Imperial Majesty Cruise Line was a budget

cruise line A cruise line is a company that operates cruise ships that operate on ocean or rivers and which markets cruises to the public. Cruise lines are distinct from passenger lines which are primarily concerned with transportation of passengers. Though ...

that had operated 2 and 3 day voyages out of

Port Everglades Port Everglades is a seaport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, located in Broward County. Port Everglades is one of South Florida's foremost economic engines, as it is the gateway for both international trade and cruise vacations. In 2019, Port Eve ...

, Florida to

Nassau, Bahamas Nassau ( ) is the capital and largest city of the Bahamas. With a population of 274,400 as of 2016, or just over 70% of the entire population of the Bahamas, Nassau is commonly defined as a primate city, dwarfing all other towns in the country. ...

. The company was founded in 1999. The cruise line attracted both vacationers and vintage ship fans from around the world. The cruise line's current operations ended on March 9, 2009, when the Regal Empress was retired. In that same week, its operations were replaced by

Celebration Cruise Line Celebration Cruise Line was a small cruise line that operated two-day voyages out of Port of Palm Beach to Grand Bahama Island. The company was founded in late 2008, and began operations on March 9, 2009. The company moved the ship's operations f ...

, operating for the same company that Imperial Majesty was part of.

History

Imperial Majesty Cruise Line begun operations in 1999 by chartering the 1955-built SS ''OceanBreeze'' from

Premier Cruise Line Premier Cruise Line, a subsidiary of Premier Cruises, was a cruise line that was headquartered in Cape Canaveral, Florida. From 1985 to 1993, it was licensed as the official cruise line of Walt Disney World and used the trademark "The Big Red Boat ...

and operating two-day cruises out of

Nassau Nassau may refer to: Places Bahamas *Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792 *Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

. Imperial Majesty later purchased the ship and gave it a multi-million dollar refurbishment. The ship was kept in good condition throughout Imperial Majesty's ownership. In 2003, due to high costs, Imperial Majesty sold the ''OceanBreeze'' for scrap and replaced it with another vintage ship, the 1953-built , after its previous owner folded. In the fall of 2008, several sources reported that the ''Regal Empress'' was due to be replaced by the 1981-built

cruiseferry A cruiseferry is a ship that combines the features of a cruise ship and a Ro-Pax ferry. Many passengers travel with the ships for the cruise experience, staying only a few hours at the destination port or not leaving the ship at all, while oth ...

in 2009, but this information proved to be false. Instead, the ''Bahamas Celebration'' was operated by

, a new cruise line operating under the same company Imperial Majesty cruise lines operated under. On March 9, 2009, the took over ''Regal Empress'' cruise schedule. All crew and food stores were transferred to ''Bahamas Celebration'' prior to the ships departure. The ''Regal Empress'' was laid up in

Freeport, Bahamas Freeport is a city, district and free trade zone on the island of Grand Bahama of the northwest Bahamas. In 1955, Wallace Groves, a Virginian financier with lumber interests in Grand Bahama, was granted of pineyard with substantial areas of swa ...

from March 16 until March 27. It was reported by Maritime Matters on March 26 that the Regal Empress was sold for scrap.

Former Fleet

References

External links

{{Commons category, Imperial Majesty Cruise Line
Archive of Imperial Majesty Cruise Line Website
Defunct cruise lines Plantation, Florida Defunct companies based in Florida Defunct shipping companies of the United States Transport companies established in 1999 Companies disestablished in 2009 1999 establishments in Florida