Love Boat Goes To The Breakers

"f86sabre" (f86sabre)
02/22/2014 at 08:38 • Filed to: Shiplopnik

For those of us of a certain age, we remember the cheesy, comedic voyages of the Love Boat as a staple of late 1970s TV. Captain Stubing, Gopher, Doc, Isaac and the blond chick would sleep their way through the passengers, smile and serve drinks. All this happened in a tidy hour format complete with laugh track. Well, the ship that was at the core of the show, the Pacific Princess, has finally sailed its last and is at the wreckers in Turkey. Unfortunately, the Turkish ship breakers are not known for saving furnishings or artwork, so all we will likely have are photos of the ship to remind us of its prime.

Sources: Wikipedia.org, maritimematters.com, bionicdisco.com

DISCUSSION (87)

Slave2anMG > f86sabre
02/22/2014 at 10:02

Kinja'd!!!

imaginaryfriend > f86sabre
02/22/2014 at 10:59

end of an era. D:

would've been more fitting to blow out the bottom and have it be the foundation for a new artificial reef.

EisenBolan, SJW > f86sabre
02/22/2014 at 11:11

I used to watch it every Saturday night with my mother and grandmother when I was in high school. I could not stand the daughter and preferred the first Program Director.

fuck a stupid girl > f86sabre
02/22/2014 at 11:11

Sigh, The Love Boat was before my time unfortunately. My generation's boat based show about humping would be called "SS Btw I Have Crabs, Get Urself Checked"

f86sabre > fuck a stupid girl
02/22/2014 at 11:27

fuck a stupid girl > f86sabre
02/22/2014 at 11:29

Nothing in the comment!

Vie Ventar > fuck a stupid girl
02/22/2014 at 11:34

Well to be fair, what can you say to that?

f86sabre > fuck a stupid girl
02/22/2014 at 11:34

Kinja.

Seems that most of the episodes are on youtube. It was pretty silly.

james-thomas > Slave2anMG
02/22/2014 at 11:52

Let's break this thing down together, objectively.

1) cock head to side at slight angle, slight eyebrow lift, make and hold eye contact

2) maintaining eye contact, slight twist of the torso while straightening head towards the beholden and tilt down head

3) pop head and flash those pearly whites

4) profit!

shitheelandtoe > f86sabre
02/22/2014 at 12:00

Too bad we can't send that crappy show to the wreckers.

captain_spleen > fuck a stupid girl
02/22/2014 at 12:01

I'm pretty sure that *was* the Love Boat's official name.

evil2win > f86sabre
02/22/2014 at 12:10

Although I'm the right age I don't think I ever sat through an episode. This will not be missed.

west-coaster > f86sabre
02/22/2014 at 12:13

C'mon, admit it. Who among us who ever watched that show hasn't done the "Isaac Finger Point" when we want to emphasize something cheesy?

Aliens Ate My Buick > f86sabre
02/22/2014 at 12:17

At least it wasn't the only "Love Boat":

Fuel_of_Satan > f86sabre
02/22/2014 at 12:17

Aww, that's too bad. For some reason I looked up the "Pacific Princess" a while back and was very pleased to see that it was under refitting at the time for continued service. I see the bills were too great for that to happen.

But seeing how cars with movie and TV connections can command a premium, I daren't think of the potential cost of this one on the collectors market. Inevitable end.

yourenoljksetright > f86sabre
02/22/2014 at 12:22

Was the actual boat used at all outside the opening credits and a couple pieces of stock footage?

I imagine all the furnishings and artwork wound up in a dumpster at Warner Brothers studios 30 years ago.

solracer > f86sabre
02/22/2014 at 12:27

I used to think that the most inaccurate part of the show was that it seemed each week one or more of the crew would get involved with one of the passengers. However after going on several cruises in the early '90s after the show ended I learned from crew members that it wasn't all that inaccurate, especially WRT the officers. I even went on a few dates with various younger female crew members that were about my age which was a little surreal when I thought about the show.

ranwhenparked > f86sabre
02/22/2014 at 12:36

Things aren't looking too good for her twin sister Discovery (ex Island Princess/Island Venture ) - her owners have announced that she is actively for sale and will be disposed of when the current charter to Cruise & Maritime Voyages is up at the end of the summer.

aruvqan-myers > f86sabre
02/22/2014 at 12:41

Actually, I saw this ship for sale about 5 years ago for what was owed to the shipyard that had done some work on it. Yup, 5 years ago I could have bought her for under $500 000. Of course, I would have had to had five hundred thousand bucks first. My friends and I joked that we should find 50 people people to all invest in it and treat it like a floating condo - unfortunately the cost of mooring it somewhere at anywhere up to $1000 per linear FOOT per month was a bit offputting, and needing 100 000 gallons of bunker at whatever the cost of marine diesel costs also is a bit offputting. My husband Rob at least would be qualified as a watchstander on her, he spent 20 years as a submarine auxiliryman and has more hours working on marine diesel engines that I care to think about =)

bigether > f86sabre
02/22/2014 at 12:42

Julie. Her name was Julie. I loved that show. In my memory, the ship was huge, but I see now that it's pretty small compared to todays floating hotels.

Highball! > f86sabre
02/22/2014 at 12:48

ranwhenparked > west-coaster
02/22/2014 at 13:03

Kinja'd!!!

It just works on so many levels.

nigelastydameiaburn5 > f86sabre
02/22/2014 at 13:09

Really, it's the boat that saved the cruise industry. Cruising was going nowhere in the '70s and few ships were being built. The Love Boat 's popularity (it ran for ten seasons) revived the whole idea of cruising and the "romance of the seas."

What's remarkable about the Pacific Princess is how small it is compared to today's giants. In the '70s and '80s it was considered large and could hold about 650 passengers, today a big ship like Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas can carry five to six thousand. It can be argued that cruise ships of this size would not exist today without The Love Boat .

A sad ending, sure. But even the most beautiful ships often have sad deaths (look up the Queen Elizabeth and SS Normandie, to name a few). So well done, little lady—goodnight sweet Princess .

Drakkon- Most Glorious and Upright Person of Genius > bigether
02/22/2014 at 13:17

Floating CITIES!

Der Sportwagoner > f86sabre
02/22/2014 at 13:18

Sigh. Looks like it won't be soon making another run. It no longer promises something for everyone. The course will no longer be set for adventure nor will anyone's mind on a new romance.

Old-Busted-Hotness > evil2win
02/22/2014 at 13:37

Too bad. It's a lot more enjoyable as a drinking game.

BigGatorChris > f86sabre
02/22/2014 at 13:42

And now I've got the theme song stuck in my head. Probably for days.

zuludaddy (says Bravo Zulu) > Slave2anMG
02/22/2014 at 13:45

Wow - I'd not known she'd flown the Red Ensign... What was her port of registry?

baddoggy > f86sabre
02/22/2014 at 14:00

Everyday something reminds me that I'm now old. This is my reminder for the day lol

Slave2anMG > Old-Busted-Hotness
02/22/2014 at 14:12

Do tell. What's the buzzword/activity for a drink?

f86sabre > BigGatorChris
02/22/2014 at 14:13

Kinja'd!!!

Filmlandgrab > f86sabre
02/22/2014 at 14:20

Ironically, its sewage system functions perfectly.

Cheesewhiz > bigether
02/22/2014 at 15:02

I actually got to tour this thing once when it was docked in Long Beach, back in probably 1980. It was massive to my 8 year old eyes and the thought of a "cruise" seemed cool. Today, it's more the size of an Oligarch's personal yacht. I also associate cruises with fat Wallmart shoppers and virus-induced ballistic diarrhea. Fair-the-well, Princess.

bill > f86sabre
02/22/2014 at 15:27

Oh man, what an awful show. I do not miss the 1970s.

Mister_Moon > BigGatorChris
02/22/2014 at 15:28

Hum "My country tis of thee" (or "God save the Queen" if you are of that persuasion) and it will go away. It must be true, I heard it on the BBC.

girldriver > f86sabre
02/22/2014 at 15:31

Ah yes, the Love Boat. It was followed by Fantasy Island - Dee plane, dee plane! Pure 70s cheesiness.

But yeah, the ship looks tiny compared to modern cruise ships. Fair weather and following seas...

f86sabre > Fuel_of_Satan
02/22/2014 at 15:39

My folks got to take a cruise on the Pacific Princess a few months before she left the Princess' fleet. They said she was much smaller than modern ships, but being they age they are they said it was pretty neat anyway. Cruising Tahiti didn't hurt either.

Old-Busted-Hotness > Slave2anMG
02/22/2014 at 15:51

Depends on the character you pick.

The details are fuzzy, for some reason.

thenewmrssalazar > Drakkon- Most Glorious and Upright Person of Genius
02/22/2014 at 16:04

You want to talk about a floating City? I got to do an overnight on an aircraft carrier once (yeah I got to do the arrested landing and the catapult take off like I was the damn president, too!!!!) and that thing was MASSIVE. I was afraid to get up to use the bathroom during the night for fear I'd never make it back. But it was seriously huge.

mmmmmbeer > f86sabre
02/22/2014 at 16:19

And, if you were wondering what became of Julie, Your Cruise Director...

Scrape > Cheesewhiz
02/22/2014 at 16:43

Ballistic diarrhea...gotta remember that one!

Soused > Slave2anMG
02/22/2014 at 16:45

Love, exhausted and old
Disembark. The old girl's been sold.
Rust, life's final reward.
Let it go, this break-up is cold.

Love Boat - soon will be scrapped by the iron ton
The Love Boat promises something for everyone!

Soused > Der Sportwagoner
02/22/2014 at 16:46

Enfali > f86sabre
02/22/2014 at 16:55

Man. This like the time Abraham shot Isaac.

cesariojpn > f86sabre
02/22/2014 at 17:32

Kinja'd!!!

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Frank Grimes > f86sabre
02/22/2014 at 17:42

1970's tv show called love boat? I know next to nothing about it but I hate it.

joby > Mister_Moon
02/22/2014 at 18:00

Well, now I've got the Sex Pistols rattling around in my head...

moetop > f86sabre
02/22/2014 at 18:33

Holy cow. I remember it being cheesy, but this is BAD S3E18.. Donny Osmond, Loni Anderson, Slim Pickens, Marion Ross, Robert Guillaume, Rich little, Richard Roundtree. Bad joke , Yuk Yuk Yuk, Bad Joke, Yuk Yuk Yuk, Bad joke, Yuk Yuk Yuk

Drakkon- Most Glorious and Upright Person of Genius > thenewmrssalazar
02/22/2014 at 19:04

Well, just as the concierge like the cruise ship has.

ttyymmnn > f86sabre
02/22/2014 at 19:35

Aw, man. I watched the hell out of that show. The Pacific Princess is a yacht compared to the ships plying the seas today.

Patrick Shea Laking > Soused
02/22/2014 at 19:46

Bad...

Yet somehow, so really, really good...

XJguy > f86sabre
02/22/2014 at 19:46

Sad, was hoping she would be saved.

f86sabre > yourenoljksetright
02/22/2014 at 19:50

They would occasionally shoot external shots on it. Supposedly, they built an enlarged version of the main lounge and staircase on a sound stage for the show.

Spasoje > f86sabre
02/22/2014 at 19:54

Kinja'd!!!

MyOtherName > moetop
02/22/2014 at 20:35

Dear God, this is the Love Boatiest Love Boat episode ever!

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > Frank Grimes
02/22/2014 at 21:24

Watch a few epis on You Tube sometime; you'll hate it even more..

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > nigelastydameiaburn5
02/22/2014 at 21:27

Yeah, at 550ft it's downright tiny compared to what's in the cruising fleet now. Saddest ending for any ship I can think of is the SS United States. I'm surprised it hasn't gone to the breakers yet.

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > ranwhenparked
02/22/2014 at 21:29

Meh. Make her an artificial reef and take the tax write-0ff.

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > f86sabre
02/22/2014 at 21:31

I'm surprised she ended up in Turkey and not the breakers yard in Alang, India. That place is notorious - do a Google map search and check out the satellite image of all the derelict ships moored there. It's unreal.

f86sabre > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
02/22/2014 at 21:47

Apparently there were seaworthiness issues that were so bad they were worried about getting her from Italy to Turkey. Going all the way to India probably would have sunk her. As it was, she took on that list while under tow.

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > f86sabre
02/22/2014 at 22:01

I just read a long article detailing the ship's history since being retired. It's got more lives than a cat, and has been in Philly since '97 waiting for god know what to happen.

Suboptimus Prime > baddoggy
02/22/2014 at 22:37

Tell me about it.

But that show was the suckiest ever. Every week I wanted that fucking boat with its smug crew to run aground.

This is a relic from that special time in the 70s where everything mysteriously got infected by disco. Groovy, man.

baddoggy > Suboptimus Prime
02/22/2014 at 22:38

Haha! Yeah it was shitty but back them it wasn't many options on tv.

Carl (@stuffcarlsays) > f86sabre
02/23/2014 at 00:02

"The love boat, soon won't be making another run. The love boat, is next year's Kias for everyone..."

SirRaoulDuke > nigelastydameiaburn5
02/23/2014 at 00:59

That is what strikes me, just how small this ship is. I went on my first cruise last year and was just amazed at the size of the ship.

ranwhenparked > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
02/23/2014 at 02:22

I believe you're thinking of the SS United States ? The ex Pacific Princess was never laid up in Philadelphia.

Kaufmania: Mark Webber's Stunt Double > moetop
02/23/2014 at 05:07

its 4am you fuck!!! why did you post this.... can't.... look... away.... ARRRGGHH!!!

Kaufmania: Mark Webber's Stunt Double > moetop
02/23/2014 at 06:02

AND ITS TO BE CONTINUED?!?!?!?! YOU SAVAGE!!!!

JForce > Slave2anMG
02/23/2014 at 06:27

Came for this gif only, left satisfied

moetop > Kaufmania: Mark Webber's Stunt Double
02/23/2014 at 07:30

Ya I was going to mention that, but I didn't think anyone would make it through the first one.. :)

TheDanKest > Highball!
02/23/2014 at 08:52

hahahahahahah

RaggedMile > girldriver
02/23/2014 at 08:58

Pedant alert:
Fair "winds" and following seas.

whaden > Old-Busted-Hotness
02/23/2014 at 09:21

You pick a character and drink when on screen. Everyone drinks when there is a full view of the ship.

girldriver > RaggedMile
02/23/2014 at 10:38

Hah! Of course, thank you.

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > ranwhenparked
02/23/2014 at 11:24

Ack! You're right, I confused another post I wrote on the SS United States. This is what I wrote:

Yeah, at 550ft it's downright tiny compared to what's in the cruising fleet now. Saddest ending for any ship I can think of is the SS United States. I'm surprised it hasn't gone to the breakers yet.

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > f86sabre
02/23/2014 at 11:30

I see potential here. Some new paint, upgrade the electronics, correct that 20deg list...

Profit.

Kinja'd!!!

nigelastydameiaburn5 > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
02/23/2014 at 13:48

I saw the SS US when it first came to Philadelphia (I could drive right up to it but not get onboard) and still see it whenever I fly into there since many approaches to Phila. Int'l fly right over it. Yeah, that's also a sad one, and there's always talk of making it a hotel somewhere, but it'll probably end up in the scrap heap like the rest of them.

Cathy Eifrig > moetop
02/23/2014 at 15:08

"My God... It's Full of Stars"

isuzufan > f86sabre
02/24/2014 at 10:10

I like the contrast between when the ship was in its prime, compared with how it looks beached and listing. Kind of a different take on the whole "where are they now" genre.

isuzufan > moetop
02/24/2014 at 10:16

Don't forget John Ritter!

moetop > isuzufan
02/24/2014 at 10:23

I didn't see him in that episode. All those people were in that episode (actually a 2 episode special) It was a "star studded" affair. :)

isuzufan > moetop
02/24/2014 at 12:58

No, you're right. I see now that you were referring to a specific episode from season 3. I was just trying to make a general comment about how the Love Boat era was basically John Ritter's hey-day.

moetop > isuzufan
02/24/2014 at 13:07

Yes it was, and I 1/2 expected to go back and see his name in the list of stars..

Mike_Smith > f86sabre
06/05/2014 at 14:39

Isaac is definitely worth a smile.

aries36 > Slave2anMG
10/14/2014 at 18:44

anyone work on the P.P ? I am lucky. I was a youth counselor its last year doing cruises Bermuda/new York. I actually fell in love head over heal with a casino dealer from Belgium on the love boat. to boot, the whole story was a giant adventurous romance novel..

aries36 > Slave2anMG
10/14/2014 at 18:44