Commodore Fleet History

[RETCOL]

We sailed out of New Orleans on the Enchanted Seas and then the Isle in the mid 1990s four times. Does anyone remember Walter, the Cruise Director from those years? He had quite a following at the time. Last time we sailed, they actually started a newsletter called, "Where's Walter" (after the game, "Where's Waldo"). I often wondered what happened to him. He was a master at small ship entertainment and enthusiasm.

 

Also, the Isle was the only ship (out of more than 35 now) that I sailed through a Bona fide Tropical Storm (or depression?). It was on the last full day of the cruise, in the Gulf, headed back to New Orleans. It was really something--bow of the ship so far down in the water, the propellors showed out of the water at the stern--and, of course, then back again. Around midafternoon, the ship rolled on its side so far that all the china and glassware in the dining room on tables which were being set for dinner

broke and some passengers took to the hallways outside their cabins and sat on the floors wearing their lifejackets. I remember a staff member telling me everything would calm down as soon as we reached the mouth of the Mississippi that eve at 11 PM and he was exactly right.

 

My friend traveling with us was dating the Hotel Director who told us that we were going straight through the storm because the Captain was (retiring? going on vacation?, can't remember) after the cruise and had a plane to catch out of New Orleans -- I have no idea if this was true but the man was visibly upset as he told us. Does anyone else out there remember this cruise? - It would have been late Sep or early Oct, 1993 04 1994.

 

In any case, we loved Commodore and really miss those small ship experiences where some of the fun was pretty low-tech (horseracing in the showroom...) and everyone got to know or at least recognize everyone else.

 

Thanks for the memories, everyone...

 

We went on our first two cruises on the Enchanted Isle, 9/96 and 5/97. Like the rest of you, we have such wonderful memories from those cruises. We all had the unforgettable experience of sailing on a classic cruise ship! The Isle was not very big, but she was very beautiful. As has been said, the crew was so attentive and friendly. Do any of you remember Ceasar, the dining room waiter and Aldie, the cabin steward? They were our waiter and cabin steward on both cruises. They were both outstanding. We do remember the delicious bread pudding! Do any of you remember the Green Goddess salad dressing? We were seated at a large table on both cruises. We all fell in love with that dressing. We all would ask for it on our salad. At least once, they had to go back to the kitchen to refill their container, to dress all ten salads! I also wish that I knew the name of a dish and recipe for a warm pasta dish with penne, olive oil, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, and artichoke hearts(I think) served at lunch. Yum! We have sailed on Carnival many times since 1998, and enjoy it very much. However, Commodore Cruise Line and the beautiful Enchanted Isle will always have a very special place in our hearts. Thank you for sharing your memories with us.

[Goulagal]

Retcol,

 

I remember Walter well. I think anyway. Was he about 5'9' Sandy Brown hair? I think I have a picture of him in a pink tutu!

[J & H love2cruise]

We did not know Walter. As far as we can remember, Dan Stapleton was the Cruise Director on both of our cruises. He had a great personality and was always out and about.

 

Yes, we do remember Samuel and Leo. I believe they were both headwaiters and Samuel was the one who sang. Is that right?

 

We haven't ever participated in the horseracing, but I remember seeing people carrying the horses around, all dressed up. That's funny about them being kidnapped for ransom. Poor horsies!

[Goulagal]

We did not know Walter. As far as we can remember, Dan Stapleton was the Cruise Director on both of our cruises. He had a great personality and was always out and about.

 

Yes, we do remember Samuel and Leo. I believe they were both headwaiters and Samuel was the one who sang. Is that right?

 

We haven't ever participated in the horseracing, but I remember seeing people carrying the horses around, all dressed up. That's funny about them being kidnapped for ransom. Poor horsies!

 

The last cruise I went on with Commodore, Samuel was the buffet manager. He actually went and got a whole pecan pie for our table because we told him how good it had been in the dining room the night before...I can still taste it!

[judycruiser]

I loved Commodore cruise line. I cruised almost 50 times on 5 different Commodore ships from 1974 through to the end.

 

I am still cruising (almost at 100 cruises now) but nothing compares to Commodore. The crew was absolutely the best. Those were the good old days!

 

Thanks for bringing back all those wonderful memories.

 

Judy

Little Rock

[gottagoacruzn]

In response to a thread asking about the fate of the various Commodore vessels, here is a history I compiled a few years ago for the old boards (now obliterated) of the entire Commodore fleet. I have updated this to be current to the best of my knowledge.

 

BOHEME: Built 1968 at Oy Wärtsilä Ab, Turku, Finland, for Wallenius Bremen GmbH & Co KG Schiffahrtsgesellschaft, Bremen. Cruising for Commodore. To Hanseatic Caribbean Shipping Co. Inc. (Sally Shipping GmbH), Panama, 1981, continued cruising for Sally-owned Commodore. Sold 1986 to San Donato Properties Corp. (International Association of Scientologists), Panama. Renamed FREEWINDS. Presently in service as a cruise ship exclusively for the use of Scientologists.

 

BOLERO: Built 1972 at Dubigeon-Normandie S.A., Nantes, France, for Fred Olsen & Co., Oslo. Ordered for Södertälje-Travemünde service but chartered to Prinz Linien for Bremerhaven (later Hamburg)-Harwich service. After two months, transferred to Prince of Fundy Cruises for Portland-Yarmouth service; cruising in Caribbean during the winter for Commodore. Seasonal arrangement with Prince of Fundy Cruises and Commodore continued through summer 1976, after which she was returend to Fred. Oslen and put in Newcastle-Oslo service. Chartered 1978 to Stena Line Ab, Gothenburg; renamed SCANDINAVIA. Gothenburg-Kiel service. Refitted 1981 for expected service with Brittany Ferries as TREGOR which did not materialize. Following refit used on various domestic routes for Fred. Olsen, renamed BOLERO. Switched 1990 to Bergen-Newcastle service. Sold 1991 to Color Line A/S, Oslo; renamed JUPITER, returned to Norwegian domestic service. Chartered 1994 to SF-Line, Mariehamn. Used on Viking Line Kapellskär-Mariehamn-Nådendal service. Chartered to Linea Crucero Express 1994, renamed CRUCERO EXPRESS; engaged in Cartagena-Cristobal service. Laid-up St. Petersburg, Florida following end of charter, 1996. Later chartered to Emerald Empress Holdings and renamed SEMINOLE EMPRESS, but did not enter service because of a dispute between Color Line and Emerald Empress Holdings, and continued laid-up at St. Petersburg. Moved to Frederica, Norway 1998, continued laid-up. Sold to Alberta Trading Co., Nassau (Caspi Shipping Ltd., Haifa) 1999; renamed MAGIC I. Crusing from Haifa for Magic Cruise Lines from 2000, following refit at Eleusis. Chartered 2003 to Ocean Club Cruises for cruise service from Port Canaveral under marketing name CLUB MIRAGE. Ocean Club Cruises ceased operations February 2004. Sold March 2004 to Magic 1 Cruise Corp. (Isramco Inc.), Nassau. Chartered 2005 to Israeli tour operator Egged for cruising on the Israeli market. Presently in service.

 

CARIBE: Built 1968 at Orenstein-Koppel und Lübecker Machinenbau, Lübeck, West Germany, as FREEPORT for Miami Terminal Transport Co. (Freeport Cruise Line), Monrovia. Renamed FREEPORT I before entry into service. Miami-Freeport service and cruises. Sold 1973 to Oy Birka Line Ab, Mariehamn; renamed Freeport. Stockholm-Helsinki service. Sold 1974 to Rederi Ab Svea, Stockholm, reanmed SVEA STAR. Helsingborg- Travemünde service. Sold 1976 to Bremer Schiffahrts GmbH & Co. KG, Bremen; renamed CARIBE. Replaced BOLERO on summer Portland-Yarmouth service for Price of Fundy Cruises and winter Caribbean cruises for Commodore. Renamed CARIBE BREMEN 1981. Sold 1981 to Scandinavian World Cruises, Nassau; renamed SCANDINAVIAN SUN. Commenced Miami-Freeport service 1982. Transferred to SeaEscape Cruises Ltd. Nassau (successor company to Scadniavian World Cruises) 1985, continued in Miami-Freeport service. Sold 1992 to Belle Meade Shipping, Monrovia; renamed BALANGA QUEEN, placed in Karlskrona-Gydnia service for Corona Line. Chartered 1994 to Hansatee, Tallinn, transferred to Tallinn-Helsinki and Tallinn-Travemünde service for Tallink. Sold 1994 to Discovery Cruise Line, Panama; renamed DISCOVERY SUN, placed in day cruise service from Port Everglades from 1995. Presently in service.

 

CARIBE I: Built 1953 at A. Stephen & Sons Ltd., Glasgow, Scotland, for Transatlantic Shipping Corp. (Greek Line), Monrovia as OLYMPIA. Transatlantic service and cruising. Laid-up at Piraeus, 1974. Sold 1981 to Sally Shipping GmbH, Bad Schwartau. Originally intended for static use but, following the capsizing and classification as a constructive total loss of proposed future Commodore flagship NAVARINO (see Regency Fleet History, REGENT SEA), renamed CARIBE and extensively rebuilt for cruising at Perama, Greece, and Hamburg, Germany. Name amended to CARIBE I 1984, cruising for Commodore. Sold 1991 to International Shipping Partners, Nassau, renamed REGAL EMPRESS. Cruising for Regal Cruises. Regal Cruises ceased operations 2003, ship sold to Imperial Majesty Cruise Lines. Presently in service.

 

ENCHANTED CAPRI: Built 1975 at Oy Wärtsilä Ab, Turku, Finland, for USSR Black Sea Shipping Co., Odessa as AZERBAYDZHAN. Reflagged in Liberia and renamed ARKADIYA, 1996. To Winchester Navigation Co., Odessa 1996. Chartered to New SeaEscape Cruises, 1997, renamed ISLAND HOLIDAY. Chartered to Commodore 1998, renamed ENCHANTED CAPRI. Laid-up following bankruptcy of Commodore in 2000. Operated several cruises for New SeaEscape Cruises in 2003 while their ISLAND ADVENTURE was in drydock, then returned to lay-up at Freeport, Bahamas. Presently laid-up.

 

ENCHANTED ISLE: Built 1958 at Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., Pascagoula, Mississippi, as ARGENTINA for Moore-McCormack Lines Inc., New York. New York-Buenos Aires service. Sold 1972 to Nederlandsche-Amerikaansche Stoomvaart Maatschaappij (Holland-America Line), Rotterdam; renamed VEENDAM and converted to cruise ship. Laid-up 1972. Chartered 1972 to Agencia Maritima 'Intermares' Ltd. for cruising from Rio de Janiero. Renamed BRASIL. Charter ended 1975, returned to HAL service and renamed VOLENDAM. Transferred 1976 to subsidiary Monarch Cruise Lines Inc., Panama, renamed MONARCH STAR. Returned to HAL 1978, renamed VEENDAM. Sold 1983 to Billinghurst Shipping, Panama (Bermuda Star Line), renamed BERMUDA STAR. Bermuda Star Line bought by Commodore 1990, renamed ENCHANTED ISLE. Renamed HOTEL COMMODORE 1993, hotel ship at St. Petersburg, Russia. Renamed ENCHANTED ISLE and returned to Commodore service, 1994. Following bankruptcy of Commodore in 2000, laid-up at Violet, Louisiana. Renamed NEW ORLEANS September 2003. Departed Violet for breakers at Alang, India, 24 October 2003. Arrived Alang 4 December 2003, breaking up commenced 9 December.

 

ENCHANTED SEAS: Built 1958 at Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., Pascagoula, Mississippi, as BRASIL for Moore-McCormack Lines Inc., New York. New York-Buenos Aires service. Laid-up 1969. Sold 1972 to Nederlandsche-Amerikaansche Stoomvaart Maatschappij (Holland-America Line), Rotterdam; renamed VOLENDAM and converted to cruise ship. Chartered to Monarch Cruise Lines Inc., Panama, 1975, renamed MONARCH SUN. Monarch bought by HAL 1976. Returned to HAL and renamed VOLENDAM 1977, continued under Panamanian flag. To Netherlands Antilles flag 1982. Sold to Banstead Shipping Ltd. (Orient Overseas Line/C.Y. Tung Group), Panama, 1984, renamed ISLAND SUN. Transferred to Tung-owned American Hawaii Cruises 1987, renamed LIBERTE. Remained under Panamanian flag; cruising in Tahiti. Sold to Bermuda Star Line, Panama, 1987, renamed CANADA STAR; QUEEN OF BERMUDA 1988. Bermuda Star Line bought by Commodore, 1990, renamed ENCHANTED SEAS. Chartered to World Explorer Cruises/Semester-At-Sea for service as cruise ship and floating university 1998. Full-time floating university from 2002. Replaced as floating university 2004. Initially to be chartered to World Explorer Cruises for full-time cruising, and refurbishment commenced at Hong Kong June 2004, however charter fell through August 2004 when structural problems were discovered. Sold for breaking up and renamed UNIVERSE November 2004. Departed Hong Kong for Alang, India 19 November 2004. Beached at Alang 7 December 2004 and breaking up commenced shortly after.

 

ENCHANTED SUN: Built 1974 at Kynossoura Dock Yard Ltd, Kynossoura, Greece, for Hellenic Mediterranean Lines, Piraeus. Brindisi-Patras service. Sold to Stena Gulf Line Ltd., Nassau, 1988, renamed SCANDINAVIAN SAGA and chartered to SeaEscape. Chartered to California Cruises, Nassau, renamed PRIDE OF SAN DIEGO, 1991. Renamed TROPIC STAR II, 1992. Renamed STENA ARCADIA 1994, laid-up at Venice, Italy. Sold to Empress Cruise, Nassau, 1997, renamed EMERALD EMPRESS. Laid-up at Freeport, Bahamas. Sold to Yucatan Shipping, Nassau, 1998. Sold to Triple Shipping, Monrovia, 1998, renamed SOFIA. Sold to Commodore Holdings Ltd., Nassau, 1999, renamed ENCHNATED SUN. Laid-up at Freeport following bankruptcy of Commodore in 2000. Sold 2001 at auction to Cardinham International, Nassau, renamed TALISMAN. Sold 2002 to International Shipping Partners, Nassau; Renamed MANISTAL. Continued laid-up at Freeport. Sold to Circle Line Cruises, Nassau, 2003; renamed ST. TROPEZ and commenced service on casino cruises from Ft. Lauderdale. Presently in service.

 

I sailed on the Boheme in 82, my first cruise, didn't know anything at all about cruises, got my feet wet, but then I found RCCL and the rest is history. I've tried NCL Norway, Princess, but always came back to RCCL, they are the best.

[I miss Enchanted Isle!]

http://media.homestore.com/A8RRVY2R-4-LARGE_SCREEN_TOUR.htm?

[Creeks]

Our first cruise was on the Enchanted Isle, sailing out of San Diego to

celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary - we sailed May 4, 1991!

 

Many cruises later, that is still remembered as an enchanted cruise!

[Pennyscandy]

DH and I sailed out of Norfolk VA in 1978 on the Caribe to Bermuda. The ship, we were told could be used as a ferry in the winter and in fact had a couple of cars in it's "hole". Our cabin had twin beds and and a port hole. The dinning room was elegant and the food was wonderful. I just came across a photo of us coming down the gang plank in Bermuda. What wonderful memories. I got so sea sick on that cruise I did not get on another ship for 19 years! As we were leaving Bermuda the ships engines stopped and all the lights went out. DH was in the casino and came back to the cabin, he knew I would be scared. I had dressed in my best outfit just in case we had to abandon ship, don't know what I was thinking. Discovered the patch and have started cruising again, but the excitement of that first cruise is hard to beat.

[moluza52]

Update: The Caribe 1 (later Regal Empress and Imperial Majesty) had been sent to Alang in 2009 and as of this date has been thoroughly destroyed. I saw pictures of the remaining scrap which consisted of some paneling, a few chairs from the dining rooms and a couple of sconces also from the dining room.

[Dolcevita Diva]

In June of 1995, my family cruised out of New Orleans on the Enchanted Isle. We were originally scheduled to sail on the Enchanted Seas but 2 or 3 weeks prior to the sailing date, the Enchanted Seas was damaged by a fire. Commodore brought the Isle to New Orleans and as we were sailing down the Mississippi, the Enchanted Seas could be seen down river as it was getting ready to go into drydock.

 

 

Every time there is another cruise ship "crisis" (such as the current Carnival Triumph situation) I think fondly of Commodore Cruise Lines. My parents and I were aboard the Enchanted Seas for the fire, which occurred on Christmas night in 1994. We were called to lifeboat stations at 3 a.m. on Christmas night, felt like a TV movie...(when they teach you how to brace yourself to avoid snapping your neck if we had to jump overboard and start to lower the lifeboats to muster station level, it makes for an exciting night...). Fortunately, they ultimately were able to extinguish the fire, although we later learned that several crew members were injured doing so.

 

Because our "incident" occurred on Christmas, it took a while for them to rouse tugboat operators, etc.. We were adrift for approx. 2 days in similar circumstances to the Carnival Triumph- no power, no lights, no AC, no running water, no functioning plumbing,....but after we were eventually released from lifeboat stations as dawn was breaking, the fabulous crew immediately started circulating with trays of cookies and brownies to the passengers who were all on deck...That afternoon, one of the entertainers started playing the piano on deck (we were not permitted back to our cabins because the fire doors were closed) because at least IT didn't need electricity.

 

While the situation was VERY unpleasant (trust me, the passengers in the Carnival ship aren't exaggerating), we actually have very fond memories of this cruise because Commodore handled everything during and afterwards MAGNIFICENTLY. Walter was our Cruise Director and he was amazing. He and other crew members shared some of the "inside scoop" with us the next time we sailed with them after the ship had been repaired.

 

And yes, I still love to cruise (and we got to cruise for free for a while after that incident...).

[BS102]

We did two Commodore cruises out of N.O. One of them was the best bargain I ever got: we got the 7 day cruise for two for 100 Jello box tops. I bought theJello for 50 cents each, threw away most of the Jello, and had a wonderful cruise.

[malony33]

Our 1st cruise was on the Caribe many years ago. Everything that could go wrong, did. Anything that could make a cruise horrible occurred during that week.

 

The ship was filthy, the cabin run down and damaged, there was violence among the passengers (unheard of at that time), security and management were useless. When we stepped off that ship at the end of the trip and were back on American soil, we held each other and cried. I had nightmares for months.

 

The full story is far too long to tell, but we were so traumatized it took 10 years for us to take a cruise again.

 

I'm happy for those of you who have wonderful memories of this line, and please do not take personal offense at my comments. We were on the wrong cruise and the wrong "Happy Ship" at the wrong time. Thank God though we were actually threatened several times during the 7 days, we got home physically unscathed.

 

It was a horror.

[razldazlberi]

Our first cruise was on the MS Caribe. Our ship left port only to stop mid ocean approximately 1 hour out of port. The helicopter surrounded our ship flying in a circular pattern coming in closer with each pass. All of a sudden there was yelling cheers and pointing toward the vast open water. Several of the crew lowered a life raft steered toward the woman and rescued her. She was brought aboard our ship with whoops and cheers for the miracle that had just taken place. The woman had been swept off her private sailing craft and was bobbing alone in the water. http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1986-03-18/news/8601170087_1_cruise-ship-sailboat-kelley

The crew on this ship was second to none. They took time to talk to the cruisers getting to know us. They also let us into their lives and told us about themselves.

The food was phenomenal. The entertainment quaint.

One of the ladies in charge of entertainment befriended our group and told us secrets of the ship. (If someone dies onboard they keep them in the cooler with the lettuce) She told us 2 had died on the previous cruise.

Long live the memories of our first cruise and the MS Caribe and crew

Miss the meal calls BONAPETITE!!!!

[medic7876]

I am also grieving the Commodore ships. That's what brought me to this page!!! I also found a couple of Youtube videos of it. DJ Danny replied on one of them

I still have some of the things I bought on that ship. also a couple T-shirts, including the Waxx Radio shirt.

I actually have video of that show(somewhere) & some of the games on that ship from my old camcorder. I just don't know how to transfer it all.

I have some photos on my Facebook page also.

It's good to connect with people who loved commodore also. I've been on may cruises since then---and compare them all to Commodore. :D