Jill Whelan Hints a 'Love Boat' Remake Is in the Works as She Gushes Over Having a 'Blast' With Her Costars

Though the hit series The Love Boat ended in 1990, Jill Whelan — who played Vicki Stubing, the daughter of Captain Stubing, in six of the nine seasons of the TV series — is on board with potentially rebooting or remaking the series if that were ever an option.

"Who's to say there aren't talks already!" the actress, 58, exclusively told OK! while celebrating Valentine’s Day with Princess Cruises’ Love by Britto restaurant at its New York City shoreside popup, which runs through Friday, February 14.

"When I started working with Princess Cruises as an adult, people started coming up to me and talking about The Love Boat. One of the comments we get is that people watched it with their grandparents. I think it's a good time to remake it. When we get together with the cast on the ship to do a Q&A, people sleep outside of the theater the night before! They want to make sure they can get in! That made me start thinking, 'Maybe there's a way for my character to pop up.' I want to see where she goes!"

The series focused on stories of love and many characters, including Captain Stubing (Gavin MacLeod) as he greeted passengers for the trip of a lifetime. Three made-for-TV movies were made before the series premiered in 1977.

Whelan still gets together with some of her cast members, including Ted Lange (who played Bartender Isaac Washington) and Fred Grandy (who played "Gopher").

"It's crazy that people still talk about it!" she says of her time on the series. "I just saw a picture of John Mayer wearing a Captain Merrill Stubing shirt. That's crazy to me! Also, Reba McEntire was with Snoop Dogg on The Voice and they were caught on camera saying, 'I always wanted to do The Love Boat.' I was like, 'Write those names down!'"

Additionally, Whelan, who is married to Jeff Knapple, is excited about some of her upcoming projects, including working with Lange and Grandy on a podcast. "We're talking to guest stars who were on The Love Boat!" she shares. "We're talking about certain episodes and what happened behind-the-scenes. We've taped a few of those so far. It's like going back to high school! The Love Boat was my high school and my elementary school!"

The star — who has two kids — says her dream podcast guest would be Tom Hanks and Kathy Bates since they were on the show back in the day. "They would be wonderful! I also want to get our old castmates who were on the show, including Ted McGinley, who is on Shrinking," she notes.

Since the blonde babe, who has been divorced twice, has such an affinity toward the show, it makes sense she serves as Princess Cruises’ Celebrations Ambassador.

"It's so great to be back in New York!" the "Empty Nesters" podcast co-host gushes of the event. "I lived here in my twenties! So, to be back here to introduce the Love by Britto restaurant is really special. My relationship with Princess Cruises has been since I was 9 years old. I was a cruiser at a young age. It's lasted longer than any of my marriages! We're on solid ground, so to speak. The popup has such detail — the silverware has hearts on it and the drinks are amazing. I love what artist Romero Britto stands for. I believe it's important we wake up every day and try to have our gratefuls, which is what I taught my kids. I would say, 'You have to do your three gratefuls, and they can't all be the same!' Look for the positive, so being the ambassador, you think of celebrations like birthdays and weddings, but what I really try to encourage people is to think about the personal celebrations. What do you want to celebrate today? I don't care how small it is!"