
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