Pea-n-Me said:
We captured this picture of The Big Red Boat ll in Freeport in 2003. Amazing when you see it next to Wonder.
Yes, funny when you tell people you're going on a
Disney cruise and they still imagine you're going on the Big Red Boat.
The boat you photographed is no more (read on below):
There were actually three "Big Red Boats" (appropriately labeled
Big Red Boat,
Big Red Boat II and
Big Red Boat III). All three were run by Premier Cruise lines, which back in the 1980s was "The Official Cruise Line of Walt Disney World."
The
Big Red Boat was originally built and launched in 1963 as the
Oceanic of the Home Lines. She did Transatlantic crossings between Canada, England and France until 1985, when she was sold to Premier. Premier changed her name a year later to the
Big Red Boat, and she was in service until 2000. When Premier folded that year, she was sold to the Spanish cruise operator Pullmantur, which gave her back her original name. She still sailing on European itineraries, and here's a recent photo:
The
Big Red Boat II was originally built and launched as the
Eugenio C for Costa cruises in 1966. Originally doing transatlantic routes from Europe to South America, she moved into cruising in 1976 and stayed in the role until 1996, when she was sold Lowline Shipping, who renamed her
Edinburgh Castle and used her on low cost cruises from northern British ports. When Lowline went bankrupt in 2000, the ship was chartered (not sold ) to Premier Cruise Line, becoming their
Big Red Boat II. Premier collapsed less than a year after obtaining her, and she sat in Nassau until March 2005, when she was sold to Indian shipbreakers.
She reached Alang in May and was completely scrapped by December of last year.
The
Big Red Boat III was built as the
Transvaal Castle, launched in 1961 in England for the Union-Castle Line, and served on their route to South Africa from Southampton from 1962 to 1969. The latter year, she was sold to a South African conglomerate and re-named the
Transvaal Castle.
She served on Africa to Britain routes until 1977, when she was sold to Carnival Cruise Line, who rebuilt her in Japan as the
Festivale, the second ship in the fledgling new Carnival line (the first was the
Mardi Gras). In 1991, she was sold to Dolphin Cruise Line who renamed her
Island Breeze, and in 1999 she passed to Premier cruises. They first sailed her as the IslandBreeze, later renaming her
Big Red Boat III.
When Premier folded, the
Big Red Boat III was sold to shipbreakers in Alang, India. She ended up holding the sad distinction of being the first Carnival Cruise liner to be scrapped.
Hulk of the
Big Red Boat IIIin Alang, India, in 2004: