I have no idea why I find this story interesting, but I do so bear with me here. The Pacific Princess was operated by Princess Cruise Lines for many years. While that little tidbit is virtually meaningless, the fact that it was The Love Boat is kind of neat. The show was cheesy and all but it was hugely popular and ran on network television for 10 years from 1977-1987. The ship itself became a destination for people who wanted to experience the tv show in real life and while the majority of the footage was filmed on sound stages that replicated the actual vessel, many scenes and some whole episodes were filmed on the Pacific Princess itself.

Many people who have looked at the cruise industry in general claim that The Love Boat was instrumental in reviving what was a moribund pastime among travelers. Today, cruise ships hold many thousand of people and the industry is many times larger than it was during the 1970s and 1980s. The Pacific is quaint by today’s standards holding about 650 passengers. After a long run with Princess the ship was sold in 2002 and changed hands a couple times more before being sent into dry dock by an owner for about $6-million in upgrades. After some work had been completed, the money dried up and the ship sat at the shipyard before being sold to a Turkish scrapping company in 2013. Note the ship’s major league list in these photos. It apparently develops a leak on the way to the Turkey and barely made it home. Sadly, two workers died of carbon monoxide poisoning when working to pump out the hull of the ship the right it.

Everything has a life span, even massive ships that at one time ruled the seas. Captain Stubing was unable to be reached for comment on this situation.

Link: USA Today’s tour and history of the Love Boat aka the Pacific Princess