P&O finds Love Boat successor

P&O Princess Cruises has bought its replacement for the Love Boat, star of the 1970s television series, which is being put into retirement. The Pacific Princess, used for the long-running US show, is to be replaced by one of two liners Princess is buying from bankrupt American cruise operator Renaissance for $150m (£98m).

The British firm, awaiting US regulatory decisions on its merger plan with Royal Caribbean and the hostile bid from Carnival, will rename the ship, currently called R3, Pacific Princess.

It will run all year, split between Princess Cruises in the Pacific and French Polynesia for six months and P&O Cruises Australia. The other ship, R4, will be renamed the Tahitian Princess, and be deployed in French Polynesia.