Isaac from ‘The Love Boat’ Complained When Real Cruises Introduced Robot Bartenders
In 2014, Royal Caribbean announced that it was going full WALL-E, employing a fleet of robot bartenders on its upcoming cruises. The mechanical mixologists would likely intrigue the ships’ passengers, but at least one person wasn’t amused: Ted Lange, the actor famous for playing Isaac Your Bartender on The Love Boat.
“The first problem with those robots is that they don’t have a mustache,” Lange told NBC News. A furry upper lip, as Love Boat fans knew, was a trademark of the ship’s charismatic bartender.
But there were more practical problems with the Makr Shakrs, the brand name of the robotic barkeeps. “If a couple on a cruise is going into Mazatlan and they ask, ‘Where can we find a great bar?’ the arm can’t tell you,” Lange said. “I have nothing against orange arms, but I would rather see brown arms.”
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Back in 2014, academics agreed with Lange, predicting that robots didn’t pose much of a threat to Isaac and others whose jobs required the human touch. “With hospitality, you can’t disentangle the services from the people who are providing the service,” said Michael Giebelhausen, an assistant professor of marketing at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration. “It’s hard to remove people and replace them with robots.”
NBC News agreed. Did the ship’s photographer have to worry about digital competition? Could a ship carrying hundreds of passengers trust steering by GPS? The only way robots could help Doc was with surgery, right?
Right?
Those questions seem naive in 2025 — of course many cruise jobs can, and might, be replaced by robots, A.I. or other digital competitors. But as of today, the Isaacs of the high seas are the ones looking for new gigs. Royal Caribbean continues to employ the latest line of cyborg soda jerks, and they’re only getting better at their jobs.
About those cruise passengers who would allegedly miss the touchy-feely human interaction? The long scroll of people posting TikToks about their beer-bot experiences don’t seem to be yearning for the good ol’ days.
@safetychris1
“Robot made my drink on the cruise line! Love it!” wrote one cruiser. “I left him some oil for a tip… Hahaha.”
Even Lange admitted he was curious in 2014. “It’s a wonderful novelty,” he said. “I would probably try it out, but when nobody was looking, I would probably paint a mustache on the goddamn arm.”
