Princess Cruises Plans Anniversary Cruise

Princess Cruises Plans Anniversary Cruise

Back in the late 1970s, the TV show The Love Boat introduced many of us to the very idea of cruising. With a fictional crew helmed by Captain Stubing (Gavin MacLeod), big-name guest stars, an endless array of episodes depicting happy cruise vacations, as well as real Princess Cruises ships as co-stars, the show was like a one-hour prime-time commercial for the industry.
The 640-passenger Island Princess and sister ship, Pacific Princess were the ships on TV. But Princess was actually well established before The Love Boat hit the airwaves in 1977. In fact, the line’s first ship, Princess Patricia, set sail on a 14-day itinerary in 1965.

For nostalgia fans, in 2015 Princess will mark its 50^th year, including with a special 14-day Mexico itinerary embarking December 3, 50 years to the day from the maiden cruise.

The sailing will be on Pacific Princess – a newer namesake of The Love Boat ship. The itinerary will visit some ports from the original voyage, including Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlán, and Manzanillo, and some newer destinations such as La Paz and Loreto.

On board there will be special activities and entertainment commemorating the cruise line’s half-century mark.

“For this significant milestone we couldn’t resist re-creating, with some new touches, the very first cruise our company operated,” said Jan Swartz, president of Princess Cruises.

The line is also promising some “special guests” will be aboard.

The cruise goes on sale May 13.