Princess cruises announced that it has sold the Pacific Princess, better known as “The Love Boat”, to an unknown buyer.
The sale of the cruise ship is in line with parent company Carnival’s plan to expedite the removal of “less efficient” ships from the fleet.
Pacific Princess first entered the Princess Cruises fleet in 2002 and originally entered service as the R3 for Renaissance Cruises in 1999. The ship offered an intimate cruise experience with only 670 passengers in total, but it offered many of the dining and entertainment options available on the cruise line’s larger ships.
The ship has sailed more than 1.6 million nautical miles, 11 world cruises, and has routes to destinations around the world. In fact, The Love Boat’s ICaptain Stubing and Princess Cruises Ambassador Gavin MacLeod was on the ship’s navigation bridge when she first sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge to start the inaugural season, which sailed from San Francisco to Alaska in 2003.
“Pacific Princess has so many memories and precious experiences for everyone who has sailed it,” said Jan Swartz, President of Princess Cruises. “Pacific Princess offered a traditional form of cruising to unique destinations. While it is difficult to say goodbye to our “love boat”, our world cruise and exotic itineraries continue aboard our medallion-enabled Island Princess and Coral Princess, who have the best WiFi at sea and allow guests to be in touch with loved ones to stay and share vacation memories along the way. “
Another historic moment for Pacific Princess was sailing a throwback cruise that recreated the cruise line’s first route to the Mexican Riviera to mark Princess Cruises’ 50th anniversary on December 3, 2015. Cast members from “The Love Boat” participated in the special cruise including MacLeod, Fred Grandy (Gopher, the chief purser), Ted Lange (Isaac, the bartender), Bernie Kopell (Doc, the ship’s doctor), Lauren Tewes (Julie , the cruise director) and Jill Whelan (Vicki, the captain’s daughter). Along with the guests, they celebrated the role the show played in the five decades long history of Princess Cruises.
Guests making bookings on the Pacific Princess will be notified and given advice along with their travel advisors on how to book another Princess Cruise when operations resume. Those who prefer a refund will also be accommodated.
