Cruise - PULLMANTUR ceases CROISIÈRES DE FRANCE a Conundrum or Fait accompli?

CDF is a 100% subsidiary of PULMANTUR and was catering the French cruise market with French styled and with French cuisine offering cruises.

by Earl of Cruise

HORIZON of CROISIÈRES DE FRANCE - courtesy CROISIÈRES DE FRANCE

You can´t serve a French anything else than French cuisine, as good quality food is one of the most essential needs for French. When money saving is needed the last will be food in France!

CDF reported an average of 100,000 cruisers on board their ships HORIZON and ZENITH. CDF was in 3rd place in the French cruise market after COSTA (CARNIVAL subsidiary) and MSC (Italian, based in Switzerland). Both are surprisingly are everything but not French. Their food is acceptable Mediterranean. And the cruises are cheap.

When once, 2008, sailing on board the BLEU DE FRANCE, ex EUROPA V, 1991, now SAGA´s SAPPHIRE, I was amazed by the cusine and the really French atmosphere on board the former German vessel, who´s heritage was still to be seen. Back then I never ate that good on board a cruise vessel as on BLEU DE FRANCE who´s kitchen was organized by Françis Lévêuque who was then running the Michelin rated LE MARCHÉ in Paris, now he is cocking in the "Chez Lévêque". The last time that I ate that good was on board FRANCE.

ZENITH of CROISIÈRES DE FRANCE - courtesy CROISIÈRES DE FRANCE

But I heard too back then that the Spanish PULLMANTUR never really understood what the French really wished. So the first CEO of CDF told me in an interview, when he explained to me his plans or ideas with the BLEU DE FRENCE which was to upgrade her to the former standard when she was he EUROPA. He was removed by a guy that was more akting to the whims of PULLMANTUR and ROYAL CARIBBEAN, the mother company of the Spanish tour operator.

With the financial crisis of 2007 the Spanish cruise market nearly perished and PULLLMANTUR got in real trouble, as the winter season sailings in South American waters hadn´t been that successful in the end. The old ROYAL CARIBBEAN vessels had been send to PULLMANTUR for further deployment, or end use. And revenues came from France. This I got to learn from a PULLMANTUR lady in confidence.

Prior both companies tried to get a foot into the French market on their own, but never had been successful - no French language and cuisine on board the vessels. And they had the wrong drapeau at their sterns.

BLEU DE FRANCE in Palermo - Source: Wikipedia

The BLEU DE FRANCE, homeported in La Valetta, Malta, was an imediate success in the French market and in the first year CDF sailed on BLEU DE FRANCE 35,000 French passengers across the Mediterranean and Caribbean Seas. The formers CEO wish was a similar sized vessel to accompany the BLEU DE FRANCE.

Earl of Cruise in front of BLEU DE FRANCE in Ajaccio 2008 - own picture

Back then the adverts and film ad´s had been very stylish and reflected a modern styled not too luxurious atmosphere. The actual advert similarities reflect a reality show atmosphere of no class.

CDF Mediterranean Cruise on youtube, unfortunately I no longer posses the original video from 2008 of CDF

SAGA SAPPHIRE, ex BLEU DE FRANCE, ex HOLIDAY DREAM, ex MAGASTAR SRIES, ex EUROPA, 1991 - Source:Wikipedia

When SAGA was in need of a new second hand vessel, the BLEU DE FRANCE was sold, and the ZENITH entered with minimal changes as the new CDF vessel the market. The passenger numbers still rose and the HORIZON went into the French market too. While PULLMANTUR sold its no longer market compatible vessels for scrap. Amoung them the OCEANIC. To me it locked like squeezing out the last drop of the RCI vessels. With numbers declining in Spain, the French market was a source of funds for PULLMANTUR as the subsidiaries from ROYAL CARIBBEAN. Finally the Spanish investment company SPRINGWATER situated in Switzerland, Nyon, purchased a 51% stake in PULLMANTUR from ROYAL CARIBBEAN, but without the vessels, which stayed in possession of ROYAL CARIBBEAN and had to be chartered by PULLMANTUR. For PULLMANTUR a new CEO was found with RICHARD VOGEL, who luckily was on the right place in the hotel operation of the Rahe family, amoung them the LOUIS C. JACOB (5star luxury) situated on the Elbchaussee. When Mr. Rahe inaugurated the AIDA brand in the 90s and later Mr. Vogel changed to TUI CRUISES, after bidding battle for P&O which CARNIVAL did win, as the first CEO of the joint venture of ROYAL CARIBBEAN and TUI GROUP. AIDA once started as a brand for the tour and cruise operator SEETOURS, owned by the Rahe family, which is still owning the Hotel and did purchase in 1991 the GDR fleet, DEUTSCHE SEEREEDEREI, amoung them the then ARCONA, now in the fleet of SAGA. The following, 2nd, ARCONA is now with Mr. Katsoufis cruise line: Cruise & Maritime Voyages and the German TRANSOCEAN Kreuzfahrten.

I am not the only one wondering "whether abandoning the French concept which had made CDF successful is more a ‘political’ move by RCI, particularly since “considering how nationalistic the French tend to be”, why should our Gaelic cousins wish to cruise Spanish-style….or Italian for that matter?"

Alan Dumelow

ASTORIA sailing in charter for RIVAGES DU MONDE - courtesy RIVAGES DU MONDE

CDF’s departure leaves Paris-based RIVAGES DU MONDE as the only company offering French-based cruise options on the chartered vintage Astoria which, amazingly, in September/October 2017, has two transatlantic cruises including one to the Amazon and Caribbean. Other than that, French-based PLEIN CAP are marketing cruises on the German FTI BERLIN and Plantours’ HAMBURG, from which latter company PLEIN CAP had (in the past) chartered in the former VISTAMAR for French-biased cruises. VISTAMAR is now sailing for the Lebanese shipowner Abu Mehri. There is also, of course, the French company PONANT - but they now primarily market to an International (most US American) clientele and, besides, their prices are out of reach of most French - catering the 5star expedition market.

LE BOREAL of PONANT, flying the drapeau Francais - courtesy PONANT

LESVOYAGES DE TMR : Croisieres & Tour du Monde is owning this brand name now.

Back to not only my wondering - Mr. Vogel is not known as French friendly and the SPRINGWATER INVESTMENT is divided in a Spanish, Swiss, French and Luxemburg branch. And I learned from a board member that Luxemburg and Spain had been involved in the purchase deal. The founder of SPRINGWATER, in 2002, is Mr. Martin Gruschka. So saving the fur of the Spanish investment seems to be the driving factor for ceasing CROISIÈRES DE FRANCE, despite success.

This will bring a backlash into the French cruise market for years to come - new investors will have to fight for acceptance and must show confidence and standing in the French market. The ceasing of successful CDF will make it hard, if not impossible, for new cruise ventures. Listening to bean counting MBA´s may be not a good move.

Reiseberichte - CROISIÈRE DE FRANCE, La France sur la mer

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