Premier Cruise Line was a
cruise lineA cruise line is a company that operates cruise ships. Cruise lines have a dual character; they are partly in the transportation business, and partly in the leisure entertainment business, a duality that carries down into the ships themselves, which have both a crew headed by the ship's captain,...
that was headquartered in
Cape CanaveralCape Canaveral is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. The population was 8,829 at the 2000 census. As of 2008, the estimated population according to the U.S. Census Bureau was 10,147...
,
FloridaFlorida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. It was the 27th state admitted to the United States...
. It was at one time licensed as the official cruise line of
Walt Disney WorldWalt Disney World Resort is the largest and most visited recreational resort in the world, containing four theme parks; two water parks; 23 themed hotels; and numerous shopping, dining, entertainment and recreation venues. Owned and operated by the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts segment of The Walt...
and used the trademark "The Big Red Boat" based on the color scheme of some of its ships. Dolphin Cruise Line, a company that became a part of Premier, was headquartered on
Dodge IslandDodge Island is an artificial island in downtown Miami, Florida, United States. It contains the neighboorhood of Port of Miami and the port Port of Miami, the largest cruise ship port on earth....
in Miami.
Premier Cruise Line was formed in 1983 by two cruise veterans and later bought by Dial Corporation who owned the
Greyhound BusGreyhound Lines, Inc., based in Dallas, Texas, USA, is an intercity common carrier of passengers by bus serving over 3,700 destinations in the United States and Canada, operating under the well-known logo of a leaping greyhound. It was founded in Hibbing, Minnesota, USA, in 1914 and incorporated...
Company.
Premier Cruise Line was a
cruise lineA cruise line is a company that operates cruise ships. Cruise lines have a dual character; they are partly in the transportation business, and partly in the leisure entertainment business, a duality that carries down into the ships themselves, which have both a crew headed by the ship's captain,...
that was headquartered in
Cape CanaveralCape Canaveral is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. The population was 8,829 at the 2000 census. As of 2008, the estimated population according to the U.S. Census Bureau was 10,147...
,
FloridaFlorida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. It was the 27th state admitted to the United States...
. It was at one time licensed as the official cruise line of
Walt Disney WorldWalt Disney World Resort is the largest and most visited recreational resort in the world, containing four theme parks; two water parks; 23 themed hotels; and numerous shopping, dining, entertainment and recreation venues. Owned and operated by the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts segment of The Walt...
and used the trademark "The Big Red Boat" based on the color scheme of some of its ships. Dolphin Cruise Line, a company that became a part of Premier, was headquartered on
Dodge IslandDodge Island is an artificial island in downtown Miami, Florida, United States. It contains the neighboorhood of Port of Miami and the port Port of Miami, the largest cruise ship port on earth....
in Miami.
Company history
Premier Cruise Line was formed in 1983 by two cruise veterans and later bought by Dial Corporation who owned the
Greyhound BusGreyhound Lines, Inc., based in Dallas, Texas, USA, is an intercity common carrier of passengers by bus serving over 3,700 destinations in the United States and Canada, operating under the well-known logo of a leaping greyhound. It was founded in Hibbing, Minnesota, USA, in 1914 and incorporated...
Company. The ships typically operated 3-day and 4-day Bahamas trips out of Port Canaveral, Florida. The company was earning in excess of $20 million annually on a gross revenue of $100 million during the 1980s. During the mid to late 1990s, Premier Cruise Line was successfully led by Jim Naik, President and CEO, formerly CEO/President of Royal Cruise Line in San Francisco.
The successful niche that Premier served was the Family Cruise Line, especially attractive to Grandparents sailing with their children and grandchildren. Also, all food on The Big Red Boats (1995-1997) was fresh, not frozen.
Premier operated in conjunction with Universal Studios themeparks, after serving as the "official Disney cruise line". Premier did market cruises as part of a land/sea vacation package including visits to the Disney and Universal Studios theme parks in
FloridaFlorida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. It was the 27th state admitted to the United States...
. Disney decided to start its own
cruise lineDisney Cruise Line is an American cruise line company owned by The Walt Disney Company and headquartered in Celebration, Florida. The business is run by President Karl Holz as part of the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts division...
business and ended its relationship with Premier. Premier then affiliated itself with the
Looney TunesLooney Tunes is a Warner Brothers animated cartoon series which ran in many movie theaters from 1930 to 1969. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and is Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. The regular Warner Bros...
characters to maintain its family friendly image, and was returned to profitability under the direction of 20-year cruise veteran Jim Naik. The company also had an aging fleet of Italian-designed ships competing with newer and larger liners. Mr. Naik brought Premier to a point of profitability in his first quarter with the company. Premier's parent company, Dial (of Dial Soap) who also owned The Greyhound Bus Company, sold the company after posting profits for 1995, 1996, and 1997. New owners and new leadership followed, with Larry Magnum as President in 1998.
The older ships were designed before the current disability acts. Much later, after 1997, Premier was sued under the
Americans with Disabilities ActThe Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is the short title of United States , codified at et seq. It was signed into law on July 26, 1990, by President George H. W. Bush, and later amended with changes effective January 1, 2009. The ADA is a wide-ranging civil rights law that prohibits,...
for not making accommodations for people with disabilities. As a result of stiff competition from larger and newer fleets by other cruise lines, Premier was unable to sell tickets at profit, selling below cost every ticket from July, 2000 onward. Some cruises sold tickets for as little as $120 per person, whereas the operating cost for the company averaged $350. Premier Cruises eventually went into
bankruptcyBankruptcy is a legally declared inability or impairment of ability of an individual or organization to pay its creditors. Creditors may file a bankruptcy petition against a debtor in an effort to recoup a portion of what they are owed or initiate a restructuring...
and folded in September, 2000.
Some Premier ships included the
Majestic (the former
Sun Princess of Princess Cruise Lines), the former Home Lines flagship
OceanicSS Oceanic is a cruise ship owned and operated by Peace Boat. She was built in 1965 by Cantieri Riuniti dell' Adriatico, Monfalcone, Italy for Home Lines...
, the
Atlantic (another former Home Lines ship), and the
Royale, a former Costa liner known then as the
Frederico C. The original four ships had the prefix "Star/Ship" before their names. During Premiers' reorganization in the mid 1990s all but the
Oceanic (
Big Red Boat I) were sold off. Premier then became an amalgamation of Dolphin and Seawind Cruises. Later, the Rembrandt, formerly the
RotterdamThe fifth SS Rotterdam, known as "The Grande Dame", was launched by Queen Juliana in a gala ceremony on 13 September 1958, and completed the following summer. The Rotterdam was the last great Dutch "ship of state", employing the finest artisans from Holland in her construction and fitting out...
of Holland America Line was added to the line.
The
Oceanic (
Big Red Boat I) is still sailing today. On 23 April 2009 she was sold to Japan-based
Peace BoatThe is a global organization headquartered in Japan established for the purpose of building connections internationally among groups that work for peace, human rights, environmental protection and sustainable development...
. The
Big Red Boat II, formerly
Eugenio Costa, was put up for sale and was laid up in
Freeport, BahamasFreeport is a city and free trade zone on the island of Grand Bahama, located approximately east-northeast of Fort Lauderdale, Florida and is a district of the Bahamas....
. It had no potential buyers and remained there until 2005. It was eventually sold to the breakers and was scrapped in Alang, India in late 2005. The
Big Red Boat III, formerly Carnival Cruise Line's
Festivale was also sold for scrap. The former
Frederico C (called the Seabreeze I) was to be scrapped at India but instead sank in a storm off the Virginia coast. Lastly, the
Rembrandt, formerly the
Rotterdam, was purchased by the city of Rotterdam, The Netherlands, to be restored and kept as a historic landmark.
Controversy
In September 2000 the former Premier Cruise Line ship Seabreeze sank under disputed circumstances.
External links