Commodore Cruise Line was a United States–based

cruise line A cruise line is a company (law), company that operates cruise ships that operate on Cruising (maritime), ocean or River cruise, rivers and which markets cruises to the public. Cruise lines are distinct from Passenger ship, passenger lines whic ...

that was in operation from 1968 until 2001. It was founded in 1966 by Sanford Chobol and Edwin Stephan. Following multiple changes in ownership, the company declared bankruptcy in 2001 due to rising fuel costs and increased competition from other cruise lines. It had its headquarters in

Hollywood, Florida Hollywood is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb in the Miami metropolitan area. The population of Hollywood was 153,067 as of 2020, making it the Broward County#Communities, third-largest city in Broward County, th ...

History

1966–1981

Commodore Cruise Line was founded in 1966—the same year that Norwegian Caribbean Line begun operations—by Sanford Chobol and Edwin Stephan. Chobol, a

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

ier, had previously operated the

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

ian

ocean liner An ocean liner is a type of passenger ship primarily used for transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). The ...

'' Princess Leopoldina'' on a series of cruises out of Florida in 1962. In order to operate a ship that could successfully compete against NCL's , Commodore reached an agreement with the Sweden-based

Wallenius Lines Wallenius Lines is a privately owned Swedish shipping company. The company was founded in 1934 by Olof Wallenius. Wallenius Lines is an investor and active owner within the global shipping industry, specifically the international car and roll-o ...

, who acquired the build contract of a half-complete ferry under construction at Wärtsilä Turku Shipyard in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. The ship in question had been ordered by the Sweden-based Lion Ferry as a combined

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports of call, where passengers may go on Tourism, tours k ...

, but Lion Ferry had subsequently cancelled the order. Wallenius Lines named the incomplete ship and had her completed as cruise ship. Following delivery the ''Bohème'' was chartered to Commodore, and she set on her first cruise from

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

to Saint Thomas on 7 December 1968. With the ''Bohème'' Commodore Cruise Line became the first company to operate week-long cruises out of Florida around the year. By 1973, Lion Ferry and Fred. Olsen had acquired interests in Commodore. As a result, Lion Ferry's joined the ''Bohème'' in Commodore fleet for the

northern hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined by humans as being in the same celestial sphere, celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the Solar ...

winter seasons of 1973 to 1976 (the ''Bolero'' spent summers in United States—Canada ferry service for Lion Ferry). In 1976, the ''Bolero'' was replaced by another ferry, , that was also used by Commodore during the winters and United States–Canada ferry service during the summers. Like the ''Bohème'', the ''Caribe'' was registered in

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

during her service with Commodore.

1981–1995

In 1981, Commodore Cruise Line was acquired by the

-based Rederi Ab Sally, who also acquired the ''Bohème'' from Wallenius Lines. As a result of the change of ownership the ''Bohème'' was re-registered to

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

. During the same year Sally acquired two ships for conversion into service with Commodore. The first, Karageorgis Lines' , had recently been damaged in a grounding. However, during rebuilding she suffered a fire, followed by capsizing of the drydock, which left the ship so badly damaged that Sally decided to abandon their plans for the ship. The second acquisition, the former Greek Line ship , was rebuilt with diesel engines and entered service for Commodore in 1983 as . Following the ''Caribe I''s entry into service the ''Bohème'' was also rebuilt, re-entering service in 1984. However, in 1986, the ''Bohème'' was sold to the

Church of Scientology The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology, which is variously defined as a cult, a business, or a new religiou ...

, and Commodore reverted to operating just one ship. By the mid-1980s, Rederi Ab Sally was in financial difficulties, and in 1987 the company was sold to its main competitors Effoa and Johnson Line, based in Finland and Sweden, respectively. Two years later the passenger operations of Sally, Effoa and Johnson were merged into EffJohn. In 1990, EffJohn decided to merge the operations of ''Bermuda Star'' and ''Queen of Bermuda'' to the Commodore fleet under the names ''Enchanted Isle'' and ''Enchanted Seas'' respectively. Promotional material from 1991 advertised the addition of two further ships in 1992/1993, but these did not materialize. Instead the ''Caribe I'' was sold to Regal Cruise Line in 1993. In 1994, the ''Enchanted Isle'' became a floating hotel in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, Russia, returning to the Commodore fleet the following year.

1995–2001

By the mid-1990s, EffJohn in turn was in financial difficulties, and decided to concentrate on its core market in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

. As a result, Commodore Cruise Line was sold in 1995 to the

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

–based JeMJ Financial Services. The new owners continued operations with the ''Enchanted Isle'' and ''Enchanted Seas'' until 1996, when the ''Enchanted Seas'' was sold to World Explorer Lines. In 1998, MS ''Island Holiday'' was chartered from a Ukrainian company and renamed . Both the ''Enchanted Capri'' and ''Enchanted Isle'' were based in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

at the time. In 1999 the Commodore fleet grew again to three ships for the first time with the acquisition of . In 1999, Commodore reactivated the Crown Cruise Line brand (which had also been previously owned by EffJohn but ceased operations in 1997) as a more upscale brand. During the following years Commodore was facing harsh competition from larger cruise lines that were beginning to push down their prices. As a result, Commodore filed for bankruptcy in January 2001.

Ships

References

{{reflist, 35em

External links

Commodore Cruise Line
(Archive) Defunct cruise lines Defunct shipping companies of the United States Defunct companies based in Florida Hollywood, Florida American companies established in 1966 Transport companies established in 1966 Transport companies disestablished in 2001 1966 establishments in Florida 2001 disestablishments in Florida