Jump to content

Dolphin?


Recommended Posts

Hi, I was a former employee (Constanna Shipping) and what a wonderful time I had as well. My stint with Dolphin started as a summer job during college and soon became a means to pay my weekends onboard the vessel. I'll never forget some of the greatest people like Capt. Avdelas, the port captain who was one of the nicest people to work for. Those were great days when Bulgarides owned and operated the ship. I have such great memories. I remember looking at the passenger manifest on a Friday morning. If there were cabins available, I would drive home during lunch to pack, and hop onboard for the weekend! I remember that funny hair drying room! They actually had a room to dry your hair since you couldn't do it in your cabin for lack of electrical plugs. And all you needed was a pink slip of paper to get back onboard.

 

I would volunteer to work the purser's office when the Chief Purser was short on staff just to get to Paradise Beach in Nassau and soak up the sun. Everyone was like family. Of course, I was 20 years old and carefree. I remember sailing with Capt. Ben Haas among other great captains. What a pistol that Captain Ben! He was so funny and great to be around. He was always happy! Always! I never felt like it was work and they spoiled me to no end onboard. Everyone from the Captain, the Engine staff, the Purser's office and the Port office were so friendly and fun. Sure the ship was packed with older people, but I didn't care! I had the beach and the pool deck to myself. It has been over twenty years since then, and although I'm not in the industry, my husband and I cruise once or twice a year, mainly on RCCL.

 

I have to admit, cruising is different, but still lots of fun. The Dolphin was a great little ship and I have great memories of her as well.

 

Hi! We must know each other as I worked with the Dolphin IV since it's Paquet/Constanna/Florida Nautica days. I'm Carlos Ortega and you have brought back may fond memories by mentioning all of our ex-colleagues.

 

I am sure the Chief Purser you used to replace was Maria Torreiro.

 

Tell me who you are. I am trying to get a reunion of ex-Dolphin employees together and would love to include you.

 

You can either reply to this message or send me an email to COrtega777 at aol dot com.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

This photo was taken when I was on the Dolphin, and got asked to sit at the Captains table!!:) It was the highlite of the holiday and I still do not know why I got picked to this day, as I took an evening dress to wear, but the A/C was down and i could not stay in the cabin to long so just put a summer dress on!! I have been done up to the nine's since on other cruises but never been asked back to the Captains table:mad:

 

Lovely memories.

Jean

439801384_ship4(578x535).jpg.018c0b887b8db758c07b7efcccfc25ad.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I started this thread back in October 2004 and folks are still replying! How wonderful! It's been great to read all the messages. Thanks everyone for contributing and as said by pack2much "Thanks for the memories"!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Our very 1st cruise was on the Dolphin IV, what wonderful memories I have of this ship! One year for our anniversary I surprised my husband with another cruise on her, he was so excited, it was like coming home again. We also did the East & West caribbean on Seabreeze and took my parents on their 1st cruise on Seabreeze also... ahhh.... the grand old days of cruising!! I even remember them having the paper "streamers" at Sailaway!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

We took our first ever cruise on Dolphin in 1997. Just a short little 4 day, but it was the best!! First cruises always are. You never know what to expect, so everything is great! I remember the entertainment being Bert Stratton. Believe it or not, Bert is now on the Caribbean Princess and is so popular you need to arrive at his shows an hour in advance. Just to think, we probably saw him when he was first starting out. This was our introduction to cruising, and we are hooked!!;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What were the ports on the DOlphin, seabreese? I have lost all of my pictures and document and would love to get a list of the cruises I have been on . I believe it would of been the mid 90"s whe i would of been on?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As you can see from signiture, I took may cruises on the Dolphin and SeaBreeze...I had such a great time on-board...and got me totally hooked on cruises...So sad to see her beached....(I'm going to go home and get out my pictures and remember her in a much better place!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
Our 1st cruise was also on the Dolphin IV when she was the only ship they had. The Dolphin was sold to a brand new company, Cape Canaveral Cruise Line. They did 2 day cruises with two 4 days a month. We had a fantastic Millenium cruise on her - 6 days- and went on her LAST 4 day in August, 2000. She had been bellowing soot for years and it was going to cost more than a million MORE than they thought to fix her. She probably went to India where they take apart old ships for the scrap. The Seabreeze and Oceanbreeze were sold to Premier which had the Big Red Boat. A bank repossed both ships in the MIDDLE of a cruise. Seasbreeze was in , I think, Nova Scotia, heard Captain announced in middle of night everyone HAD to get off the ship. Anyway, that November, the Seabreeze sank off our NC coast in like 3,000 feet of water- too deep to do anything. There were 35 crew members aboard, all resued by our coast guard. Saw on TV pulling crew up by the pool I had swum in the year before.

LOVED the Dolphin line and SMALL ships. BUT, NCL's Majsety, about 1200 passenger, was built by Dolphin as their Majesty line. It was sold to NCL and is still cruising. It goes to Caribean in winter from Charleston, SC and from Boston to Bermuda in summer. We hate NCL but loved the Majsety, her size, her crew and Captain!

 

Hi...I just read your post. My wife and I were also on that Millenium cruise on the Dolphin. It was fantastic seeing the the last sundown of the Millenium. I think that ship was originally built in 1957 or 58, and there were definite signs of age (especially the "swimming pool" area) but the food and the service definitely exceeded the other cruises i've been on with RCCL and Carnival. We just booked the Western Med. Venice cruise for Nov 13, 2008, on RCCL's Brilliance. I"ll be thrilled if the food and service is even close to what we experienced on the Dolphin

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

My first seven-night cruise was on the Seabreeze. My buddy & I were taking a "guys trip" and when we approached dodge island he saw all the huge pretty ships and said which one is ours....I had to break it to him that we're on that little tub in the back..hahaha Turns out this cruise ended in Miami THE VERY DAY hurricane Andrew hit south Florida. I've never disembarked so fast in all my cruises since.

 

Also, my mother's first cruise was on Premier Cruise line's "Royale" only after I sailed with my buddy and showed mom pics did we realize this was one-in-the-same ship. So Premier had sold it to Dolphin, repainted & renamed her.

 

I heard she sank off the coast of Africa under mysterious circumstances with only a skeleton crew aboard and no passengers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You've got a few things confused. SeaBreeze was a Dolphin ship when Premier bought her and the OceanBreeze (We were on SeaBreeze 5 times, OceanBreeze 3 times.) The Dolphin IV was sold to a brand new company, Port Canaveral cruises. The SeaBreeze was repossesed in, I think, Nova Scotia in middle of a cruise! That was in August. In November she was off the coast of North Carolina on her way to Florida whan she started to sink. This was a local news story for us on the NC coast. There were about 35 crew members on board, all safely removed by Coast Guard helicopter. She sank in like 3500 feet of water - too deep for recovery! I watched a crew member being lifted off the deck by the pool I had been in the year before! We loved the Dolphin line with their old, small ships and miss them! (The Royal Majesty was built by Dolphin but did not sail under the Dolphin name. She is now an NCL ship, the Majesty, and sails out of Charleston, SC and Boston during sumer for Bermuda cruise.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I may sound confused...but that's only cuza the way I write. You may be confused due to the coincidence that SeaBreeze was Premier's Royale before she was Dolphins' SeaBreeze...THEN Premier acquired Dolphin line and in turn..owned this same ship again.

 

So to review the ship we know as Dolphin Cruise lines SeaBreeze I...

 

Built in the 50's with names I do not know...sometime later became Premier's Big Red Boat "Royale".....then became Dolphin's SeaBreeze...then Premier Cruises merged or acquired all of Dolphin. After that I'm fuzzy except I know she sank with a skelton crew and no passengers. To think of the things I did on that ship...good times.

 

Thanks for talking about this ship though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would love to hear more of the details on the end of her sailing career as you seem to know more than I about that last voyage. Where to/from...who owned the ship...why no passengers.etc.

 

And for that matter, where did she start out? I thought I read somewhere built in the 50's..for whom? under what name..when did names change? and from what name to what name?

 

It's difficult to disagree with someone or correct them in a message board without sounding crass or like a know-it-all and I hope I did not. Cuz I've certainly been wrong plenty of times about all kinds of things. I certainly did not mean that. I'm just interested in the history of this ship.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 weeks later...

Like many of you, the Dolphin IV was my first time cruising as well. I thought the ship was soooo cool. My brother and I won the shuffleboard contest-me 24 him 10. The ship looked so big....until a HAL or RCCL ship pulled in next to us in the Bahamas. I couldn't even imagine being on a ship that BIG. I spent every night in the disco in the basement. What fun!

 

Dinner was nice but I can honesty say that tha was the first and last time I ever had set dining and the specter of dressing up for dinner. I loved the food though. I told everyone who'd listen about the food and how cruises feed you 24 hours a day. I loved the lunch buffets, the midnight buffets-food everywhere! I had a blast in Key West and on that island they had in the Bahamas. Tendering over, the band played "Achky Breaky" calypso style :eek: . I was wonderful. I first heard the Macarena in the Disco, almost a year before it took off in the states.

 

Can you tell I loved my trip?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I started this thread back in October 2004 and folks are still replying! How wonderful! It's been great to read all the messages. Thanks everyone for contributing and as said by pack2much "Thanks for the memories"!

 

 

Back atcha kelleya...thanks to YOU for starting this post! I just got out the photo album. wow, great memories!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I sailed on the SeaBreeze in December of 1996. I have 14 cruises under my belt now, and she is still my favorite. Nino, who was the bar manager on that ship, is now a hotel director for Carnival. We had a nice reunion last year. I also saw Mario on a Celebrity ship, who was an assistant maitre d on the SeaBreeze. I'm still searching for Malara, the maitre d. I heard he was on an Oceania ship. Anyone know?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
Hi! We must know each other as I worked with the Dolphin IV since it's Paquet/Constanna/Florida Nautica days. I'm Carlos Ortega and you have brought back may fond memories by mentioning all of our ex-colleagues.

 

I am sure the Chief Purser you used to replace was Maria Torreiro.

 

Tell me who you are. I am trying to get a reunion of ex-Dolphin employees together and would love to include you.

 

You can either reply to this message or send me an email to COrtega777 at aol dot com.

 

 

I worked on the Mighty Dolphin IV in the gift ship in '92-3. My first and favorite ship.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

First time user here.I hope this gets posted in the right spot.The dolphin cruise line brings back many happy memories.I have sailed on her ships 4 different times.I was also a member of her cruise club which gave you big discounts everytime you sailed with them.Other than being small in size,they certainly made up for it in food and services.I wish i could find that charm on the bigger ships.When a waiter recognizes you from a previous cruise,thats about as good as it gets.I miss that cruise line!!!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We were on the Oceanbreeze for New Years way back in 1992!!! Malara was the assistant Maitr'd. On the old Dolphin - which is still our favorite ship!- the captain told us Malara would go far as soon as his English got really good. He had been on the Dolphin before the Oceanbreeze. A tablemate THOUGHT she was engaged to him. I learned later he had a wife and kids in Poland which is why he would not leave the ship as the tablemate wanted him to. You should ask about him on the "Where are they now?" board here on cruise critic. Let us know if you find him.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think the old Imperial Majesty WAS the OceanBreeze. The Royal Majesty, built by Dolphin Cruise line in 1992, was bought by NCL. She is now NCL's Majesty sailing out of Charleston, SC in winter season, to this year the Western Carib., and was going to Bermuda from Boston in summer but this year will still be going there but from Philly or Baltimore??? Just got off our 2nd cruise on her and he HATE NCL but lLOVE the old Majsety and her small size!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...