Pacific Princess To Be Scrapped

Pacific Princess To Be Scrapped, The Pacific Princess, the true star of the television series ‘The Love Boat’, (and the ship that got most of us interested in cruising in the first place), will soon be no more. Look’s like she’s headed for the scrap heap.

Italy’s La Repubblica is reporting that the ship has been sold to a Turkish demolition firm for $3.3 million. The ship has probably been seen more times than any ship in history, as it became the backdrop for the ABC television series ‘The Love Boat’ from 1977 to 1986.

At the time, it was owned and operated by Princess Cruise Line. Princess sold the ship in 2002 and was operated by Quail Cruises, a Spanish firm until recently. It was seized last year by the Italian Coast Guard and has been docked in Genoa.

The 1971 built ship was tiny by today’s standards. It was just 19,000 tons and carried 600 passengers. Comparison:

Pacific Princess 19,000 tons; 600 passengers
Disney Wonder 83,000 tons; 2400 passengers
Oasis of the Seas 225,282 tons; 6,296 passengers
The Love Boat series aired from 1977 to 1986. It starred Gavin MacLeod as Captain Stubing, Bernie Kopell as the ship’s doctor, Fred Grandy as the purser, Ted Lange as the bartender, and Lauren Tewes as the cruise director. Jill Whelan portrayed the captain’s daughter, Vicki.

One of the most recognizable features of the show became it’s iconic theme, sung by Jack Jones.