in 1986, admiral cruises was formed as a merger of three small cruise lines: eastern cruise lines, western cruise lines, and sundance cruise lines. each line only operated one ship. at its peak, it had a fleet of three ships, the "azure seas", the "emerald seas", and the "stardancer". in 1988, the cruise line announced it had ordered a new cruise ship called the "future seas". admiral cruises merged with royal caribbean cruise lines in 1988. shortly after the merger, the order for the "future seas" was transferred to royal caribbean and became the "nordic empress" when it was completed in 1990. in 1990, the "stardancer" was transferred to royal caribbean becoming the "viking serenade". in late 1991, royal caribbean decided to end the brand. the "azure seas" and the "emerald seas" were retired and sold off between 1991 and 1992.