MARITIME MATTERS Ocean liner history and cruise ship news
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OceanBreeze, ex Southern Cross, Calypso, Calypso 1, Azure Seas.
From Liner to Cruise ship
Calypso, photo and copyright Peter Knego
In November of 1971, she was laid up at Southampton along with two other aging British liners, CARMANIA and FRANCONIA, then moved to an anchorage in Cornwall's River Fal in April 1972. At a time when most unwanted British liners were being towed off to the scrap yard, SOUTHERN CROSS was sold in January 1973 to Cia de Vap Cerulea SA, Ithaka, on behalf of Ulysses line Ltd. and renamed CALYPSO. That March, she arrived at Piraeus for a complete refitting as a cruise ship.
It took over two years to strip her wood paneling, install private facilities and rebuild the vast majority of her cabins. When she emerged in April of 1975, she was remeasured at 16,500 gt and carried 1000 passengers. Her layout minus the indoor pool was largely retained, although her new decor would best be described as "1970's minimal," with bright accents of color and the widespread use of fire-resistant chromes and plastic. She made her first Mediterranean cruise from Piraeus before moving on to Tilbury and Southampton for a charter to Thomson Cruises. She also experimented with New York-Bermuda Cruises and even transited the Panama Canal for a season of Alaska cruises in 1980. It was during her first visit to Los Angeles that the above photo was taken.
Azure Seas, photo and copyright Peter Knego
That same year, she was renamed CALYPSO I. Ironically, it would be a long time before she would sail through the Panama Canal again. Following her summer in Alaska, she was sold to Eastern Steamship Lines Inc, of Panama and renamed AZURE SEAS. Their remarkably successful Miami to Bahamas three and four night cruises aboard the veteran EMERALD SEAS paved the way for a west coast operation. The AZURE SEAS (shown in her original livery in the above shot at Los Angeles in April of 1981) would sail on three and four night mini-cruises to Ensenada and Catalina.
Azure Seas, photo and copyright Peter Knego
Western Steamship Lines Inc. was formed and a renovation would see a new casino (above view facing port/aft) in place of the forward pool area while the AZURE SEAS was remeasured at 14,673 gt. Her official passenger capacity was now 821.
Azure Seas, photo and copyright Peter Knego
As with most of the public rooms on the ship, the general layout was retained. The above aft/starboard facing view is a look at the Mayfair Lounge (formerly the Smoking Room) on AZURE SEAS, taken with the other interior images on this page on the occasion of her maiden Los Angeles sailing, November 28, 1980. Aside from the circular piano encasement in the center of the room and the wicker chairs and soft furnishings, it is much the same today.
Azure Seas, photo and copyright Peter Knego
In the late 1980's, the Casino was converted to deluxe suites and a conference room, creating a need for a gaming venue elsewhere in the ship. The Rialto Theater was converted into a dual level casino. The former Cinema Lounge is shown above in a forward-facing view before this last modification, with permanently fixed seating, a descending staircase, and modernized appointments.
Azure Seas, photo and copyright Peter Knego
No one could have guessed just how successful AZURE SEAS was to become. A slow start quickly turned into "rave" following, and soon the comfortable ship was well into her third incarnation. AZURE SEAS had a reputation as a friendly ship and is largely responsible for pioneering the "party cruise" experience on the west coast. She is shown in the above image on April 18, 1986 in Western Cruise Line's modified livery with the "W" logo on her funnel.
Azure Seas, photo and copyright Peter Knego
In 1986, rival company Sundance Cruises amalgamated with Eastern and Western Cruise Lines, forming Admiral Cruises. AZURE SEAS was kept on her short Mexico circuits but acquired a new livery, as shown in the above nightime view. Now she sported a black topped, white banded blue funnel with the new company's "five star logo". She spent her final year in Bahamas cruise service out of Ft. Lauderdale in 1991. In the continuing go-round of consolidations and mergers, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line acquired Admiral Cruises and immediately sold off its older tonnage.
OceanBreeze, photo and copyright Peter Knego
Dolphin Cruise Line was looking for a third ship to join the DOLPHIN IV and SEABREEZE 1 and stepped into the picture. Renamed OCEANBREEZE, she was deployed on a new seven night itinerary out of Aruba in 1992. The ship was later moved to Florida and New York-based cruising in 1996. She is shown at Fort Lauderdale in the above image on 21 February 1997.
OceanBreeze, Peter Knego collection
In late 1997, Dolphin, Seawind, and Premier Cruises (all divisions of parent company Cruise Holdings) were placed under one banner, Premier Cruise Lines, Inc. The fleet of ships took on a new dark blue funnel and blue and gold hull livery (aside from the OCEANIC, which remained in a slightly modified form of its "Big Red Boat" scheme). In the above image, OCEANBREEZE is shown (in a post card view) sporting her short-lived Premier Cruises look.
CONTINUE FOR A TOUR OF OCEANBREEZE AS SHE IS TODAY: