Love Boat theme - is it really helping Princess?

[PescadoAmarillo]

11 hours ago, Coral said:

I have thought they have had an identity crisis for years as they really didn't know what demographic they were trying to attract. They keep throwing things at the wall to see what works.

 

Yep, ever since they abandoned their Escape Completely tagline. I thought that one had universal appeal. 

[john watson]

In the UK there has been a programme called "The Cruise" six seasons have been shown.  It's about Princess Cruise Lines behind the scenes and other normal day to day passenger experiences on board.  Some of these are on YouTube.  It did not always portray the line in the best light with issues like searching for forty odd passenger suitcases not delivered  to embarkation port etc.  A lot better than The Real Love Boat which sounded awful.

 

Regards John

[PescadoAmarillo]

9 hours ago, disneyochem said:

I do remember the song and some of the guest stars but I can’t watch the old series now!  I cringe at the inappropriateness of that show!  As a youngster, I certainly didn’t get all of the sexual innuendos, and now I wish I didn’t!  Just ugh on the stalking and sexual misconduct of staff.  I don’t think this show aged well.

I agree completely (but thought I was the only one who felt that way). People will argue that that kind of Aaron Spelling entertainment was simply what we used to watch, but, looking back decades later, I find it horrendous. When we know better, we do better, and I know now that the crew making light of Julie McCoy’s claim that she was being stalked and sexually harassed was not entertainment. 

[Thrak]

9 hours ago, disneyochem said:

I remember watching the original Love Boat as a kid.  We didn’t watch it often since my parents limited our tv viewing hours and my brothers never wanted to watch it!

 

I do remember the song and some of the guest stars but I can’t watch the old series now!  I cringe at the inappropriateness of that show!  As a youngster, I certainly didn’t get all of the sexual innuendos, and now I wish I didn’t!  Just ugh on the stalking and sexual misconduct of staff.  I don’t think this show aged well.

 

My opinion—which I realize posting on a Princess board will not be viewed favorably!

 

Yep. The ship's doctor was the most egregious of the bunch. H was a definite sexual predator.

[Kay S]

14 minutes ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

Yep, ever since they abandoned their Escape Completely tagline. I thought that one had universal appeal. 

"Escape Completely" does not jive with "Best Wifi at Sea."  Although from some recent reports, it sound like what you completely escape is the internet. 🙂

[c-boy]

snow is melting somewhere 

[avonlady6390]

I was on the discovery this past week for the love boat theme with the cast of the original show on board was shocked they were also promoting the real love boat reality show the crew were all wearing t shirts promoting the new reality series I asked my cabin steward if he saw the show I don't think he new what I was talking about even though he had the t shirt on.  They were also selling t shirts with the new show on board as well.  I did watch the first episode I heard CBS cancelled it already.

[Guest ldtr]

Wonder how long it will take Princess to change their marketing to drop all references to the show.

[cr8tiv1]

While we are on missed connections...How about Curtis Stone's Share?  Or Salty Dog Gastro Pub?  Removing Vista Lounge on the Island?  Smaller balconies/no wrap around Promenade?  Princess Live?  Did I miss any (I am sure I did)?

[Honolulu Blue]

2 hours ago, ldtr said:

Wonder how long it will take Princess to change their marketing to drop all references to the show.

I don't think it will take long, maybe a few weeks. 

 

I'm curious - how is the show doing in Australia?

[john watson]

10 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

I stumbled across this on YouTube the other day.  Amazing to look back and see how many well-known stars did guest appearances on The Love Boat!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4YB-YgOI_o&t=117s

 

Andy Warhol appeared on one of them.  It was the status of people wanting to appear on the show that made it.  The story line was generally pathetic, the behaviour of the regular crew was totally unprofessional. The captain was like a beacon of what was knowledge and correct thinking morally.  The time was 1970's just after the hippy era and people were different then.  These days we have a PC culture and people are much more restricted in what they may say. When I tell people what it was like in the workplace in the 1970's people are shocked.  It was a different time.

The "Love Boat" worked well in the 1970's 80's and then "The Cruise" later on was a fly on the wall documentary which was acceptable at hat time.  Currently "Reality TV" is the thing and this is difficult to manage and TV always tries to put in too much of their idea and ruin the reality giving a contrived effect.  This turns out as terrible.

 

 

Regards John

Edited October 31, 2022 by john watson

[Thrak]

18 hours ago, ldtr said:

Wonder how long it will take Princess to change their marketing to drop all references to the show.

 

It would be even better to drop JP. I imagine he was involved in this whole fiasco.

 

15 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

While we are on missed connections...How about Curtis Stone's Share?  Or Salty Dog Gastro Pub?  Removing Vista Lounge on the Island?  Smaller balconies/no wrap around Promenade?  Princess Live?  Did I miss any (I am sure I did)?

 

Actually, that was the Universe Lounge. As for Salty Dog, they have replaced Crooner's with that venue on Enchanted Princess and  Discovery Princess. Not a move likely to make repeat passengers happy.

[cr8tiv1]

@Thrak Goes to show you how long ago I was on the Coral (aka sister to Island). I know, I was too lazy to look up the deck plan.  Another fail; tried to do it with the Medallion Class App.  Even if I selected another ship, it defaulted to the one that I am going to be on next.

 

I do miss that ship.  As for the Royal Class ships...Not to my liking so having been on any of them.

[Kay S]

43 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

As for Salty Dog, they have replaced Crooner's with that venue on Enchanted Princess and  Discovery Princess. Not a move likely to make repeat passengers happy.

I imagine some boy genius somewhere thinks old people drink wine (Vines) and martinis (Crooner's) and that young people drink beer (Salty Dog) so why not kill two birds with one stone?

[DCThunder]

12 minutes ago, Kay S said:

I imagine some boy genius somewhere thinks old people drink wine (Vines) and martinis (Crooner's) and that young people drink beer (Salty Dog) so why not kill two birds with one stone?

There is a Crooners on Enchanted.  I've sat in it many an evening and during the day it's a great place to read.

[jeromep]

On 10/29/2022 at 12:01 PM, SumoCitrus said:

I'm in my 40s. My memories of the original Love Boat TV show are from when I was a small child. You know, from times I stayed at my grandparents house, etc. It's nostalgic but not compelling. I find the Love Boat horn to be cute. I would consider my generation to be the last with any memory of the Love Boat. The recent attempt to "revive" it on CBS went nowhere fast. My guess is that its days as a marketing tool are just about over. Maybe they will maintain a little corner of the ship w/ a shrine to the original show for a few more years.

I feel mostly the same.  I'm also smack dab in my 40s (gee, when did that happen, I don't feel this age), and my memories of the Love Boat were that of a little kid.  I've watched a lot of the episodes as reruns on TV Land, MeTV, and the other rerun networks and the shows are great fun, although very campy.  You get lots of those moments like, "hey that's the priest from MASH," or "what's Florence Henderson doing here... again?"  Nothing they have done recently has caught the original spark.  I haven't read the whole thread, but I don't think anyone has mentioned the Love Boat remake in the late 90s that stared Robert Urich.  I thought that one would have caught on, but it didn't.  I also think that his illness was taking its toll on him and might have impacted production.  Sometimes you really do only catch lighting in a bottle once.

[Thrak]

2 hours ago, Kay S said:

I imagine some boy genius somewhere thinks old people drink wine (Vines) and martinis (Crooner's) and that young people drink beer (Salty Dog) so why not kill two birds with one stone?

 

Then why not have a decent selection of beer?

[namowal]

On 10/29/2022 at 6:54 AM, Daniel A said:

 I still don't watch Love Boat re-runs or on my cabin TV, but I do get a good chuckle every time I hear the Love Boat horn on the Royal class ships.

 

I agree that the show was campy and that it's a little tacky, but sometimes campy and tacky can be amusing and fun.

 Same here.   Not a big Love Boat aficionado, but hearing the theme blasting out of the ship's horn  cracks me up.   Sure, it's kitschy, but kitschy can be fun

[paradiselivin1]

9 minutes ago, namowal said:

 Sure, it's kitschy, but kitschy can be fun

I agree. It's my signal that I've made it on board and vacation has started!

[Roberto256]

On 10/30/2022 at 6:44 PM, Thrak said:

 

Yep. The ship's doctor was the most egregious of the bunch. H was a definite sexual predator.

That's because he had spy tradecraft from Get Smart.

 

It may be different than it used to be, but many of the captain bios mention that he is married to someone

he met on board.   Romano, for instance.

Edited November 1, 2022 by Roberto256

[milogurd]

On 10/30/2022 at 6:38 PM, avonlady6390 said:

I was on the discovery this past week for the love boat theme with the cast of the original show on board was shocked they were also promoting the real love boat reality show the crew were all wearing t shirts promoting the new reality series I asked my cabin steward if he saw the show I don't think he new what I was talking about even though he had the t shirt on.  They were also selling t shirts with the new show on board as well.  I did watch the first episode I heard CBS cancelled it already.

Looks like it can't make it on the mainstream CBS network. It's moving to CBS's online streaming service, Peacock TV.

[Daniel A]

22 minutes ago, milogurd said:

Looks like it can't make it on the mainstream CBS network. It's moving to CBS's online streaming service, Peacock TV.

Peacock is NBC, Paramount is CBS.  I got a promotional e-mail today and if you scroll down to the bottom of the web page, they do have an ad for the Real Love Boat streaming on Paramount+.  I don't usually pay much attention to the promotional materials.  I certainly don't pay any attention at all to 'reality' shows. 

[Cruisin' Firerunner]

On 10/29/2022 at 8:34 PM, SiliconCruiser said:

Princess has been milking this Love Boat stuff for over 30 years after the show went into reruns.  If the company wants to attract a younger demographic, it might be time for them to hire some fresh marketing people.  Otherwise the nostalgia will only attract the boomers and maybe some Gen-Xers.

Even without this version of the "Real Love boat" they have attracted me (Gen-Xer). As a pre-teen I always dreamed of the day I could sail on the love boat....now at the ripe old age of 52 (once I sail) my dream will come true. It may not be the same ship, but it'll still hold the same memories that made me fall in love with cruising. But then again I guess that only reinforces what you are saying about nostalgia 🙂

[MamaFej]

57 minutes ago, Cruisin' Firerunner said:

But then again I guess that only reinforces what you are saying about nostalgia 🙂

I'm not sure why I'm posting this, maybe it's my headache...

The best bit of graffiti I have seen was carved into a restroom toilet paper holder in Sproul Hall at my college in the late 1980s. It said, "Nostalgia ain't what it used to be."

 

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We now return you to your regularly scheduled thread. 

 

[john watson]

On 10/30/2022 at 10:44 PM, Thrak said:

 

Yep. The ship's doctor was the most egregious of the bunch. He was a definite sexual predator.

 

All the crew were trying to set up romantic liaisons.  They always failed as it was never love and we laughed at them whereas passengers fell in love with each other, true love whatever the unlikely circumstances.  Dr Bricker's lifestyle was not a good way which is why he had gone through five divorces and was paying all that alimony.  The humorous side of the crew and their efforts at finding love was the pathetic way they tried and often they targeted the same woman and tried to ruin each others chances testing their friendship group.   It was an ideal way of showing exactly how one should not be behaving.  You do not get this in modern PC programming.

 

Regards John