As Princess Cruises rekindles warm memories of "The Love Boat" with a celebrity guest star reunion aboard its newest ship, it's sad to note that the second of the two vessels used in the TV show has been sold, likely to be torn apart for scrap.
British travel company All Leisure Group has sold the money-losing Discovery - formerly known as Island Princess - for $5 million to a company called Liberty Resources Inc. of Nassau. It's safe to assume the ship (pictured above) is heading for the scrap heap.
When putting it up for sale in February, All Leisure Group said the 43-year-old ship was worth about $16 million. "Although the consideration received is less than the current book value of the vessel, the board's decision to sell Discovery to Liberty also took into account the absence of the future liabilities and other uncertainties associated with many other bids," All Leisure said in a press statement.
Higher bids were received. "Several higher indicative offers were made but had weaker cash-flow profiles given the prospect of staged payments over several years," the company said. "Furthermore, during these extended payment periods, the group would have remained responsible for warranting the vessel and the forthcoming winter lay-up costs of the vessel, together with the costs of meeting the requirements of the dry-docking regime. It was the board's considered view that is was therefore in shareholders' best interests to accept the lower cash offer in full and final settlement." The $5 million in cash has been received by the company.
The farewell to the famous ships - Pacific Princess went to a Turkish scrap yard in February - is sad for ship historians and fans of the TV show. But Princess Cruises continues to enhance and promote its relationship with the program that put its company, and indeed the cruise industry, on the map for most Americans.
When Princess christens its new Regal Princess on Nov. 5 in Fort Lauderdale, the original cast of the TV show will do the honors. And they'll be joined by a who's who of the show's weekly guest stars.
The ships might no longer be sailing, but "The Love Boat" continues to live on through Princess Cruises - and in syndication.
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