The Pacific Princess (stats: 13,500 tons, 171-m-long) will now unromantically be stripped for its metal and spare parts. The cruise ship departed from Genoa, Italy and arrived to the seaside town of Aliaga in Turkey this week after a challenging trip in a violent storm, which will be its last adventure.
Gavin MacLeod, the Love Boat's Captain performed on the U.S. TV network ABC from 1977 - 1986. The ship was reported to earn Princess Cruises literally millions at the time and by all accounts the show was the catalyst to propel Cruising from the elite sector to appeal to the masses. The "Fun" Ships of Carnival Cruises also capitalized from this wave of enthusiasm for Cruising.
The ship experienced multiple modifications over its lifespan. It was decommissioned for 5 years, and renovation at this juncture would have been simply too costly according to technocrats. So sad that Carnival Group could not step in and save this famous ship from the ultimate shameful ending of being scrapped.
