5,002 tons; length 379 ft., width 56 ft., draft 20 ft., 18 knots; 186 cabins; 365 passengers; steam turbines, twin screw; built 1927, scrapped 1979.
Go to ss Yarmouth brochure
This ship and sister-ship ss Evangeline began occasional winter cruises from Miami as early as the 1930s, running line voyages between New England and Canadian ports in the summer except for service as army transports in World War II. In 1954 they were finally sold as cruise ships under the Panamanian flag to F. Leslie Fraser's Eastern Shipping Corporation. Miami became their permanent base. Yarmouth was renamed Yarmouth Castle because she was "fitted like a castle", although mainly it was the name that changed.
The government of the Bahamas agreed to make Yarmouth Castle their "official contract ship" and so she was renamed Queen of Nassau, sailing three and four day Miami-Nassau cruises. The contract was not renewed, and so in 1956 Eastern renamed her Yarmouth Castle, had her upgraded with an aft swimming pool, air-conditioning in public areas and a general refurbishment. 
She was again given her original name of Yarmouth for some cruises from Boston to Yarmouth and in 1958, air-conditoning was extended throughout the ship and capacity reduced to 365. There were 186 cabins including 68 with a private or shared bathroom. Public rooms included a dining room, lounge, cocktail bar and small ballroom.
Eastern added two more ships to the fleet, Bahama Star in 1959 and Ariadne in 1961, so Yarmouth was sold to the new "Yarmouth Cruise Lines" under general manager, Edwin Stephen. He was later the founding president of Royal Caribbean Cruise Line.
Yarmouth sailed a series of cruises from San Francisco to Victoria, BC and the 1962 Seattle World's Fair under charter to Stanley McDonald (who went on to establish Princess Cruises), then returned to Miami to compete directly with Eastern on three and four day cruises from Miami to Nassau and Freeport.
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5,002 tons; length 379 ft., width 56 ft., draft 20 ft., 18 knots; 186 cabins; 365 passengers; steam turbines, twin screw; built 1927, sank 1965.
Go to ss Evangeline brochure
Evangeline shared a similar early history with her sister-ship ss Yarmouth, frequently assigned to the Boston-Yarmouth route. After World War II, Evangeline was converted to a cruise ship and in 1954 she was also sold to Eastern Shipping Corporation, and based in Miami. The neat little ship was given an aft swimming pool, air-conditioning was installed in all public areas and 50% of cabins, and capacity was limited to 350 guests. Of the 186 staterooms, 74 included some kind of private bathroom facilities. Evangeline offered mainly 4, 7, 10 and 14-day cruises from Miami to Cuba and the Caribbean. Being a great success, she was completely air-conditioned in 1957.
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A fire that started in unoccupied cabin #610 went undetected until it was too late. The bridge burned before an alarm could be given, and the Captain left on the first boat. Chaos prevailed. The paint that had been layered on the ropes and davits over the years made it difficult for the poorly-prepared crew to launch lifeboats. In the end 90 lives were lost when the Yarmouth Castle burned and sank.
Following the disaster, there was little that could be done to counter the concerns of the public over fire safety, so her sister-ship Yarmouth was sold and Yarmouth Cruise Lines went out of business.
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9,920 tons; length 488 ft., width 65 ft., draft 21 ft, 18.5 knots; 186 cabins; 566 passengers; steam turbines, twin screw; built 1957, sunk enroute to scrapping 1979.
Go to ss Jerusalem brochure
But in 1968, she was sold to Eastern Steamship Lines as ss New Bahama Star to replace the retiring ss Bahama Star.
In Zim Lines service, she was the newest and largest ship in service out of Miami, boasting a full deck of lounges, an elevator, lido deck and swimming pool, two dance orchestras, three cocktail lounges and twin stabilizers.
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4,945 gross tons; length 388 ft., width 56 ft., draft 20 ft., 19 knots; 196 all outside cabins; 500 passengers; steam turbines, twin screw; built 1931, scrapped 1968.
Go to ss Florida brochure
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She was transferred from American to Liberian registry in 1955 in response to costly American labor issues. Finally near the end of the decade, with growing unrest in Cuba, Florida was permanently assigned to twice weekly Miami-Nassau cruise service until her final layup in 1966.
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7,114 tons; length 466 ft., width 60 ft., draft 24 ft., 15 knots; 247 cabins; 735 passengers; steam turbines, single screw; built 1931, retired 1968.
Go to ss Bahama Star brochure
Bahama Star became very well known and popular, even without a swimming pool or extensive sun decks, based on good food, attentive service and innovative entertainment. Eastern boasted she was a "former transatlantic liner" and "the largest cruise ship sailing year round from Miami". After her last refit, public rooms included the main dining room, Star Lounge, Bahama Salon, the Calypso Club and a small game room.
Bahama Star is perhaps best remembered for her role as the primary rescue vessel in the sinking of the Yarmouth Castle. Captain Carl Brown brought his vessel within 100 yards of the flaming ship, lowered 12 lifeboats and rescued 373 passengers and crew. Ironically, the tragedy led to adoption of the 1966 fire safety requirements, which forced older ships like the Bahama Star out of service by 1968.
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6,644 gross tons; length 454 ft., width 58 ft., draft 19 ft., 18 knots; 164 cabins; 289 passengers; steam turbines, single screw; built 1951, scrapped 1989.
Go to ss Ariadne brochure
There were 164 cabins, including 36 for singles and 26 triples. All accommodations had private facilities, which was a first for a Florida-based cruise ship. 
Boat Deck forward contained the Observation Lounge which overlooked the swimming pool. The Main Lounge and Veranda Cafe were forward on Promenade Deck, adjoining the Smoking Room. Midship were the Ariadne Suite and six Deluxe cabins. The cozy Club Ariadne was aft, with a lounge, bar and dance floor. The Dining Room was on A-Deck.
Ariadne was placed in service on alternating seven-day Caribbean cruises and, at times, three and four-day Bahama cruises. Over the years the itineraries varied, but cruises normally departed from Miami or Port Everglades. Ariadne was one of the first cruise ships to call at Cozumel, Mexico.
In 1961, F. Leslie Fraser sold his Eastern Shipping Corporation to William Lovett of the Winn-Dixie supermarket chain. The "F" on his ships' funnels was replaced by "L". Fraser passed away in 1962 at the age of 57.
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