Premier Cruise Lines

Premier Cruise Lines
Company type	Cruise line
Industry	Transportation
Founded	1983
Founders	A.E. Merhige; Bruce Nierenberg;
Defunct	1993
Headquarters	Cape Canaveral, Florida
Products	Cruises
Parent	The Dial Corporation (1985-1996); Premier Cruises (1996-2000);

Premier Cruise Lines, a subsidiary of Premier Cruises, was a cruise line headquartered in Cape Canaveral, Florida.^[1]^[2] From 1985 to 1993, it operated as the official cruise line of Walt Disney World and used the trademark "The Big Red Boat," referring to the distinctive color scheme of some of its ships.^[3]

Company history

Premier Cruise Line was formed in 1983 by A.E. "Ed" Merhige (Florida Export Warehouse/International Cruise Shops) and Bruce Nierenberg (NCL), two cruise industry veterans.

The line's first ship was the former Federico C from Costa Cruises, which was renamed Royale. In 1985, Premier acquired its second ship, the Oceanic, from Home Lines. In 1988, the Atlantic replaced the Royale. That same year, the line expanded further by purchasing the Sun Princess from Princess Cruises and renaming it Majestic. All ships would later receive the "StarShip" prefix in the line's marketing.

Premier typically operated three- and four-day Bahamas cruises from Port Canaveral, Florida. During the 1980s, the company earned over $20 million annually on gross revenues of $100 million. Premier successfully positioned itself as a family-focused cruise line, particularly appealing to grandparents traveling with their children and grandchildren.

Walt Disney World partnership

Starting in 1985, Premier partnered with Walt Disney World, to offer seven-night land and sea vacation packages on The Big Red Boat. Under this partnership, Premier was licensed to feature Disney characters on its ships until the relationship ended in 1993.^[4] Disney then launched its own cruise ship line in 1995.

Following the end of the Disney contract, Premier affiliated with Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes characters to maintain its family-friendly image.^[5] Under the leadership of 20-year cruise veteran Jim Naik, the company returned to profitability, despite operating an aging fleet of Italian-designed ships competing against newer, larger vessels. Naik achieved profitability in his first quarter with the company.

The line was later acquired by Dial Corporation, which also owned Greyhound Lines. Under CEO Bjørn Stensby, Premier expanded from one to six ships, operating itineraries in the United States, Bahamas, South America, the Caribbean, and Europe. By the fall of 1997, when Stensby resigned as chairman and CEO, Premier had grown to annualized revenues exceeding $200 million, an operating profit above 20%, and over 3,000 employees. With 5,500 lower berths, Premier Cruises was then the largest privately held cruise line in the world.

Following new ownership in 1997, the Atlantic was sold to the expanding MSC Cruises.

New ownership and rebranding

Premier's parent company, Dial, sold the cruise line after posting profits in 1995, 1996, and 1997. New ownership and leadership followed, with Larry Magnan appointed president in 1998.

After the acquisition, Premier Cruise Line, Dolphin Cruise Line, SeaWind Cruises, and Direct Cruises fleets were merged and rebranded as Premier Cruises. A new ship profile logo was introduced, with blue funnels and blue hulls, except for the Oceanic, which retained its red hull. Premier also acquired the former SS Rotterdam, renaming her Rembrandt. The line's first ship, the former Royale (later Seabreeze as part of Dolphin Cruise Line), returned to Premier after nearly ten years.

Under the new ownership and management led by Bruce Nierenberg,^[6] Premier changed its business strategy, ending marketing agreements with international partners such as Thomson Holidays and Pullmantur, and repositioned several ships back to the United States.^[7]^[8]

In 1999, Premier again rebranded, reverting to the red "P" logo on a white funnel and introducing "Seven Star Service." The company planned to rebrand its primary fleet as "Big Red Boats."^[9] However, plans to rename Rembrandt as Big Red Boat IV were canceled following public outcry over altering the former Holland America flagship.

Premier announced plans to reorganize as Premier Cruises Corp., operating under the Big Red Boat brand, the MexiCruises brand (with Seawind Crown and planned charters of Triton and Odysseus), and a transitional "blue-ship" brand intended to feature newbuilds and temporarily include the SeaBreeze.^[9]

Newbuilds

In 1999, President Bruce Nierenberg announced that the new blue-hulled "new-ship" brand would receive its first newbuild by the end of 2002, with an order of at least five ships.^[9]

In March 1999, Premier bid to acquire the former Eugenio C, investing $25 million in refits and renaming her Big Red Boat II.^[10] Toward the end of 1999, the Oceanbreeze was chartered to Imperial Majesty Cruises, which later purchased her in May 2000.

In December 1999, Premier launched new round-trip Mexico cruises from Cancún, chartering Triton from Royal Olympic Cruises. However, due to low demand, the charter was canceled after one month, and the ship was returned to Royal Olympic on January 2, 2000.^[11]

Bankruptcy

On September 14, 2000, Premier Cruises filed for bankruptcy and ceased all operations. Passengers on active cruises were docked and flown home on a first-come, first-served basis after the company's primary lender seized its fleet, which had been put up as collateral.^[12]^[13] The ship seizures disrupted vacations for about 2,800 passengers. Premier's Big Red Boat I in Nassau, Bahamas; Big Red Boat III in Cozumel, Mexico; and the Rembrandt and SeaBreeze in Halifax, Nova Scotia.^[14]

Premier's Seawind Crown, under charter to Spanish tour operator Pullmantur Cruises, continued operating in the Mediterranean. Most of the 1,700 passengers disembarked from the Rembrandt and SeaBreeze in Halifax were flown back to their points of origin, though several hundred boarded Big Red Boat II for its return voyage to New York, where it was reclaimed by Ocean Marine.

The shutdown resulted in approximately 270 shoreside employees at the company's Port Canaveral headquarters losing their jobs. Employees were informed of the shutdown upon arriving at work on September 14.^[14]

Legacy

The SS Oceanic (Big Red Boat I) remained in service until 2012, after which she was sent to Yokohama for scrapping.^[15] Big Red Boat II, formerly Eugenio Costa, was laid up in Freeport, Bahamas, until 2005, when she was sold for scrap and dismantled in Alang, India, later that year.^[16]

The former StarShip Majestic, later known as Ocean Dream, operated in Asia. In 2016, after changing ownership multiple times and being abandoned, Ocean Dream capsized and sank off Laem Chabang, Thailand, leaking oil into the Gulf of Thailand.^[17]^[18]

Big Red Boat III, formerly Carnival Cruise Line's Festivale, was also sold for scrap. The former Frederico C (renamed Seabreeze I) was en route to be scrapped in India when she sank in a storm about 220 nautical miles (407 km) off the Virginia coast.

Finally, the Rembrandt, formerly the Rotterdam, was purchased by the city of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and preserved as a historic landmark.

Former fleet

Ship	Built	In service with Premier	Tonnage	Status
Royale SeaBreeze	1958	1983–1988 1997–2000	21,000 GT	Previously Federico C for Costa Cruises. Sank in 2000.
StarShip Oceanic Big Red Boat I	1965	1985–2000	38,772 GT / 39,241 GRT	Also known as Oceanic for Home Lines, Sold to Pullmantur Cruises in 2000 and to Peace Boat in 2009. Scrapped in 2012.
StarShip Majestic	1970	1988–1995	17,042 GT	Previously Spirit of London for P&O Cruises and Sun Princess for Princess Cruises. Sold in 1995. Capsized and sank in 2016.
StarShip Atlantic	1983	1988–1997	35,143 GT	Previously Atlantic for Home Lines. It later became the MSC Melody for MSC Cruises and the Qing. The ship sank at its berth in Goa, India in 2016. She was later refloated and sold for scrap in 2018.
OceanBreeze	1955	1997–1999	20,204 GRT	Previously Southern Cross, Calypso, and Azure Seas. Sold for scrap in 2003.
IslandBreeze Big Red Boat III	1962	1997–2000	26,632 GRT	Also known as Transvaal Castle, S.A. Vaal, IslandBreeze, and Festivale. Sold for scrap in 2003.
SeaWind Crown	1961	1997–2000	23,306 GRT	Previously known as Infante Dom Henrique and Vasco Da Gama. Scrapped in China, 2004.
Rembrandt	1958	1997–2000	38,645 GT	Previously Rotterdam for Holland America Line. Converted into a hotel and museum in 2004.
Big Red Boat II	1966	1999–2000	32,753 GRT	Also known as Eugenio C / Eugenio Costa for Costa Crociere, and Edinburgh Castle for Lowline Shipping. Sold for scrap in 2005.
Triton	1971	1999-2000	14,194 GT	Built as the Cunard Adventurer, chartered from Royal Olympic Cruises for Mexico Cruises, charter was canceled after one month due to low bookings. Ship was returned to Royal Olympic Cruises.^[11]