Premier was a dismal failure and was doomed from the begining. Not due to Bruce, but that fact that it was mis-guided and mis-managed from the start.

Bruce was brought in to try and fix the damage done by Kristian Stensby,Morty Mathisen, Larry Magnin, International Shipping Partners and the "Junk
Bond Gang". Why anyone would have assembled this fleet and held even the slightest glimmer of hope that a fleet of old , inefficient and out of date ships could try and compete against the big, new, glitzy tonnage is beyond me.

Old ships are great and nostalgic, but the consumers dont want them unless there is a price advantage, which they never had. This venture was doomed from the start.

The problem was, not that many passengers wanted to recapture the glory of a bygone era. And in essence, the Rembrandt was the only truly "grand" ship they had. It's cruirous to see how the supposedly oh so devoted and loyal legions of Rotterdam V fans never trasfered their affections and allegiances to her as Rembrandt. They transfered their loyalties to the new Rotterdam or other ships. As nostalgic as most of these pax were, they didnt want to lost the ship but they certainly seem to love all of the modern conveniences and creature comforts.

Geno,

Yes, the OLD Premier was sucessful but that success was with the BRB concept. By the time that Premier of late started to return to that concept, the damage had already been done and there was no way to put it right withought spending a billion dollars on newbuilds.

The Premier of recent incarnation was a dismal failure with losses mounting into the hundreds of millions over it's short, three year period.

Had Cruise Holdings left the original fleets as they were, they still would have been eclipsed by the newer ships in the marketplace and done in.

Mr and Mrs Average Consumer really have no desire to sail a 40 year old ship when for the same price they could sail a brand new ship.

And shipowners dont trade on sentiment, they trade on $$$$.

Tim

I didnt say EVERYONE...I said "Mr and Mrs Average Consumer".

Beleive it or not, lovers of old ships are in the minority. If they werent, the new ships wouldn't be such a smashing success.

That said, I love old ships as well. They're great fun to reminisce about and have scads of charm. But like new ships, they have their shortcomings as well.

The real reason the Norway is being redeployed is because she can no longer compete in the Caribbean with new ships.

Nierenberg was called in by DLJ to turn things around. Premier's losses were enough to trigger DLJ to take over the company.
It was too little too late: they already had hit the Iceberg.

Premier wanted to buy the Canberra, but I believe they could not get the financing.
The 'released' stories don't add up.

Hindsight is 20/20. I would like to have seen Premier with only the Rotterdam V and Canberra and market them as the historic and significant classic liners they are. Antique ships are like antique homes and cars. They offer an unquantifiable feel and ambiance no new floating Holiday Inn on a bulk carrier can give.

These 2 ships could have had high culture entertainment and theme cruises.
Sailing from NYC or Vancouver in the Summer would attract a local crowd. Miami or LA in the winter. These cities are magnets.

The Dolphin ships were rebuilt to the point where their original charm was gone. They offer the worst of the old ships and the new ones.

Some of money not spent on there 3 tubs could be used to dieselize the Canberra and Rotterdam V, which would save on maintinence and fuel.

Been on 2 Premier cruises and the entertainment was like a high school talent show.

Kareoke in the elegant Rembrandt Smoking lounge is insulting. Disco in the Ritz Carlton is bad taste. The orchestra was off key and out of sync most of the time.

There are many very talented classical/jazz orchestra's, dance troupes, theatre groups that are underemployed and would jump at the chance for cruise ship work.

---Big Red Boat got into trouble when Disney came out with their own ships and threw out Premier. How do you family cruise during the school year?----

If Premier kept all their divisions serperated the demise or bad financial condition of one division would not have threatened the whole company.

-----100% agreement, their financing was irresponsible-----

------Premier did NOT promote the Rembrandt properly. Cunard does quite well with the QE2 hype. Good marketing can sell a haircut to a hippie. Bad marketing can kill the best product. Look at Sony Betamax.

You have very strong opinions on scrapping all tonnage pre 1970.

New ships have trouble too. The Carnival Destiny, PO Aurora, Monarch of the Seas have had serious breakdowns. Other Fincantieri newbuilds have had embarrasing breakdowns.
Disney magic was called Disney Tragic, due to teething problems. [Disney Wonder=Disney Blunder]

I DO NOT believe every ocean liner is worth saving. The Constitution and Britanis sunk on the way to the scrapyard. [saving the lives of about 5 hapless Paki's who get killed on the job per ship] The US Coast Guard pulled the Constitution out of service due to serious hull/structural problems. Britanis's hull and engines were worn out.

There is nothing special about the Dolphin ships, remaining wood and brass of the Regal Empress can be recycled/reused. Mauritania's 1st class lounge fittings are a Bristol hotel lobby. Same with Olympic, another Olympic lounge is now on the eyesore Millenium.

The QE2 after dieselisation [turbines were plagued from the start, Cunard refused delivery on first go-round] and Norway have had few mishaps.

As long as the hulls are sound, machinery can be replaced and updated:
Like an old house/building with new plumbing, elec, and heating system, they can be reliable.

Careful maintinence can prevent most problems.

There are a few postwar ocean liners of historic significance, and should be Queen Mary-ised when they are no longer operable.