Sea of DREAMS
The Love Boat theme song was the soundtrack to my childhood. Every week I watched Captain Stubing, Gopher, Isaac, Doc and Julie navigate a never-ending cast of celebrities through comedic misadventures and romantic escapades, all while visiting exotic ports. They made life on the high seas so appealing that before I’d decided on a career in journalism I had dreams of becoming Julie, the cruise director.
The 1970s show, which ran for nine seasons, introduced the idea of a glamorous cruise vacation – luxury, excitement and round-the-clock entertainment – to the world. But TV bosses surely never could have imagined the true impact the sitcom would have: The Love Boat is credited with officially launching what is these days a $100 billion-plus global cruising industry. Yes, we’ve all gone cruise-crazy – so much so that there are, astonishingly, now at least nine new cruise ships launched every year to meet demand.
On board one of the newest cruise liners, the Sky Princess, it’s nice to see they haven’t forgotten their roots. There are reruns of playing on the TV in your
