"The Love Boat" sails its final trip The MS Pacific, a cruise ship made famous by its appearance in the popular US 1970s television show "The Love Boat," has sailed its final voyage to a ship-breaking yard on Turkey. Called the Pacific Princess when it was central to the long-running comedy, the iconic 13,500-tonne, 171-m-long (561-foot-) vessel will be stripped for its metal and parts, said Ersin Ceviker of the Ship Recyclers" Association of Turkey. Aaron Spelling's "The Love Boat," starring Gavin MacLeod as the ship's captain, ran on the US television network ABC from 1977 to 1986. The show was set on board the Pacific Princess, which mainly sailed from California to the Mexican Riveria. Each week passengers and crew members, caught under the Pacific Princess" romantic spell, engaged in love affairs or humorous encounters during the one-hour show. This ship has undergone several modifications over its lifespan. It had been decommissioned for five years, and renovation now would have been too costly," Ceviker said. Turkey's Izmir Ship Recycling Co. acquired the 42-year-old Pacific for 2.5 million euros ($3.3 million). The vintage cruise liner arrived from Genoa, Italy, at the breakers in the seaside town of Aliaga in Turkey after a difficult trip in a violent storm, Ceviker said. The ship began taking on water and required the help of additional tugboats to make it to Aliaga and arrived there listing on its starboard side. More about: Media, Television, USA