Take a legendary tropical island, a celebrated ship, add salt water and passengers and what have you got? A trip to Bermuda, of course, aboard the one and only Love Boat!
Stepping aboard the Pacific Princess in New York's harbor, Dick and I were struck by a giddy sense of déjà vu. After having watched dozens of episodes of that classic TV show back in the 1970's, the chance to actually sail aboard the original "Love Boat" was like being reunited with an old friend. The golden mermaid perched at the edge of the Lido Deck pool, the Art Deco trim in the Coral Dining Room, and that graceful staircase sweeping down to Aloha Deck's lobby all seemed hauntingly familiar. It was hard to shake the notion that any minute we would turn a corner and come face to face with Julie or Doc or Captain Stubbing.

While that never happened, we couldn't have chosen a more pleasant means of taking our first trip to Bermuda. Unlike so many of today's mammoth cruise ships where it's easy to get lost in a crowd, the Pacific Princess carries only 640 passengers along with 320 crew members dedicated to making every minute of their guests' on-board experience memorable.

Having two days at sea at the start of the voyage gave us a chance to get used to the four-hour time difference between the Pacific Coast and Bermuda. It was lovely to be able to choose from dozens of activities and enjoy treats that aren't a part of our regular daily routines. Line dance lessons surprised our muscles with a bouncy new regimen. Afternoon tea served by white-gloved waiters to the accompaniment of classical piano music provided an elegant change-of-pace. And the Captain's party and theatrical extravaganzas in the Carousel Lounge were definitely worth dressing up for.

The British Crown Colony of Bermuda resembles an artist's palette of colors. Built of native limestone, houses painted a rainbow of pastel hues have dazzling white roofs terraced to catch every precious drop of rainwater. Lush tropical foliage dots the slopes of this 21 square-mile cluster of islands. Pink sand beaches fringed with clear turquoise water edge the undulating coastline.Our first port-of-call was St. George's, home to the island's first settlers. In 1609, British colonists en route to Jamestown, Virginia were blown off their course by a hurricane and shipwrecked offshore. They survived, but other early seafarers were not so fortunate.

Exploring the harbor by glass-bottomed boat, we learned that Bermuda is practically encircled by the world's northernmost coral reef. A few fathoms down, hundreds of sunken ships share the ocean floor with brilliant fish and sea turtles.

That evening we joined a candlelit walking tour of the "Olde Towne" led by St. George's official Town Crier. Clad in authentic seventeenth-century costume, this impressive personage spun fascinating true tales of the pirates and blockade-runners who once prowled the vicinity. After detouring up a crooked alley to give us a glimpse of Bermuda's famous whistling tree frogs, he showed us around St. Peter's, the historic Anglican church dating back to 1610.

Early next morning the Pacific Princess continued on to her second port-of-call. Bermuda's 60,000 residents are almost equally divided between white citizens and black, most of whom live in and around the modern capital of Hamilton. Front Street, the city's upscale shopping thoroughfare, parallels the waterfront. From the gangway of our ship we walked into a bright pink terminal building and stepped out the other door into a bustling commercial scene. Elegant shops and art galleries mix amiably with islandy souvenir stores and awning-shaded pubs sporting names like Onion Jack's and The Hog Penny. No foreign exchange problems here. Bermuda's dollar is worth the same as ours, and American currency is universally accepted.

A carnival atmosphere reigns in downtown Hamilton every Wednesday evening during tourist season. Front Street is closed off to motorized traffic. Art booths are set up, singers and street-preachers hold spectators spellbound, and young break-dancers exhibit fancy footwork to the blare of a loudspeaker. More island entertainment in the form of calypso singers, limbo dancers, and an authentic steel-drum band awaited us at the Clayhouse Inn later that evening.

The following day, while the ship moved around to the Royal Naval Dockyard (known as "The Gibraltar of the West"), we spent several delightful hours touring the island's scenic south shore with an excellent driver-guide. Visits to elegant beachfront hotels and the imposing Gibbs Hill Lighthouse made us wish we had longer to spend in this glorious, low-key place where the island-wide speed limit is 20 mph, and more acreage per square mile is dedicated to golf than anywhere else in the world.

Maybe next time. Just then, the Love Boat and her crew were waiting to welcome us back aboard.

Did You Know?

Cars were not allowed on Bermuda until World War II. Even today, rental cars are taboo, and each household is allowed to own only one small auto. But motor scooters, pink buses, and comfortable taxi-vans (all of which drive on the left side of the road) are popular alternate means of transportation.