Crown Cruise Line
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| Industry | Cruise ships |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1984 |
| Defunct | 2001 |
| Headquarters | 1984–1992: Boca Raton, FL, United States and 1992–2001: Hollywood, FL, United States |
| Parent | Grundstad Maritime Overseas Inc. Effjohn International Commodore Holdings LTD |
| Website | crowncruiseline.com (Archive) |
Crown Cruise Line was a small, upper-class cruise operator, which was founded by Oddmund Grundstad and Grundstad Maritime Overseas Inc. based in Boca Raton, FL. The operation was eventually overseen by Effjohn International's Commodore Cruise Line and all ships were leased or sold to other cruise operators.
The cruise line began in 1984 with the Viking Princess, which initially operated out of San Diego, CA on short cruises to Ensenada, Baja California and Santa Catalina Island, California. After finally reaching an agreement with the Port of Palm Beach Commission, the Viking Princess was transferred to Palm Beach for daily sailings to Freeport, Bahamas and coastal cruises to nowhere.
With the success of the first ship and opportunities in the growing cruise line industry, the line invested in a second ship which had been built in 1967 as the ferry Las Palmas de Gran Canaria for the Spanish state-owned shipping company Trasmediterranea. In 1986 the ship returned to the yard where she was built, Union Naval de Levante in Valencia, for a massive refit and conversion to a cruise ship. In 1988 she emerged as the Crown del Mar and was chartered to Crown Cruise Line operating from Palm Beach on two-night Bahamas and five-night Western Caribbean itineraries.
At the same time, Crown ordered a brand-new ship from Union Naval de Levante. The Crown Monarch, delivered in 1990, sailed on seven-day cruises from Palm Beach to Key West, Grand Cayman, Ocho Rios in Jamaica and Labadee Shores, Crown`s private beach in Haiti. Except September and October, when the ship departs for three seven-day Canada cruises and one two-week cruise from New York to the Caribbean. The ship was designed to have a yacht-like ambiance by GMO Design Inc. of Boca Raton and had 265 staterooms and suites, including 400-square-foot staterooms with whirlpool tubs, a 288-seat dining room, tiered showroom, a disco and a jazz lounge. With the delivery of the $95 million Crown Monarch, Crown terminated the Crown del Mar lease in 1991, stating that the former ferry "did not fit with the fresh image".
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Wikipedia