A PRINCESS CALLS AT THE MEXICAN RIVIERA.

Byline: Theo Douglas Staff Writer

ABOARD THE STAR PRINCESS - Don't look now, but the Love Boat is back, and she's bigger than ever - literally.

More than three years after the folks at Princess Cruises dramatically scaled back West Coast excursions to the Mexican Riviera - long their signature route - they restarted regular south-of-the-border service two weeks ago with a ship so big she holds the West Coast size record.

The ship, the newly launched Star Princess, is the 2,000-pound seagoing gorilla of this part of the world. At 951 feet long and 109,000 tons, she's so stout that she wouldn't fit through the Panama Canal and had to port 'round Cape Horn to reach the West Coast.

The ship, which made her inaugural voyage March 10, will serve the Mexican Riviera ports of Acapulco, Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta and Zihuatanejo through April, then offer Alaskan packages from May through September. The Star Princess will resume Mexico itineraries in September.

She's the biggest and among the glossiest ships of her type on the West Coast, matched only in the line by her sister ships the Grand Princess and the Golden Princess, which have similar designs that date to 1998.

This doesn't mean the Star Princess is dated. A two-story atrium paved in marble, a permanent wedding chapel, the largest spa in the Princess fleet and a 24-hour Internet cafe set her apart. The craft, which can carry 2,600 passengers, features more than 700 staterooms with balconies.

Once comfortably housed, passengers may take their pick of three restaurants, which feature wide-ranging cuisine - everything from Southwestern to upscale Italian. They may also peruse a variety of boutiques, as well as a fine-art gallery that offers original works and prints of everything from modern to Norman Rockwell. There is also a casino, of course.

Star Princess' stature, coupled with the Princess line's flexible Personal Choice Cruising program should help the line tap into its Mexican Riviera heyday in the late 1970s, when its Sea Princess was one of two vessels used on ABC's ``The Love Boat'' series.

``In some ways, from a nostalgic and historical standpoint, the 'Love Boat' is still important,'' Princess president Phil Kleweno said of Mexico's coast during the ship's inaugural voyage.

Local experts who follow the cruise industry say that while there's been a reduced demand for Miami- and Caribbean-area cruise packages since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the Southern California market may be underserved.

``You don't take your largest ship and move it around Cape Horn on a vague hunch,'' said Michael Collins, executive vice president of the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau. ``Obviously, you fish where the fish are, and clearly there is a passenger demand out of this part of the world.''

As it re-enters the Southern California market, the company is personalizing cruise options to give passengers more flexibility.

Called Personal Choice Cruising, the concept is centered around a special dining plan that allows passengers to eat dinner whenever they wish between 5:30 and 10 p.m. The option is an alternative to the cruise industry's traditional fixed seating, with assigned dinner seatings and table mates (still available on this cruise). ``We still have a lot of passengers who enjoy dining at the same time every night,'' Kleweno said.

The industry's passenger profile has changed in recent years. Kleweno said, ``The old days when people only thought of shuffleboard are over.'' The cruise clientele has shifted from its 60s to an estimated average age of 53, according to the ``Today Show's'' Peter Greenberg, who also sailed on the inaugural voyage. The younger cruise passengers seek more lively recreational options, he noted.

Star Princess has kept its shuffleboard courts, and they get heavy use once the marine layer burns off each morning. But other, more modern activities abound.

Chief among them is a pool in the stern of the ship that features a wave-making machine so passengers can swim against the current. There are several other pools and hot tubs, a nine-hole putting green, a cyber golf course, a paddle-tennis court and a sports-deck track for power walking.

Inside are a full-service gym, steam rooms and, of course, a spa. Featuring a variety of skin cleansing and massage techniques - plus such exotic rituals as Chakra Stone Therapy, a Lime and Ginger Salt Glow exfoliation and Cleopatra's Secret Bath - the Lotus Spa continues a cruise trend toward such on-board pampering.

IF YOU GO

THE CRUISE: Cruises to the Mexican Riviera leave from the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro. Seven-day cruises are available from September 2002 through May 2003, depending on availabilities, and include day-long stops at Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta.

FARES: Depending on your choice of stateroom, Star Princess packages range from $739 (for an inside stateroom with two beds, on a cruise sailing between Nov. 30 and Dec. 14) to $4,519 (for a grand suite with queen-size bed and private balcony). Additional fees for such on-board activities as cyber golf are typically around $20, and are payable as you go.

OTHER OPTIONS: Princess offers other packages such as Cruise Plus for out-of-towners or folks who'd like to book hotel rooms and spend more time in a particular destination. These packages feature one- or two-night lodging in Acapulco, Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Anaheim or San Francisco and vary from $109 to $279 depending upon destination, length of stay and hotel.

INFORMATION: Princess Cruises information is available at [phone]; www.princess.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) Passengers on the Star Princess cruise ship will find a lavish grand foyer - right down to the elevators.

(2) The Star Princess cruise ship, the biggest recreation vessel on the West Coast, measures 951 feet long and weighs 109,000 tons. The industry anticipates an increase in the popularity of western cruises.

Brittany Murray/Staff Photographer

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IF YOU GO (see text)