In 1974 P & O which by 1960 had become the world's largest shipping company, with 320 oceangoing vessels, acquired Princess Cruise Lines. The first ship they acquired was Island Princess (formally Island Venture). From my job as Assistant Purser on SS Oriana I was sent over to America to help complete the take over from Flagship Cruises.
In April 1975 I was flown to Newport News Virginia where Sea Venture was undergoing transformation to Pacific Princess, we were undergoing dry dock in a navel shipyard, which was rather interesting as we were only allowed in certain areas in the shipyard and any deviation from these area we were likely I recently came across the following Press Kit. to get picked up by the Military Police.
In 1965 Stanley B. McDonald charters Princess Patricia and forms Princess Cruises.
When he sold Princess Cruises to P&O in 1974, he remained President until 1980.
During our time spend in dry dock, Stanley McDonald spent quiet a time on the ship getting to know the ship’s officers and crew. On one occasion he took all the Purser’s staff to Colonial Williamsburg. Unfortunately for me on this occasion I had to stay behind on the ship and man the office singlehanded until the rest of the team arrived back late in the evening rather high on” Mint Juleps”. Until this day l have never visited Williamsburg, but It is defiantly on my wish list.
The first Captain on the newly converted Pacific Princess was John Crichton, in my time at sea he was the most approachable Old Man I sailed with.
Sometime later Pacific Princess was used for filming “The Love Boat”. The deck shots were filmed on the ship, but the interior shots were filmed ashore in a studio. The purser in the series was called "Gopher” but really did not resemble any of our crew on board.
The original Purser's team on Pacific Princess with Captain Creighton and for some reason the Chief Engineer
Gareth Hopes, Annette Moore, David Stott, Katey Shallcross, Jonathan Booth