Princess Cruises has announced the sale of Pacific Princess to an undisclosed buyer.
The ship is the latest to be sold by the cruise line, having offloaded Sun Princess and Sea Princess last year.
The sale is also in line with parent company Carnival Corporation’s plan to accelerate the removal of “less-efficient” ships from its fleet.
Pacific Princess first joined the Princess Cruises fleet in 2002, and originally entered service in 1999 as R3 for Renaissance Cruises.
The boutique-style ship offered an intimate cruising environment, with a total of just 670 passengers, but incorporated many of the dining and entertainment options available on the Princess Cruises’ larger vessels.
Pacific Princess sailed more than 1.6 million nautical miles, 11 world cruises and offered distinctive itineraries to sought-after destinations all over the world.
In fact, The Love Boat’s ‘Captain Stubing’ and Princess Cruises ambassador Gavin MacLeod was on the ship’s navigation bridge as it sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge for the first time to kick off the inaugural season sailing to Alaska from San Francisco in May 2003.
Another historic moment for Pacific Princess was sailing a throwback cruise, recreating the cruise line’s very first itinerary to the iconic Mexican Riviera in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Princess Cruises in 2015.
Attending this special cruise included the cast of The Love Boat who, together with the guests, celebrated the role the show played in Princess Cruises’ five-decade-long history introducing the cruise line – and cruise vacations – to millions of people around the world.
Princess Cruises president Jan Swartz said: “Pacific Princess holds so many memories and cherished experiences to all who sailed upon her.
“Pacific Princess offered a traditional style of cruising to unique destinations. While it’s difficult to say goodbye to our ‘Love Boat’, our world cruise and exotic itineraries continue on board our Medallion Class-enabled Island Princess and Coral Princess, featuring the best WiFi at sea, allowing guests to keep in touch with loved ones and share vacation memories along the way.”
The cruise line said guests with bookings for Pacific Princess will be notified and, along with their travel agents, will receive information on how to book another Princess Cruise when operations resume.
“Guests who prefer a refund will be accommodated,” it added.
Featured image source: Casey Rodgers/Invision for Princess Cruises/AP Images
