2004 yearend review: smooth sailing for the cruise industry in the wake of last year's record passenger numbers

Cruise Travel, Jan-Feb, 2005 by Theodore W. Scull

Major August and September hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan, Jeanne, and other less severe tropical storms caused widespread changes to cruise-ship itineraries throughout Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean. In some cases, cruises were shortened and embarkation ports changed. Heavy damage to some island ports saw scheduled calls canceled, sending ships to substitute ports, but most ships were able to move away from the storm tracks.

The Bahamian-registered Clipper Odyssey, carrying 126 passengers and 70 crew on a 12-day cruise from Nome to Homer, Alaska, ran aground in the Aleutian Islands on July 31, rupturing freshwater, gray-water, and fuel tanks. Clipper Cruise Line canceled two months of the ship's cruising program, which resumed October 1. The 338-foot/ 5,200-grt Clipper Odyssey, built in 1989, was bought by Clipper in 1999.

For classic-ship aficionados, 2004 was an annus horribilis with so many favorites going off to the scrapyards, mostly in South Asia. They include: Royal Olympia's Stella Solaris (Cambodge of 1953), Stella Oceanis (Aphrodite of 1965), and Apollo or Apollon (Empress of Canada of 1961, then Mardi Gras, Olympic, and Star of Texas); defunct Premier Cruises' Island Breeze (Transvaal Castle of 1961, then S.A. Vaal, Festivale, and Big Red Boat III), Ocean Breeze (Southern Cross of 1955, then Calypso and Azure Seas), and Seawind Crown (Infante dom Henrique of 1961, then Vasco da Gama); defunct Commodore Cruise Lines' Enchanted Isle (Argentina of 1958, also Veendam, Monarch Star, Bermuda Star) and her sister Enchanted Seas (Brasil of 1958, then numerous other names); defunct Regency Cruises' Regent Star (Statendam of 1957, then Rhapsody, Regent Star, and Sea Harmony); Louis Cruise Lines' The Victoria (originally 1936's Dunnottar Castle); Odessa Cruise Co.'s Fedor Shalyapin (Ivernia of 1954, then Franconia); Marchvin's Assedo (Shota Rustaveli of 1967); and Phoenix Reisen's Albatros (Sylvania of 1957, then Fairwind and Dawn Princess).

The Big Red Boat II (formerly Edinburgh Castle, EugenioCosta, and Eugenio C) broke loose from her moorings during one of the several hurricanes that hit the Bahamas this season, but she has since been returned to her lay-up berth. The idle Norway (ex-France) is still tied up in Germany. The SS Independence remains laid up in San Francisco and the SS United States in Philadelphia. Hard to believe, but "Big U" has now been out of service more than twice the number of years (35) that she was in active service (17). Sadly, the liner's last master, Commodore Leroy J. Alexanderson, died in February at the age of 93. The Cape May Light and the Cape Cod Light, of defunct Delta Queen Coastal Cruises, remain idle in Florida.

Another former American ship, the Ocean Explorer--originally built in 1944 as the General W. P. Richardson, and which has had as many names as any ship in history (the best known being the President Roosevelt, Emerald Seas, and Sapphire Seas)--is preparing to go to the breakers. So the oldest ship remaining in the North America market is Imperial Majesty Cruise Line's Regal Empress (Olympia of 1953, then Caribe and Caribe I), setting sail every two days from Fort Lauderdale for Nassau.