Most of us think of the big names currently in the industry when someone mentions a cruise line. Some of us have an extended knowledge of cruising and can therefore name a bunch of the smaller companies as well. There are many cruise lines from ghost’s past that used to be at the top of their game, but for different reasons ended up going out of business or merging, to be largely forgotten.
History buffs will especially enjoy this: I give you seven former cruise lines that either you have never even heard of, or had long forgotten about.
1. Crown Cruise Line
Crown Dynasty in Key West in April 1995. photo: Ray Blazevic via Wikipedia
This small, upper-class cruise line was founded in 1984 and based in Boca Raton, Florida. Their first ship was called Viking Princess, and operated out of San Diego before being transferred to Palm Beach for Bahamas sailings. The line bought a second ship from a Spanish shipping company, and it underwent a refit to become a cruise ship in 1986. After another ship joining the line, a 45,000 terminal was built for Crown at the Port of Palm Beach in 1990. The recession and Gulf War in 1991 affected consumer spending for cruise vacations, and the line had to scale back their business. Crown Cruise Line was split in two by their parent company, Grundstad Maritime, and part became Palm Beach Cruises, and the other part was turned over to Commodore Cruise Line. All together, Crown Cruise Line had five ships of their own before the business fell apart and they were all leased or sold to other operators. The cruise line officially ceased to exist in 2001.
2. White Star Line
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