The Eastern Steamship Line (later Eastern Cruise Line), was a cruise line operating second hand ships on short Bahamas and

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

cruises from the 1960s to the late 1980s. The name was a revival from the famed original

Eastern Steamship Lines Eastern Steamship Lines was a shipping company in the United States that operated from 1901 to 1955. It was created through successive mergers by Wall Street financier and speculator Charles W. Morse.Robert F. Bruner and Sean D. Carr, ''The Panic ...

that sailed the eastern seaboard in the early to mid twentieth century.

History

In 1954 Frank L. Fraser purchased the two final ships of the original

, ''Yarmouth(Queen of Nassau,'' and later renamed ''Yarmouth Castle)'' and '' Evangeline'' both for what's then known as the Eastern Shipping Corporation. In 1958 the ''Yarmouth'' sailed to

Yarmouth Yarmouth may refer to: Places Canada *Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia **Yarmouth, Nova Scotia **Municipality of the District of Yarmouth **Yarmouth (provincial electoral district) **Yarmouth (electoral district) * Yarmouth Township, Ontario *New ...

, Nova Scotia, for one last summer season, going on government subsidies. They would be joined by the SS ''Bahamas Star'' in 1959, and SS ''Ariadne'' in November 1960. In May 1961, owner Frank L. Fraser had passed full control of the company to William R. Lovett(of Winn-Dixie supermarkets), with the name being changed to Eastern Steamship Corporation. In 1963, the original Eastern ships would eventually be sold off. The '' Yarmouth Castle'' would go to the Chadade Steamship Company, which formed a new subsidiary line, Yarmouth Cruise Line, and the '' Evangeline'' sold to Caribbean Cruise Line. In 1965, Eastern's owner Lovett would rename the company Eastern Steamship Line, reviving the former Eastern Steamship Lines company name. In 1968 the line acquired the even larger ''Miami'' from the Peninsular & Occidental Steamship Co and renamed her ''New Bahama Star''. In 1970 The Eastern Steamship Line was bought out by Gotass Larsen, who was one of the owners of the new Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. In 1972 the ''Adriadne'' would be sold, and replaced with the larger TSS ''Emerald Seas'', which was purchased from Chandris Line as the ''Atlantis''. In 1981 the company was renamed again to the more modern Eastern Cruise Line.

Merger

In 1986, Eastern Cruise Line was merged along with

Western Cruise Lines Western may refer to: Places * Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia * Western world, countries that ...

and

Sundance Cruises A Sun Dance is a Native American ceremony. Sun dance or Sundance may also refer to: Places ;Canada *Sundance, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * Sundance, Manitoba, a ghost town ;United States *Sundance, New Mexico, a census-designated plac ...

to form Admiral Cruises. The line would later be dissolved by partner line Royal Caribbean Cruise Line in 1991, with most of the ships sold off, and the first planned new build, '' Future Seas,'' being transferred to Royal Caribbean as the '' Nordic Empress,'' the last legacy of the Eastern Steamship Lines''.''

Fleet List

* SS ''Bahamas Star'' * SS ''Ariadne'' * ''SS New Bahama Star'' * TSS ''Emerald Seas''

References

{{Reflist

External links

Emerald Seas Film (1978)
Cruise lines Defunct cruise lines Defunct companies based in Florida Defunct shipping companies of the United States