Any baby boomers and older generations remember "The Love Boat," an incredibly popular TV show about a luxurious cruise ship on which new passengers were greeted by a crew of friendly regulars to "Set a course for adventure, your mind on a new romance." 
The old Pacific Princess was the ship used for that show. Certainly, many scenes were shot on soundstages, but Pacific Princess was television's Love Boat. In light of today's modern fleets, it's somewhat amazing this ship was considered glamorous. Most mainstream cruise ships now weigh in at over 70,000 tons, and some are twice that large and even larger. 
Pacific Princess was 20,000 tons. At 553 feet, she was about half the length of most mainstream ships, and she carried 640 passengers at full capacity, a fraction of what newer ships carry.
Pacific Princess was 20,000 tons. At 553 feet, she was about half the length of most mainstream ships, and she carried 640 passengers at full capacity, a fraction of what newer ships carry.
As people who take more luxurious cruises on lines like Silversea and Oceania will attest, smaller can be excellent too, but this is just a numbers comparison to indicate the changes we have come to accept. The new Pacific Princess, a ship that carries a similar number of passengers as her namesake but weighs in 50% larger at 30,200 tons, is a much more modern, elegant and beautiful ship.
While this ship needed to be retired, or more correctly sold out of the fleet and moved to a less demanding market, we enjoyed our time onboard. We met some wonderful people and always received outstanding service. About my only complaint was that this small ship bobbed radically in the Atlantic as we sailed to and from New York. Somehow, they managed to ceremonially pour champagne into a pyramid of champagne glasses during some of the roughest seas. 
One night at about 3 AM, the room stewards awakened us so they could close the metal portholes in our cabin because they were in danger of leaking as huge waves crashed into them. The newer ships have much improved stabilizers in addition to much greater volume to smooth the ride over occasionally rough seas, and that is definitely a change for the better.
One night at about 3 AM, the room stewards awakened us so they could close the metal portholes in our cabin because they were in danger of leaking as huge waves crashed into them. The newer ships have much improved stabilizers in addition to much greater volume to smooth the ride over occasionally rough seas, and that is definitely a change for the better. 
