Pullmantur Cruises

Pullmantur Cruises
Industry Cruises
Headquarters Madrid, Spain
Area served
 Caribbean, Mediterranean and Northern Europe.
Owner
Subsidiaries CDF Croisières de France
Website http://www.pullmantur.es

Pullmantur Cruises S.L. is a cruise line headquartered in Madrid, Spain.[1] It began operations in the late 1990s as an offshoot of the Madrid-based travel agency Pullmantur. In 2006, Pullmantur Cruises, through its parent company, was purchased by US-based Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.,[2] who sold a 51% stake to the Spain-based Springwater Capital in 2016.[3]

Pullmantur Cruises is the largest Spain-based cruise line. The company mainly markets to Spanish passengers, although cruises on Pullmantur ships are also sold by some travel operators outside the Spanish-speaking world. Some of the company's ships operate an "all-inclusive" product, where some extras, such as brand alcoholic beverages, are included in the cruise price.[2] Originally, most Pullmantur ships do not operate cruises for the company during the northern hemisphere winter season. Instead, they are either laid up or under charter to other cruise lines, such as the Brazil-based Viagens CVC.[2]

History

Portico Building, Pullmantur head office
MS Ocean Dream at Valletta sporting the old Pullmantur livery.
SS Sky Wonder in the harbor of Villefranche-sur-Mer, in the blue-funneled Pullmantur colours.

Pullmantur began cruise operations in the 1990s by initially selling cruises on board SS SeaWind Crown, founded by Anastasios Kyriakides (subsequently merged with Premier Cruises), in the Southern Caribbean from Premier Cruises and later also on board Premier Cruises flagship the SS Rembrandt in the Mediterranean. After Premier Cruises changed their business plan in 1997 and decided to cancel their contracts with operators such as Pullmantur and their following collapse in 2000, Pullmantur acquired their SS Big Red Boat 1 and started their own cruise line, Pullmantur Cruises.[2] The Big Red Boat 1 reverted to her original name SS Oceanic, and begun cruising around the Mediterranean from Barcelona in May 2005.[4] The Oceanic became hugely successful, and already in 2002 Pullmantur acquired a second ship, MS Pacific (formerly Princess Cruises' famous MS Pacific Princess that starred in The Love Boat TV series),[2] and chartered the former Renaissance Cruises ship MS R Five from Cruiseinvest. The R Five was marketed under the name Blue Dream.[5] Two more ships followed in 2003. Pullmantur acquired MS Superstar Aries from Star Cruises and renamed her MS Holiday Dream,[2] while the R Five's sister ship MS R Six was chartered under the marketing name Blue Star.[6]

In 2004 the R Five was chartered by her owners to Oceania Cruises.[5] In 2005 Pullmantur purchased the R Six, confusingly renaming her MS Blue Dream. A third R-class ship followed in 2006 when Pullmantur bought the Delphin Renaissance and renamed her MS Blue Moon. Later the same year the Pullmantur fleet grew to six ships when the Pacific Sky was purchased from P&O Cruises Australia and renamed SS Sky Wonder. A few months after the purchase of the Sky Wonder the entire Pullmantur company was sold to Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.[2]

Following the acquisition by Royal Caribbean several transfers were carried out between the Pullmantur fleet and those of other Royal Caribbean brands. In 2007 the Blue Dream and Blue Moon were transferred to Azamara Cruises, while MS Oceanic II and Celebrity Cruises's MS Zenith joined the Pullmantur fleet in their place[2] (the Oceanic II only spent the 2007 summer season sailing for Pullmantur).[7]

In 2008, Pullmantur received Empress of the Seas from the fleet of Royal Caribbean International, and renamed her MS Empress.[2] The Pacific and Holiday Dream left the Pullmantur fleet in April/May for Quail Cruises and CDF Croisières de France, respectively.[7][8] The former P&O Cruises Australia ship Pacific Star entered service as MS Ocean Dream in May.[2] RCI's MS Sovereign of the Seas transferred to Pullmantur as the MS Sovereign.[9][10] In April 2008 Lloyd's List reported that Pullmantur were also in the process of purchasing MS Pride of Aloha from Norwegian Cruise Line's subsidiary NCL America.[11] The deal fell through however, and the Pride of Aloha returned to the "normal" Norwegian Cruise Line fleet instead.[12]

In March 2009 the Oceanic was sold to Peace Boat and the Sky Wonder was renamed Atlantic Star in April 2009.. In mid April 2009 the Island Star was transferred from Island Cruises to Pullmantur Cruises.

It was announced on March 20, 2012 that Royal Caribbean International's Monarch of the Seas will be transferred to the fleet on April 1, 2013.[13] The Ocean Dream was chartered to Peace Boat to replace the Oceanic, the Pacific Dream/Horizon was transferred to CDF Croisières de France. In 2014, the Zenith joined her sister ship L'Horizon sailing under the CDF Croisières de France brand.

On October 22, 2015, it was announce that Empress will be transferred back to Royal Caribbean in early 2016.[14]

In late 2016, it was announced CDF would cease operations in early 2017. Both ships will be transferred back to Pullmantur.[15]

Corporate design

Between 2001 and 2008 Pullmantur ships ran in a variety of liveries. All ships had Pullmantur's logo depicting arrows across a globe on their funnels and the company name and logo on their hulls, but the colours of the funnels and hulls varied from one ship to another. SS Oceanic, SS Sky Wonder, MS Oceanic II and MS Zenith were painted with a white hull and blue funnel,[10][16] MS R Five, MS Blue Dream and MS Blue Moon with a black hull and white funnel, MS Pacific with a white hull and white funnel, and MS Holiday Dream with a white hull and blue funnel with red stripes.[10]

In 2008 the company changed livery to a white circle with a red letter ñ on it. Coinciding with this the ships were painted in the new livery with a red funnel and a white hull, with the word "Pullmantur" written on the hull towards the rear in small letters.[10]

In 2012/2013 Pullmantur changed livery into a blue hull and blue strip type. The first ship to receive the new livery was the Empress, which now has a blue hull and blue funnel, and Pullmantur's new logo, followed by the Sovereign. Also in December Horizon returned to Pullmantur Cruises for a 2-month service and also received the new livery but without Pullmantur logo on it. All ship in Pullmantur will be changing liveries.[17] As of early 2013 the Empress, Horizon, Sovereign and Monarch have received the new livery, with the Horizon getting the Pullmantur logo on her funnel. However the Zenith still kept the old red funnel / white hull logo.[18]

In mid 2013, the Zenith received the blue funnel, but kept her white hull / old logo. In late 2013, the Zenith received the new logo, but still kept her white hull. As of early 2014, the Zenith has received the livery to match the rest of the fleet. In 2014, the Zenith was transferred the CDF Croisières de France brand but she and Horizon both returned to the Pullmantur brand in 2017.

Fleet

Current Pullmantur fleet

ShipBuiltEntered service
for Pullmantur		CapacityGross tonnageFlagHomeport (Summer & Winter)NotesImage
MS Sovereign19882008285273,192 GT MaltaBarcelona (Spain) / Santos (Brazil)Transferred from Royal Caribbean International in November 2008
MS Monarch19912013285273,192 GT MaltaColon/La Guaira/Cartagena de Indias/Oranjestad/Curaçao & Rostock/HelsinkiTransferred from Royal Caribbean International in April 2013.
MV Horizon19902009/2017187547,427 gross tonnage (GT) MaltaPreviously Horizon, Island Star, Pacific Dream. Sailed as CDF Horizon from 2012 to 2017. Identical to the Zenith.
MV Zenith19922007/2017177447,413 gross tonnage (GT) MaltaPreviously Zenith. Sailed as CDF Zenith from 2014 to 2017. Identical to the Horizon.

Former Pullmantur fleet

ShipBuiltIn service
for Pullmantur		CapacityTonnage1Status as of 2015Image
SS SeaWind Crown19611990s—200073423,306 GRTScrapped in China, 2004.
MS R Five20002002—200470230,277 GTSince 2004 MS Nautica with Oceania Cruises
MS Blue Star / MS Blue Dream20002003—2007
Blue Star – (2003—2005)
Blue Dream – (2005—2007)		70230,277 GTSince 2007 MS Azamara Journey with Azamara Cruises
SS Oceanic19652001—2009180038,772 GTPreviously operated for Peace Boat. Scrapped in 2012.
MS Holiday Dream19812004—2008115837,301 GRTSince May 2008 MS Bleu de France with CDF Croisières de France[7] Sold to Saga cruises, enter in service in 2012.
MS Pacific19722005—200862620,636 GTScrapped at Aliaga, Turkey in 2013.
MS Blue Moon20002006—200770230,277 GTSince 2007 MS Azamara Quest with Azamara Cruises
MS Oceanic II1966200778227,670 GRTScrapped at Alang, India in November 2015.
SS Sky Wonder / SS Atlantic Star19842006—2013
Sky Wonder – (2006—2008)
Atlantic Star – (2009—2013)		155046,087 GRTScrapped at Aliaga, Turkey in 2013.
Ocean Dream19822008—2012141235,190 GTFormerly Pacific Star for P&O Cruises Australia.[7][19] The ship will be on bare-boat charter to Peace Boat from April 2012.
MS Empress19902008—2016202048,563 GTFormerly Empress of the Seas for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, transferred back to Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines in early 2016.
1May be specified in gross tonnage (GT) or gross register tons (GRT).

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Legal Notice Archived 2015-04-25 at the Wayback Machine.." Pullmantur. Retrieved on 13 May 2015. "Pullmantur, S.A CIF A28261337. Located on, number 2 Mahonia Street, Madrid 28043." and "Pullmantur Cruises S.L. CIF B84581701. Located on, number 2 Mahonia Street, Madrid 28043."
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Newman, Doug (2007-08-27). "Cruise Ship Reviews > Pullmantur". Cruise Critic. The Independent Traveler, Inc. Retrieved 2008-04-16.
  3. ↑ Royal Caribbean (10 May 2016). "Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. And Springwater Capital Announce Joint Venture" (Press release). Miami, Florida and Madrid, Spain: Royal Caribbean. PRNewswire. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  4. ↑ Asklander, Micke. "S/S Oceanic (1965)". Fakta om Fartyg (in Swedish). Archived from the original on August 2, 2012. Retrieved 2008-04-16.
  5. 1 2 Asklander, Micke. "M/S R Five (2000)". Fakta om Fartyg (in Swedish). Archived from the original on August 4, 2012. Retrieved 2008-04-16.
  6. ↑ Asklander, Micke. "M/S R Six (2000)". Fakta om Fartyg (in Swedish). Archived from the original on August 1, 2012. Retrieved 2008-04-16.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Newman, Doug (2007-09-27). "Pullmantur Cruises 2008 Itineraries & Fleet". At Sea with Doug Newman. Retrieved 2008-01-28.
  8. ↑ Newman, Doug (2008-01-24). "Quail Cruises Unveils 2008 Program". At Sea With Doug Newman. Retrieved 2008-01-28.
  9. ↑ "Say goodbye to Sovereign! The first ever modern megaship to join Pullmantur fleet". Cruise Business Review. 2007-10-12. Archived from the original on October 29, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-13.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Boyle, Ian. "Pullmantur". Simplon Postcards. Retrieved 2008-04-16.
  11. ↑ Joshi, Rajesh; Lowry, Nigel (2008-04-14). "NCL close to offloading cruiseship trio". Lloyd's List. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
  12. ↑ Newman, Doug (2008-05-07). "From Norwegian Sky to Pride of Aloha and back again". At Sea with Doug Newman. Archived from the original on 2008-07-19. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
  13. ↑ "Royal Caribbean Moving Monarch of the Seas to Pullmantur". cruiseindustrynews.com. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  14. ↑ "Pullmantur: Another Change of Strategy; Empress Back to Royal - Cruise Industry News | Cruise News". www.cruiseindustrynews.com. Retrieved 2015-10-22.
  15. ↑ http://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/16087-cdf-will-cease-to-sailing-its-own-ships.html
  16. ↑ Koutsoukis, Georges. "M/S Oceanic II i Pireus 31/5-2007". Fakta om Fartyg (in Swedish). Archived from the original on August 2, 2012. Retrieved 2008-04-16.
  17. ↑ "Pullmantur Rebranding". cruiseindustrynews.com. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  18. ↑ "Photos: Pullmantur and Costa in Santos". cruiseindustrynews.com. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  19. ↑ "P&O Cruises Australia Renews Fleet as Capacity Grows". P&O Cruises Australia news release. 2007-05-31. Retrieved 2008-01-28.

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