The Final Frontier (DCL without Young’ens)

I am in! And I never fall into the category of reading a trip report for the pictures of happy kids - maybe for the pictures of beautiful ships though! :goodvibes

Ooooo…
Kindred spirits, we may be.

:welcome: and I hope that I can satisfy that desire.
At least a little bit.

Disney Fantasy certainly falls into that category in my opinion.
DCL is one of the few modern cruise lines still paying as much attention to the graceful lines that make a ship grand as they or to the sheer number of passengers and “amenities” that draw the clientele.


However, this one falls into the category of promising a lot of entertainment!! :thumbsup2 Oh, and pretty pictures of a beautiful ship. I already spotted some!

Entertaining? Me? I don’t know about that…
I imagine that the commentary form those reading along will improve things greatly though.
But in the mean time I’ll try to make up for that failing with a few more beautiful ships.

Here’s one that may be more “charming” than it is “beautiful” (but I like her a good deal)…

C00-103_zps20iqinpp.jpg



That’s the one that my better half and I sailed during our honeymoon.
Spoiled us rotten and I’ve been trying to get back on nearly any ship ever since.
The “little ship with the big heart” as her crew refers to her is still sailing in Europe
It would be interesting to board that one again before she gets “retired”.


Speaking of “getting retired”… Here’s a beauty…

C00-106_zpstjuu2puk.jpg


OK, maybe not the livery so much but the ship.
I wrote up a little bit about that one a while back that needs a couple of updates. I believe I’ll fix that post up a bit and put the updated version into this TR.


It’ll give all y’all something to peruse while I’m working on the next update.
(or maybe something to keep your minds off of the impending next update.)


.
 
Bonus Feature 1:
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”The Big Red Boat”





Chances are pretty good that if you’re even reading along within the DCL forum, then you may just have heard of something called: The Big Red Boat. Before it was all said and done several ships would be referred to by this moniker, but in truth (and from a Disney perspective) we’re really talking about one ship in particular. A ship named Oceanic, and this is her story (well an abbreviated version, but you should get the gist of it non-the-less).

This tale begins in 1946 with the creation of “Home Lines”. This was a highly respected Italian passenger shipping company that operated both ocean liners and cruise ships. For the first part of their existence Home Lines purchased and operated existing vessels, and for that reason did not take delivery of their first purpose built ship until 1965. That ship was SS Oceanic. It was built by Cantieri Riuniti dell' Adriatico in Monfalcone, Italy., and designed for both liner and cruise work. Oceanic’s graceful hull first touched the seas 15 January 1963…



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…and entered service on 31 March of 1965 with a transatlantic crossing from Genoa to New York City.



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When built, the ship was seventh largest on record at 782 feet in length and weighing in at 29,000 tons; paltry by today’s standards, but not so then. She was powered by steam boilers (thus the S.S. in her name) and could comfortably make 26.5 knots (30.5 mph). Oceanic was operated by a crew of 560 and could carry up to 1600 passengers. Although capable of plying the open ocean as a swift liner, Home Lines decided to focus on cruising so Oceanic began making regular seven-day runs from New York to the Bahamas with longer cruises to the Caribbean during the winter months. The ship was one of the largest vessels plying the Caribbean trade at the time. With stylish and novel design, vast open-air spaces, indoor/outdoor pool (with a retractable roof no less), and her inclusion of private facilities in all cabins, sailing aboard Oceanic became a New York institution for the next two decades.



B03-004.jpg




It’s at this point where a new player enters the picture. “Premier Cruise Lines” was formed in 1983 by two cruise industry veterans. Their thought was to use older but well maintained ships to offer shorter cruises in Bahamian waters that would be more affordable to families and younger passengers. By using older ships they hoped to allow this new clientele to have the grander and more classic experience of Atlantic crossings from earlier times. They also partnered with Disney (and you knew this was coming), to offer packages that included stays in Orlando with a cruise leaving out of Port Canaveral. That deal also put Disney characters and entertainment aboard their ships. The first vessel acquired by Primer was the 1958 vintage cruiser: “Federico C” formally of the Costa Lines. After renovations and a coat of bright red paint on her hull, she entered service as “Star/Ship Royal” and Primer lines began plying the waters of the Caribbean.



B03-005.jpg




The Oceanic reenters the picture in 1985 when she became the second and largest ship that Primer would own and operate for the better part of the 1980s. Also painted in the now famous (or maybe infamous) and easily recognizable red and white color scheme, the ship was officially renamed “Star/Ship Oceanic” and immediately became known as “The Big Red Boat” in both the advertising and the general public arenas.



B03-006-2.jpg




As much as I like to look at the curves and lines that make up the outside of a ship, I suspect that y’all would like to see a little bit of the inside of this one as well.



One of the staterooms

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the Seven Continents Restaurant

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The entrance to the Starlight Caberet and the Broadway Showroom

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the Sunrise Terrace and the Satellite Café

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The Riviera pools with the "Magradome" retracted

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You could also see Disney’s hand in the usage of space during this time frame as even then areas were set aside for kids including: a “Children’s Recreation” area and small pool on the Primer Deck aft, the Star Fighter Arcade and a “Teen Center” on the Lounge Deck, and an additional “Children’s Playroom” on the Continental Deck.

The years of partnering with Disney were good for the Primer Line. So much so that the folks at Disney decided that running a cruise line was something that they might like to try for themselves. Using what they had learned from Primer and especially from the Oceanic, Disney Cruise Line’s first ships were designed to resemble Atlantic Liners of the past (both inside and out) and to offer impeccable service and entertainment. DCL even went as far as to purposely give up “valuable deck space” just to improve the look and line of their vessels.



An interesting image of the Wonder with a preimer ship in the background

B03-012.jpg




After severing ties with Disney, Primer contracted with Warner Brothers to offer similar character entertainment and continued to do well for a time in the same market. Below are great shots of a brochure for Primer Cruises dating from the period right after the split with Disney. These will give you a really good idea of what you could have expected to see and experience on one of the original “Disney Cruises” aboard the Big Red Boat.



These are fairly large so click on each image to expand the view








Primer Lines grew and acquired additional ships through the late 80s or early 90s. Unfortunately they began running into issues related to the size and age of their fleet as the turn of the century approached. Coupled with management changes, strong competition and changing tastes, the line began to struggle. In a last ditch (and rather misguided) attempt to recapture market share Primer even renamed Oceanic as: “Big Red Boat I”, and acquired three other ships to be named “Big Red Boat II” through “IV”. The intention was to use this common name as a marketing tool and sail the four ships out of different ports on both US coasts. This plan was never fully implemented and by mid 2000, the Primer Line was forced into receivership. The entire fleet of ships was laid up and placed for sale. Most of them would be destined for the breakers, but on 30 December 2000, Oceanic was purchased by Pullmantur Cruises. Pullmantur was a newly-founded Spanish cruise line and they wasted no time putting the veteran liner into service. Renamed simply as “Oceanic” she began sailing out of Barcelona by May of 2001. She served admirably in the Mediterranean for the next decade.



B03-017.jpg




After near a decade if continued elegance, the ship was sold once more to the Japan-based “Peace Boat” organization. Subtly renamed to “The Oceanic”, she departed Yokohama on her first around-the-world cruise under this new flag on 23 April, 2009. According to their mission statements, Peace Boat is an international NGO & non-profit that works to promote peace, human rights, equal and sustainable development and respect for the environment. The ship acted as a cross between a floating university and international ambassador. Her public spaces were adapted to serve as lecture halls, classrooms, offices, workshops and rehearsal/performance areas serving students from the Global University, International Student and Global English and Espanol Training programs. As the mobile home of the Peace Boat organization, the Oceanic sailed for several more years.



B03-018.jpg




She well outlived the various ships that carried the “Big Red Boat” name, but time and money finally caught up to her. Having never been converted to diesel-electric, operating the last true steam liner became too costly for the nonprofit. Expensive repairs to the boilers and engines were looming and it was decided that the maintenance needed was not going to be feasible. Transactions were carried out rather quickly and the final change of hands took place in 2012. Something that left many in the cruising community bemoaning that no real opportunity was made to allow another line to take her on or possibly convert the ship to a hotel. For 47 years Oceanic had plied the world’s oceans. That’s quite old for a passenger ship, but pure economics did her in here.



These are the last images of the ship I can find…

C00-104_zpsmeilhfif.jpg




Docked in Yokohama here the ship was renamed for the final time back to simply “Oceanic” and was brandishing a new “flag of convenience” from the tiny nation of Tuvalu (a fairly common site among ships bound for a breaker’s yard).



C00-105_zpsa8mdnylj.jpg




In June of 2012, shortly after those images were taken, the ship dropped anchor in the waters of Zhoushan, China and scrapping has since been completed on what as the last operational steam powered cruise ship. It’s the end that awaits nearly all ships (ultimately even our personal favorites), but it’s still a bit sad when it comes.



Below are a couple of links for additional sites dedicated to SS Oceanic. I found several others but these are the best that I encountered and supply a wealth of information and images.


http://www.sealetter.com/Jan-01/prem.html

http://www.classicliners.net/SS_OCEANIC.html
 
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I have to admit that after I found the start of this trip report, I read your Experiment 627 trip report over the weekend, so I already read the bonus update! But I loved looking at the pictures twice! I had read about the Big Red Boat, but never knew much about the history of the ship.

One thing that I find interesting is how much the Oceanic still has that old ocean liner look - and that she was built as an ocean liner. Currently only the Queen Mary II of Cunard has been built as an ocean liner, all other ships are simple cruise ships.

I agree that Disney ships are far superior in looks to most modern cruise ships. There seems to be a trend of building floating boxes. Even the Fantasy and the Dream don't have the same beautiful lines as the Wonder. And that duck tail that they added to the Magic... Poor ship!

One thing I found really interesting about the picture of the Oceanic is that you can see how high up the life boats are. I once read something about how the old ocean liners used to have the life boats all the way on the top. And that when you look at the Disney ships, you can see at the pool deck that the plexiglas walls try to mimic the structure of life boats. It is very subtle, but once you know what to look for, you can see it.

Looking forward to your next update!

ETA: I think the ship from your honeymoon looks quite lovely, too! It still has the traditional lines, not the boxy built that is in fashion now...
 
You seem familiar but something is terribly a miss here…

Nope. I is not a miss. I is a dude, dude.

I do hope you brought your presser suit.

Nah. I'll just hold my breath.

Have you sought professional help for that?
It might be in your best interest.

I’m well beyond help myself.

I did. He said I was un-fixable.

You’d find her charming to a fault (with me being the fault)

:lmao:

Embellishment!
No one person can successfully carry any enterprise toward complete perfection.
I’ll need considerable help if this effort is to live up to its expectations of complete and utter failure.

I excell at failure.

His primary job now is to move from being very good to being fabulous if he wants to actually do the performance part of it professionally. Pop artists have the possibility of being in the right place at the right time… Classical instrumentalists have to fight for very limited opening from the first day to their last.

Interesting observations. I don't know if she'll go that route or not... we shall see. She's only just finished grade 9 so she has time to make up her mind still.

If you can find a picture of that builder’s plaque in the internet anywhere other than in my silly TR…
I’ll give you a trove of pointless and unusable bonus points.

If the points weren't "pointless and unusable" then I might be tempted to post it on the net just out of spite.


But I'm far too lazy.

The shore line and backyard party verities are hard to beat when you have good catch and a good cook. But there are a number of roadside camps and establishment littered though out the area where we live that come mighty close. And one of ‘em is just up the road from me.

You lucky ba... uh.... family board.... you lucky guy!

Remember: “married to a Proper Southern Bell”.
I dare not even utter such unimaginable notions as: “do we really need all of this stuff”?
That would immediately lead to: “disharmony aboard this ship”.


Can’t be havin’ that , now can we?

Truer words have not been spoken.

One of many folks that deserve recognition far more than the “celebrities” who’s images are neigh on to unavoidable in our tabloid oriented culture.

Now to be famous, you just have to be famous.
I think I threw up a little bit in my mouth.
 


Interesting read on (the) Oceanic. I had heard of The Big Red Boat but hadn't researched it.
Thanks for the read! :)
 
Loving your TR - and I also got sucked into reading your Experiment 627 report this weekend. Your love of history and all things geeky/scientific cool is truly appreciated here. ;D Can't wait to see what you're cooking up for your next installment!
 
Welcome Agent Python. :thumbsup2
Congrats on surviving the previous black-opp (that required much strength… of foolhardiness, one).

This assignment will be purely diversionary.
I’m simply creating a disturbance to keep our adversaries confused and of the track of the actual strike team. Farce, will be the primary tool. Its liberal use has been approved.

good everything is being prepared in a more casual manor of course all that can change at a moments notice. As always should anyone be captured or found out over the course of the mission all traces of you from the organisation shall be removed and a number 14 will be performed on your Secretary.
 


Ok Rob, I'm reading along.

Seriously, I am.

But every time I come here and try to string together some comments, the proverbial $#!t hits the fan here at work.

In fact, it has taken me 15 minutes just to type this far through this post.

So I'll be back later.

I hope.
 
Why do we read Trip reports?
Good question.

(oh, and consider that last image a foreshadowing of the unspeakable perils to come)
The ship is going to blow up???? :eek: :eek: :eek:

We’re all grownups here
Well, that's debatable.

As of now, our little boy has survived two full decades of our painfully inadequate attempts at parental guidance and is currently a junior in college studying Music Performance and Music Education.
Holy schnikes! A Junior? You are getting old, nemmy.

This is the fourth ship to carry that “Disney” prefix and fly the Skull and Cross Bones…
I mean… the Ears and Cross Waves…

Oh… you know… the DCL flag…
:rotfl2: Well, that would be an accurate statement for pirate night. pirate:

That’s actually the cruise document booklet and luggage tags required for us to board the Disney Fantasy for one glorious week in May while sailing through the Eastern Caribbean. Well I guess we’re committed now; the money has done been spent and the paperwork has done been issued.
And the check apparently cleared since they sent the documents.

Custom pens and a pencil box seemed like it’d fit the bill. COTS materials were requisitioned
(Commercial Off-the-Shelf) and construction activities were initiated. We found some unfinished wood boxes on-line and painted them all up. Then I designed the images, printed those on transparent labels and applied them to the boxes.
Wow. Great idea! Even you can come up with one once in a while.

That ought’a do us for a week.
(heck, that ought’a do a family of twelve for a week)
Unless the young'uns really are young. :crazy2: :faint:

Remember… I told you not to click on it!
Yeah, but I'm glad I did. I look forward to seeing more!

Chances are pretty good that if you’re even reading along within the DCL forum, then you may just have heard of something called: The Big Red Boat. Before it was all said and done several ships would be referred to by this moniker, but in truth (and from a Disney perspective) we’re really talking about one ship in particular. A ship named Oceanic, and this is her story (well an abbreviated version, but you should get the gist of it non-the-less).
Ok, I've seen this before. Probably from one of your past TR's? :confused3 Either way, it is an interesting story. Thanks!
 
I have to admit that after I found the start of this trip report, I read your Experiment 627 trip report over the weekend, so I already read the bonus update!

:eek: You did? And the bonus features?
Can I get you a sedative; call you a doctor?
That cannot have been good for your mental wellbeing.

But thanks for doing so.


But I loved looking at the pictures twice! I had read about the Big Red Boat, but never knew much about the history of the ship.

One thing that I find interesting is how much the Oceanic still has that old ocean liner look - and that she was built as an ocean liner. Currently only the Queen Mary II of Cunard has been built as an ocean liner, all other ships are simple cruise ships.

I agree on all of these counts. It was an interesting decision by Home Lines to go that route with their first purpose built ship. But then again, the Italians were producing fabulous ships around that time, so I’m not surprised that she turned out so well. It’s often just a matter of a few breaks and business deals that determine whether a great ship survives. Many have been lost long before the end of their prime. This was one of the great exceptions.

Lord I’d also love to travel abroad the QM2 some time. Unless Cunard builds another sometime in the future, she may well be the last of a kind.


I agree that Disney ships are far superior in looks to most modern cruise ships. There seems to be a trend of building floating boxes. Even the Fantasy and the Dream don't have the same beautiful lines as the Wonder.

The Panamax concept may be economically prudent, but we do lose out on the grace and grandeur that once defined ocean travel. That is a shame. I’ll also agree that the extra two decks and widening of the hull that required do spoil the new sister’s looks a bit (especially as seen directly ahead or astern), but they do have better lines than nearly all their contemporaries.


And that duck tail that they added to the Magic... Poor ship!

Poor ship indeed.
Necessary for the added weight, but still…

RCCL did a rather nice job with those ships they lengthened by adding an additional section amid ship. I wonder if that approach might not have served DCL a little better (while also increasing the Magic’s capacity). It not like they didn’t build her in two halves in the first place.


One thing I found really interesting about the picture of the Oceanic is that you can see how high up the life boats are. I once read something about how the old ocean liners used to have the life boats all the way on the top. And that when you look at the Disney ships, you can see at the pool deck that the plexiglas walls try to mimic the structure of life boats. It is very subtle, but once you know what to look for, you can see it.

I have never heard of that particular design detail, but as soon as you said it, boom! There they are!
They just jump right out at you. Disney is a master when it comes to details and that is a rather grand one right there.


Looking forward to your next update!

Thanks! And I promise, I am working on that update.
Work and life are interfering, but I am working on it.


ETA: I think the ship from your honeymoon looks quite lovely, too! It still has the traditional lines, not the boxy built that is in fashion now...

“Nordic Empress”, commissioned in 1990 by RCCL as the first ship purpose built for short cruses.
We were aboard in April of 1991 and found her to be simply enthralling. Long since drowned out by the quest for size and capacity, that one is a little jewel from another time.
 
Nope. I is not a miss. I is a dude, dude.

Well I’m glad we got that straightened out.


Nah. I'll just hold my breath.

Ya’ know… That might just work.
Besides, I’m pretty sure the cold wouldn’t bother you anyway…


I did. He said I was un-fixable.

We should start a club for the perpetually mentally busted.


I excell at failure.

Then you’ve come to the right place.


Interesting observations. I don't know if she'll go that route or not... we shall see. She's only just finished grade 9 so she has time to make up her mind still.

Yep, still time for her to save herself.

…but the world still can’t have too much art
(or too many crazy people).


If the points weren't "pointless and unusable" then I might be tempted to post it on the net just out of spite.

And I’d have only been slightly surprised….


But I'm far too lazy.

But I figured that would be the cause that won the day.


You lucky ba... uh.... family board.... you lucky guy!

I do believe you had it right the first time.


Now to be famous, you just have to be famous.
I think I threw up a little bit in my mouth.

Understandable…
Would you like to borrow my bar of lifebuoy?


Interesting read on (the) Oceanic. I had heard of The Big Red Boat but hadn't researched it.
Thanks for the read! :)

You welcome sir.
Supplying unwanted information is one of my few refined talents.
 
Loving your TR –

Awwww, shucks.

Oh, and :welcome:


and I also got sucked into reading your Experiment 627 report this weekend.

Oh my… That makes two of you!
I hope you pulled through the ordeal.
On the upside, you now have cause to ignore me when I direct these other foo… I mean…
Fine readers and Dis-ers toward links back into that abyss.


Your love of history and all things geeky/scientific cool is truly appreciated here. ;D Can't wait to see what you're cooking up for your next installment!

Such pressure! I don’t know if I can handle…

Wait! Yes I can. I’m all about pointless information.
It’s one of the many things I’m “full of”.

You can tell from the title of this TR and the offerings thus far, that there is a secondary theme running through this one. But being as you’ve read one of my others (and are you sure you’re all right after that? I’m a bit worried about you) you are already aware that I can take a left turn into nearly any blind alley at a moment’s notice.
Read with caution.
 
good everything is being prepared in a more casual manor of course all that can change at a moments notice.

It’s a known, known.
Fortune favors the prepared.


As always should anyone be captured or found out over the course of the mission all traces of you from the organisation shall be removed and a number 14 will be performed on your Secretary.

Understood.

I may need to warn my PA about that though.
The mere specter of an enacted 14 is the type of consequence that requires considerable mental preparation.
She may want to rethink her choice of profession.
 
Ok Rob, I'm reading along.
Seriously, I am.

But every time I come here and try to string together some comments, the proverbial $#!t hits the fan here at work.

In fact, it has taken me 15 minutes just to type this far through this post.

So I'll be back later.

I hope.

I believe you, but take your time.
You know I’m more Tortoise then Hare when it comes to updates.
:rolleyes:
 
Following along sir.

:welcome:

And I’m very glad to have you along, sir.
Hope fully, you won’t find my drivel too mind numbing.

Just keep the mouse-pointer near the back-button.
It’s the only way to safely read my “work”
 
Good question.

Back already? Are you sure that’s wise?
And… what were we talking about again?


The ship is going to blow up???? :eek: :eek: :eek:

Well… something will likely blow up before this mess is all said and done.
Probably your mind.


Well, that's debatable.

OK… then except for the DisDads, we’re all grownups here.

Better?


Holy schnikes! A Junior? You are getting old, nemmy.

Getting?
You mean there’s still some time left before I’m actually “old”?
:woohoo:


:rotfl2: Well, that would be an accurate statement for pirate night. pirate:


And it’s simply a shame that they don’t actually hoist a Jolly Rodger on those evenings.
Yeah, it violates about 74 maritime regulations and could technically even be seen as placing the ship in danger, but it’d still be a cool touch.


And the check apparently cleared since they sent the documents.

They do have to follow their Prime Directive, ya’ know.


Wow. Great idea! Even you can come up with one once in a while.

I thought about arguing the point, but I’d have to have one first.
Not to mention there are just some things that come under the heading of pure futility.


Unless the young'uns really are young. :crazy2: :faint:

“It was like getting ready for extended deep-sea diving…”

And I do not miss it.


Yeah, but I'm glad I did. I look forward to seeing more!

“More”, you’ll certainly be getting.
I won’t be making assertions as to the state or quality of that “more”…
But there will certainly be more of “it”.


Ok, I've seen this before. Probably from one of your past TR's? :confused3 Either way, it is an interesting story. Thanks!

Yeah, sorry about that.
That was the result of another conversation I was having.

More recent events changed a few of the important details in that story so I also wanted to update it a mite. I also had in mind posting something (anything) for folks to at least read while waiting on the chapter.



Besides, you at least, should already know better than to actually read bonus Features.
 
Wow, I'm already at the bottom of page 2! Glad to find this TR here; will be back to catch up later.
 
We should start a club for the perpetually mentally busted.

I'll be treasurer.
I've always wanted to misappropriate funds.

…but the world still can’t have too much art
(or too many crazy people).

::yes::

Understandable…
Would you like to borrow my bar of lifebuoy?

No thanks. I prefer Palmolive.
It has a nice, piquant after-dinner flavor - heady, but with just a touch of mellow smoothness.
 

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