Premier Cruise Line was formed in 1983 by two cruise veterans and later bought by Dial Corporation, which then also owned the Greyhound Bus Company. The ships typically operated three- and four-day Bahamas trips out of Port Canaveral, Florida. The company earned over $20 million annually on a gross revenue of $100 million during the 1980s. The successful niche that Premier served was the family cruise line, especially attractive to grandparents sailing with their children and grandchildren. Starting in 1985, Premier partnered with Walt Disney World, providing seven-night land and sea vacations on the Big Red Boat. Premier was licensed to provide Disney characters on its ships, until the relationship ended in 1993. Disney then proceeded to start its own cruise ship line in 1995. 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 had an aging fleet of Italian-designed ships competing with newer and larger liners. Mr. Naik brought Premier to profitability in his first quarter with the company. Premier's parent company, Dial, 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, requiring reasonable access for persons with physical disabilities, were even envisioned, let alone enacted into law. Much later, after 1997, Premier was sued under the Americans with Disabilities Act for not making accommodations for people with disabilities. Premier ships included the Majestic, the former Home Lines flagship Oceanic, the Atlantic, and the Royale, a former Costa Cruises liner known then as the Frederico C. The original four ships had the prefix "Star/Ship" before their names. During Premier's reorganization in the mid 1990s all but the Oceanic were sold off. Premier then became an amalgamation of Dolphin and Seawind Cruises. Later, the Rembrandt, formerly the Rotterdam of Holland America Lines, was added to the line. The SS Oceanic was still sailing until 2012 when she was sailed to Yokohama for scrapping. The Big Red Boat II, formerly Eugenio Costa, was put up for sale and was laid up in Freeport, Bahamas. She had no potential buyers and remained there until 2005, eventually being sold to the breakers and was scrapped in Alang, India in late 2005. The Big Red Boat III, formerly Carnival Cruise Line's Festivale, was also sold for scrap. The former Frederico C was to be scrapped at India but instead sank in a storm off the Virginia coast. Lastly, the Rembrandt, formerly the Rotterdam, was purchased by the city ofRotterdam, The Netherlands to be restored and kept as a historic landmark.
