Dolphin?

[arkansascop]

I took my first cruise on the Dolphin in 1983. It was one of my best trips! We were scheduled to go to Freeport and then to Nassau. They said they had received complaints about Freeport so we went up the coast to Port Canaveral. One of the highlights was watching the Space Shuttle take off. It was the first night launch. We were on deck waiting. It took off about 230am. It was something to see! I know I will never forget it. We had a great time and met some awesome people. We hung out with people from our table all the time. Went from dinner to the casino to the disco every night! It was a blast!

I have been shopping for a cruise for my wife and I to take and wondered what happened to the Dolphin and ran across this forum.

[Bonnie J.]

The Dolphin was our 1st cruise also and we LOVED her! We had dinner with three different captains on her. She disappeared when Dolphin Cruise lines went under. Dolphin sold the SeaBreeze and OceanBreeze to Premier (the BIG red boat). They sold the Royal Majestry to NCL. We discovered the Majesty sailing from Charleston, SC and were on her a few times until she was sold to Louis Cruises in England.

We were on the SeaBreeze until she sank off our coast. She was repossesed in Nove Scotia in the middle of a cruise and was sailing back to Miami with a crew of 35. The coast guard pulled all crew off her. Also went on OceanBreeze but she just got old and I think became a gambling ship.

In about 1998 we discovered the Dolphin was still sailing but now for Cape Carnaveral Cruise Lines. She did primarily 2 night cruises. We went on her just before another cruise to Freeport.

And we didn't know what we were going to to for New Year's, the Millenium, 1999 to 2000.

At 10:30am, the day after Christmas we booked the Dolphin for this New Years! We were in our car driving to Port Canaveral at noon that day. We got on the ship around noon the next day. Had a ball and spent New Years Eve tieds up at Mallory Sq. in Key West. A tug moved us by the Navy Pier around 4 then brought us back around 6 to tie up again.

She did some 5 days and in August, of I think 1992, we booked her next to last 5 day before going into dry dock. She never came out.

They discovered it would cost 1.2 million more than they had to fix her engines which had been blowing soot for a while. No one else wanted her so she went to India. India is where they run ships right up on the beach and cut them apart for scrape.

Did you know she started as a freighter. Depending on the captain, she was bulit in 1949, 1950 or 1951. Forgot when she was turned into a cruise ship.

We Loved those smaller ships. Now we sail frequently on Carnival's Fantasy, 2100 passengers. She sails out of Charleston, sc primarily 5 days , one 7 day a month. This is a 4 1/2 hour drive for us!

[skeetns]

Stumbled on this thread today.

The Dolphin IV was our 1st cruise as well.

We were just driving though the Port Canaveral area while on vacation and saw the ship docked.

We went into the terminal and asked when was the next sailing.

It was leaving that afternoon on a 2 day cruise so asked if there was space and how much would it cost .

We booked, parked the car and boarded.

 

I remember the disco at the bottom of the stairs, that the show lounge was always freezing, having to step over the raised doorways and the dining room waiters parading around the dining room balancing ketchup bottles on their heads.

 

The seas were a little rough and on the second day we saw a plastic table from the pool area blow over the rails and float away.

[DeJeLe]

My first cruise was back in the mid eighties on Dolphin Cruise Line, on the Dolphin IV. What ever happened to this cruise line and ship, does anyone know? If I remember, weren't they bought out by someone? Thanks for any help you may give!

I cruised on the SS Seabreeze in the 90's...was on the Eastern caribbean cruise that hit the dock in Cancun...what a mess...Dolphin did ok but it was sold to Premier and the Seabreeze was suspiciously sunk in 2000...so sea sick but took the free cruise next year and was sick again...that was it for cruising for me..lol

[DeJeLe]

Mine too! Like I said the year it ht the dock in Cozumel...but that swaying well the doctor said Mrs. L...you look a lot less green than yesterday..imagine it said with a Ricardo Lamsa accent.

[Laurin612]

Does anyone recall if the Seabreeze had a swimming pool in the bowels of the ship? I swam in a swimming pool on either that ship or the Regent Sun and it was my first and only indoor swimming pool experience on a cruise ship.

[zdcatc12]

She had no bow thrusters so you could feel rough water.

 

I guess it was rough water from the tugboats that would have been required do to no thrusters, but not sure what else no bow thrusters has to do with rough water.

[Bonnie J.]

When the SeaBreeze sank off our coast,it was a local news story. I saw our Coast Guard pulling crew members up via helicopter, (there were 35 crew members) by the pool I had been swimming in the year before.

The SeaBreeze was repossesed in the middle of a criuse in Nova Scotia in August. Never heard what happened to all the passengers who had to get off in the middle of their cruise. She started taking on water in early November off the VA-NC coast on her way back to Miami. The water was/is too deep to go down to see what actually happened/why she took on water they couldn't get rid of.

Premier bought the SeaBreeze and the OceanBreeze. The Dolphin IV was bought by a new company, Cape Carnaveral cruises. WE were on the Dolphin for the Millenium New Years- spent New Years Eve tied up at Mallory Sq. in Key West! About 2002 she was to go into dry dock, had engine problems, but it was going to cost more than 1.2 million they had budgeted to fix her and Cape Canaveral cruise lines didn't have that much more to spend so she went to India.

The Royal Majesty, which Dolphin built, was purchased by NCL and became NCL's Majesty.We sailed on her a few times out of Charleston, SC, before she was sold to Louise Cruises in England. I think she is still sailing.

We really miss those small ships!

[steph569]

I used to be a Purser on the Dolphin. I've read through the comments and agree the A/C was a problem - I used to deal with all the complaints! The cruises were twice a week. Nassau and Nassau/Freeport. It was one of the smallest ships doing these cruises. One of my memories was entering a lifeboat race with another ship's lifeboat/crewmembers. I was the cox and I gave the wrong order and turned the boat the wrong way! At least we came second! LOL:D

 

Lol I probably met you, my best friend and I went on the Dolphin around 1980 and yes it was hot and the cabin so small and the beds were child size, not that we slept LOL, we really did not know what there was to do on the ship, no one advised us so we kind of never left the bar, the bartenders were fun and someone was in our room and messed with our camera ruining some pictures and scribbled some language on back of some pictures and I do not recall the food being that great but we did meet 2 older ladies who were a lot of fun and yes the slots were against a wall and I do not think there were but a few machines and I did not know there was a disco, we did see a comedian, do not recall who, we had fun but it would have been nice if the cruise director had told us of activities to take part in, anyway we came home with quite the sunburn oh and another issue was many of the decks were roped off because they were being painted while we were sailing which I think was not right, we paid a lot to go on the cruise and should have been able to explore all decks but it was fun anyway

[sharky1214]

I remember the Sea Breeze as well. I went 8/90. Does anyone have her history?

[Sherri914]

We, too, sailed on the Dolphin IV. I have our picture taken upon embarkation still hanging in the hallway. We "won" this trip - our first ever cruise. Cape Canaveral sent us a video (VHS) to welcome us to their cruise line. I have to say the ship we boarded looked nothing like the ship in the video! :eek:

 

I remember the elevators never worked the entire cruise, and the crew spoke very limited (broken) "english" at best. The afternoon buffet consisted of burgers and dogs on the lido deck, but the dining room dinners were awesome. Waiters really put on a show. And it was my first taste of calimari and baked alaska. Oh, and don't forget the child-sized beds fastened to the walls. Those were certainly a tight squeeze for my 6'1" hubby!

 

One really good thing about that cruise was the visit to Key West. It was so memorable that it was the first of many subsequent trips to Key West over the last 17 years.

 

I think we were on one of the very last voyages of the Dolphin IV. By the time we sailed, she had definitely seen better days. But it was still a fun and very memorable trip. :)

[zdcatc12]

 

I remember the elevators never worked the entire cruise,

 

That would be ELEVATOR. This is the only ship that I have been on that only had one elevator.

[Sherri914]

Hahaha. That's right. One elevator. I think I nentally blocked that out.

 

 

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[Shadow205]

Me and DH cruised on the Dolphin, too Grand Bahama it was really special, we got to swim with Dolphins etc, but the best was we were asked to sit on the Captains table! still think it was a dream to this day, but, boy do I bore people with those photographs!! Shame she is still not in service, #

Wonderful memories:)

 

Serendipity50, Our first cruise was on the Dolphin IV and we had such a great time. Do you remember the band that played on the excursion boat to Blue Lagoon Island, "Traffic Jam?"

I bought a cassette tape(dating myself,lol) but lost it over the years. Our children who were young at the time still talk about that cruise. I would love to see your pictures. I promise that I will NOT be bored!

[pack2much]

[pack2much]

 

:(

[Bonnie J.]

Our 1st cruise was on the Dolphin in 1985! It was the only ship Dolphin had then. We ate 3 times with different captains. They all told us she had been a freighter turned into a cruise ship, in 1949, 1951 or 1952! She had no stabilizers so you felt it when it was rough! Cape Canaveral cruises bought her when Dolphin died. We were on her next to last cruise before she went to India- it would cost more then they had to fix her. Dolphin Cruise Line got the Island Breeze from Carnival but don't know what happened to her. I don't know who they got the Seabreeze (which sank off our coast!) and the Ocean Breeze from. Then about 1990 they built the Royal Majesty but it was a higher class ship so most did not know it was built by Dolphin.

When Dolphin went down the Seabreeze and the Oceanbreeze were sold to Premier - the big Red boat. The Royal Majesty was sold to NCL. (We cruised on her a few years ago just before she was sold to Louis Cruises in England.)

The Seabreeze was repossessed in the middle of a cruise in Nova Scotia in August. In November they were brining her back to Miami when she started taking on water. It was local news story for us. WE saw the crew being brought up by helicopter next to the pool I had been in the year before. All 35 crew were taken off by helicopter. It was something to watch her bow sink below the water.

WE were on NCL's Majesty a few times. 1200 passengers and enjoyed her but England is too far to go for a cruise now.

We miss those smaller ships and we still have a Dolphin umbrella, visor, towel, sweatshirt and small other stuff!

Edited March 3, 2015 by Bonnie J.

[CCRUZER]

We sailed the Island Breeze out of Montego Bay Jamaica on a Panama Canal partial transit cruise back in 1997.We flew down via Air Jamaica where they offered champagne on every flight.The ship wasn't very full and in somewhat disrepair( I think they were in the process of selling her) ,but it was still a fun and memorable trip. We also sailed NCL Majesty twice out of Charleston as it was in driving distance to home.

[Sand and Seas]

So sad to hear about the Seabreeze. Loved the Dolphin cruise line and their happy employees. Had some wonderful times and still have a $5 casino chip from the Oceanbreeze hanging on my key chain.

[alpal1993]

One of my favorite ships,and reasonable. Whole family could take a cruise together.

[Fluffy2015]

Took quite a few cruises on her .Met my husband of 18 years on there.he worked on dolphin sea breeze ocean breeze among others for several years.Loved those old small ships.

[Bonnie J.]

What did he do on them? Our 1st cruise was on the Dolphin but also sailed many times on all of the Dolphin's then Premier's ships.

 

Once we sailed on the OceanBreeze when she sailed from Aruba to the Panama Canal. That was interesting cruise! Our flight was late leaving Miami (and no one had heard of Rich Airways) so we didn't get on the ship until the midnight buffet was under way! It was also interesting because we had a 4AM breakfast on the last day as we had to leave the ship at 5am for our flight back to Miami! When we got on the plane, the engines weren't even going, no A/C in the plane. We never saw Aruba in the day light!

 

Then we watched our Coast Guard, as a local news story, pulling crew from the SeaBreeze's deck by the pool I had swum in the year before as she was sinking off our coast. The ship had been repossessed in a middle of a cruise in Nova Scotia in August. She was being moved to Miami in November with a crew of 35 when she started taking on water. We watched s her bow just sank below the water.

 

Just realized I posted this a while ago!

[PATRLR]

Wow - we did a few trips on Dolphin line.

 

First one my wife organized on a whim. I remember getting to the pier in Miami and the little Seabreeze was parked around the corner from the Sovereign (or a Sovereign class ship). What a size difference! I think my wife was really worried if we'd like it because we'd been on bigger ships before that, including Sovereign which was the largest ship at the time. I also remember the cab driver saying "That ship has the best food - I hear it all the time". And he was right. Hands down those Dolphin ships we were on had the best food then or now.

 

And we loved that ship. Sure it was old, it was small, but the service was great, the people were great, we just had a blast!

 

Within a year we were back on it with a bunch of our friends. Another great time.

 

Our third Dolphin Line trip I honestly don't remember if it was Seabreeze or Oceanbreeze.

 

Our last Dolphin line cruise was on the Oceanbreeze in 1995 doing what they called "the butterfly". We did 2 weeks, B2B, Southern Caribbean first week followed by Panama Canal the 2nd week. Great feeling getting to the end of that first week, watching people pack up to leave knowing you didn't have to go home. Highlight of that cruise was once we were in the canal, the Captain (who was younger than typical captains and had a thing for my wife, I think) waved us up onto the bridge. There were half a dozen other couples up there, they were serving drinks and appetizers and just having a great time as we went through the locks. You get one heck of a view from up there, that's for sure! And then as we neared the end of the last lock, the captain disappeared and one of his underlings politely ushered us all off the bridge. By the time the crew had to retake control of the ship, we were gone.

 

We also got invited to the Captains table on that cruise, but, I think all of the B2B folks did.

 

Got to see the San Blas Islands. To this day one of the more fascinating ports of call I've ever been too. On our switch over day when back in Aruba, we were encouraged to leave the ship for the day so we rented a jeep and we got out to see the Natural Bridge. Glad we did because by the time we got back to Aruba, it had collapsed.

 

If Seabreeze or Oceanbreeze were still around, I'd go on them in a heartbeat. It's unfortunate that all the small ships these days are ultra expensive to cruise on. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the mega-ships, but the Dolphin Ships were an entirely different experience.

[cindsue]

My very first cruise was on Dolphin, with my mom. It was a group of senior citizens from the mobile home park where my mom lived (after my dad passed away). I was the youngest of the group, at 25, and my mom was second youngest, at 53. Oh what a time we had! We traveled by bus from Bradenton to Miami. Mom and I were seated at a table of elderly ladies who didn't hear very well...poor waiter had to repeat the dessert options over and over and over again...every single night. [emoji15]There was a terrible storm and flooding in one of the ports (somewhere in the Bahamas) and when we came out of our dinner show excursion the water was up to our calves! Needless to say, the ship was rocking and rolling that night. Ahhhh...such wonderful memories. Mom's no longer with us, so I remember that cruise with much love!

 

 

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[goldenrod]

What a tub! Crappie rooms, Crappie food, Crappie entertainment, no room service, worst ship we have ever been on. No wonder they went out of business. Worthless Junk cruise line!

 

 

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