Love Boat with a plot

Thirty years after Love Story sent millions of women reaching for the Kleenex box, stars Ali MacGraw and Ryan O’Neal will mark this milestone anniversary of an entire generation’s “date” movie by christening a Princess Cruises’ Love Boat.

The star-crossed couple reunites on February 16, 2000 in Ft. Lauderdale,to christen the new Ocean Princess, in their first public appearance since the film’s debut in March, 1970. Readers with romantic memories will recall that Ali MacGraw graced the cover of Time magazine that year, in an issue that credited “Love Story” with bringing romance back to the movies after a decade of an increasing amount of sex and violence in the cinema. Both MacGraw and O’Neal earned Academy Award nominations for the film.

There will no doubt be a lot more romance on board after the launch of the 77,000-ton, $300 million Ocean Princess in February, 2000, or a least plenty of room for it. Rising 14 stories and measuring 856 feet in length, Ocean Princess will offer her 1,950 passengers “big ship choice with small ship feel,” providing freedom from traditional cruising regimentation with numerous options in entertainment, dining and accommodations. The sh will begin her inaugural season with seven-night Southern Caribbean cruises through April and move to Alaska from May through September. There is no word whether Princess Cruises guarantees that passengers will “never have to say they’re sorry” after a cruise, but it’s more than likely.