Who remembers the Big Red Boat?

[WDWGeek1971]

The only cruise I have ever taken was on "Disney's" Big Red Boat. It was around 1989. I have been wondering if Castaway Cay was the same location as the private island the Big Red Boat Stopped at? Anyone been around long enough to provide information or a pointer to the evolution of DCL from those original subcontracted offerings through today's new mega boats?

Thanks!
- janet

 

[BobandLee]

The ship was not Disney's nor did it stop at Castaway.
The Big Red Boat was part of Premier Cruise Line.
The Magic started sailing in 1998 and The Wonder in 1999.

 

[Deb T.]

The only cruise I have ever taken was on "Disney's" Big Red Boat. It was around 1989. I have been wondering if Castaway Cay was the same location as the private island the Big Red Boat Stopped at? Anyone been around long enough to provide information or a pointer to the evolution of DCL from those original subcontracted offerings through today's new mega boats?

Thanks!
- janet

Funny story... when we cruised on The Magic in 1998, the Big Red Boat docked across from us at Nassau. It was about half the size of The Magic, and looked very old and well-worn. Our kids called it "The Little Red Raft"!

 

[KATHINOWA]

We honymooned on the Big Red Boat in 1992. We thought it was great! We didn't realize how small it was until it was next to a Carnival ship at port.

 

[joksten2000]

I remember that small cabin We took our 16 yo daughter & her friend. It was booked as the second half of our land & sea package from Disney 4 land 3 Sea. So yes it was Disney before Walt decided to get their own ships

 

[mickeyfan1]

I was on all the Big Red Boats, 2 times Oceanic, 2 times Majestic, and one time Atlantic. The "private island" was Blue Lagoon island, several other lines also used it as their own. The Majestic went to the Abacos, the Oceanic and the Atlantic to Nassau and Blue Lagoon. I have pictures of the Characters on the ships, they had, beyond a doubt, the best food on any cruise I have ever been on. All their chefs were award winners. They had the best midnight buffets. I wish Disney would have hired all the chefs.

Did you know that the original Love Boat was the Majestic? Premier bought it from Princess and obviously painted it. I think there was another BRB that was retired when the Majestic came into the fleet. I also remember that we had a cabin on the Majestic that was as wide as the bed was long. Wall to wall mattress, I have no idea how they made it up.

 

[Maryrn11168]

We honeymooned on "The Big Red Boat" in 1997. Disney had already pulled there resorts out of the land-sea package by the time we sailed. When we boarded we discovered the ships original name was the Oceanic....The ship my parents went on to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary in 1978!!!

and No Castaway Cay is not the same Island that the BRB used to go to.

 

[salboz]

The only cruise I have ever taken was on "Disney's" Big Red Boat. It was around 1989. I have been wondering if Castaway Cay was the same location as the private island the Big Red Boat Stopped at? Anyone been around long enough to provide information or a pointer to the evolution of DCL from those original subcontracted offerings through today's new mega boats?

Thanks!
- janet

My first cruise was on the Big Red Boat. Due to that fantastic experience, I am going on my 42nd next month. As I recall, Castaway Cay was used for the filming of Gilligan's Island.
Salboz

 

[kay1864]

As I recall, Castaway Cay was used for the filming of Gilligan's Island.
Salboz

I got curious about this, so I looked it up.

Of course, the "lagoon" and all "on the island" scenes were on a studio set in California. But the long-distance shots of the island, and the opening scenes, were filmed around Hawaii.

http://www.gilligansisle.com/tour.html

 

[yogibigdog]

From Wikipedia
Premier Cruise Line was formed in 1983 by two cruise veterans and later bought by Dial Corporation who owned the Greyhound Bus Company. The ships typically operated 3-day and 4-day Bahamas trips out of Port Canaveral, Florida.

The successful niche that Premier served was the Family Cruise Line, especially attractive to Grandparents sailing with their children and grandchildren. Also, all food on The Big Red Boats (1995-1997) was fresh, not frozen.

Premier operated in conjunction with Universal Studios themeparks, after serving as the "official Disney cruise line". Premier did market cruises as part of a land/sea vacation package including visits to the Disney and Universal Studios theme parks in Florida. Disney decided to start its own cruise line business and ended its relationship with Premier. Premier then affiliated itself with the Looney Tunes characters to maintain its family friendly image and was returned to profitability under the direction of 20-year cruise veteran Jim Naik. The company also had an aging fleet of Italian-designed ships competing with newer and larger liners. Mr. Naik brought Premier to a point of profitability in his first quarter with the company. Premier's parent company, Dial (of Dial Soap) who also owned The Greyhound Bus Company, sold the company after posting profits for 1995, 1996, and 1997. New owners and new leadership followed, with Larry Magnum as President in 1998.

The older ships were designed before the current disability acts. Much later, after 1997, Premier was sued under the Americans with Disabilities Act for not making accommodations for people with disabilities. As a result of stiff competition from larger and newer fleets by other cruise lines, Premier was unable to sell tickets at profit, selling below cost every ticket from July, 2000 onward. Some cruises sold tickets for as little as $120 per person, whereas the operating cost for the company averaged $350. Premier Cruises eventually went into bankruptcy and folded in September, 2000.

Some Premier ships included the Majestic (the former Sun Princess of Princess Cruise Lines), the former Home Lines flagship Oceanic, the Atlantic (another former Home Lines ship), and the Royale, a former Costa liner known then as the Frederico C. The original four ships had the prefix "Star/Ship" before their names. During Premiers' reorganization in the mid 1990s all but the Oceanic (Big Red Boat I) were sold off. Premier then became an amalgamation of Dolphin and Seawind Cruises. Later, the Rembrandt, formerly the Rotterdam of Holland America Line was added to the line.

The Oceanic (Big Red Boat I) is still sailing today. On 23 April 2009 she was sold to Japan-based Peace Boat. The Big Red Boat II, formerly Eugenio Costa, was put up for sale and was laid up in Freeport, Bahamas. It had no potential buyers and remained there until 2005. It was eventually sold to the breakers and was scrapped in Alang, India in late 2005. [6] The Big Red Boat III, formerly Carnival Cruise Line's Festivale was also sold for scrap. The former Frederico C (called the Seabreeze I) was to be scrapped at India but instead sank in a storm 220 nautical miles (407 km) off the Virginia coast. Lastly, the Rembrandt, formerly the Rotterdam, was purchased by the city of Rotterdam, The Netherlands, to be restored and kept as a historic landmark.

 

[su_kraft]

My first cruise was on the Big Red Boat. Due to that fantastic experience, I am going on my 42nd next month. As I recall, Castaway Cay was used for the filming of Gilligan's Island.
Salboz

They have used the island for films, but not for Gilligan. Actually, Castaway Cay was a drug runner island...

From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castaway_Cay):
Castaway Cay is a private island or "out island" in the Bahamas which serves as an exclusive port for the Disney Cruise Line ships Disney Wonder and Disney Magic. It is located at

26°05′N 77°32′W / 26.083°N 77.533°W / 26.083; -77.533 near Great Abaco Island, and was formerly known as Gorda Cay. It is owned in full by The Walt Disney Company, giving them substantial control over the experience of visitors to the island. A post office on the island has special Bahamian postage specific to Disney Cruise Line, and a "Castaway Cay" postmark.

Gorda Cay was once used as a stop for drug runners. There is an airstrip on the island, but it is no longer in regular use nor maintained. Gorda Cay has also been used for filming; the beach where Tom Hanks first encounters Daryl Hannah in Splash is on the island.

Disney is said to have spent $25,000,000 to develop and outfit the island. Construction took 18 months and included dredging 50,000 truckloads of sand from the depths of the Atlantic Ocean. The pier and its approaches were constructed to allow the Disney ships to dock alongside, thus removing the need for tenders to get the passengers ashore. To create the mooring site for the ships, workers dredged sand from a 1,700-foot (520 m) channel about 35 feet (11 m) deep and ranging from 200 to 400 feet (120 m) wide. The island is still largely undeveloped: only 55 of the 1,000 acres (4.0 km2) are being used.[1]

 

[della0813]

funny story
a friend and i took a spring break vacation on another line in 1994 and then in june of that year i sailed with my niece and nephews on the big red boat to their "private" island ---
it was the same island i had been on with my friend in april -- i enjoyed it and the activities were different but i thought it was funny that it was private

at the new castaway cay -- the boat docks right at the island rather than being tendered to the island

and remember the big red boat had warner brother characters -- we have pics with the tasmanian devil and tweety -- then we went to disney right after so it was kind of fun for the kids to see different characters

della

 

[tvguy]

I remember that small cabin We took our 16 yo daughter & her friend. It was booked as the second half of our land & sea package from Disney 4 land 3 Sea. So yes it was Disney before Walt decided to get their own ships

No, as others have noted, it was the official cruise line of Disney, but it was not owned by Disney. Just like Delta is the official airline of Disney, but it is not owned by Disney.
They just licensed Premier to have a few Disney charactors on board, just like they license McDonalds to allow them to include Disney toys in happy meals.
A co-worker WORKED for Disney and sailed on the Big Red Boat and thought it was odd that she couldn't get an employee discount. Then about 3 weeks ago she sailed on the Wonder, and a light bulb went off........the difference she said was incredible.

 

[kcashner]

There is NO comparison between the Big Red Disaster and the DCL ships. As noted, different cruise lines, but it's WAY more than that.

In fairness, we were on Premier in 1994 after Disney declined to renew the contract to have Disney characters on the ship. We were there with the Looney Tunes. The kid programs consisted of coloring pictures of the characters and watching cartoons!

 

[della0813]

when we went in summer of 94
kids programs were wonderful
as a matter of fact -- i didnt see the kids too often -- they love the activities -- im sure it doesnt compare to the new boats -- but then i dont believe they should be playing video games/watching movies etc -- it was all physical activities-- and at castaway cay the activity directors took them on a scavenger hunt

 

[mmouse37]

This is not my pic but from another poster when this subject came up in another thread a year back or so.......hope they don't mind my posting it but it shows the DCL ship and the BRB in port together in Nassau a few years ago.

MJ

 

[tmbacon]

This is not my pic but from another poster when this subject came up in another thread a year back or so.......hope they don't mind my posting it but it shows the DCL ship and the BRB in port together in Nassau a few years ago.

MJ

Wow, what a difference in those two boats!!! Thanks for posting a pic, I was just thinking while reading this thread that a pic of the Big Red Boat would be awesome to see (I remember the concept but didn't recall exactly what it looked like).

 

[mickeyfan1]

Just remember that in her day, she was very big passenger wise. 1800 max, I believe.

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

My DW and me were on it in December 1987 for our honeymoon. Back when it was the official cruise line of Disney. We had very very very rough weather the first three nights. As soon as we left the protection of the harbor the ship (boat compared to how big they are now) was tossed all over the place. Barf bags were lining the railings of the ship, soon full garbage bags of barf bags were lining the hallway waiting to be picked up. The dining room was over half empty the first night.

We woke up in Nassau the next morning, at the end of the day they made an announcement that we would remain tied up there a second night because the weather/waves had not improved. The next day they were going to tender to there private island from there. We were signed up for the second one out, while eating breakfast they made an announcement that all trips to the island were canceled because the weather was too rough.

One of the couples we shared our table with were on the first and said is was horrible. There was rain and the wave were coming up and over the sides soaking them.

We got lucky on our day at sea; the clouds and wind left. It warmed up and they were able to fill the pool. It was perfect.

Even after all that we were still hooked on cruising. One DCL three night, four night, seven night. And a 15 night Panama Canal cruise scheduled just my DW and me.

 

[inkkognito]

I remember seeing the Little Red Barge in Nassau all the time. They had a big banner on the upper deck that said "Party Animals on Board." Not sure if they meant Bugs Bunny or the passengers. In those days Disney's fireworks show was much less than it is now and used to be done in Nassau. The Barge passengers would gather on deck to watch our show.