A new French cruise operator? In these times of climate change awareness, the announcement may come as a surprise. Cruise passengers and their huge ships are accused of pollution, of engaging in mass tourism that is no longer viable. In France, municipalities that have long benefited from this activity are even trying to get rid of it.
This does not prevent the launch of the Compagnie Française de Croisières. But adapting a little to this new situation. Based in Marseille, it aims to offer travel on a human scale and original destinations, with a smaller ship, with fewer passengers and longer stays.
“Recognized in the world of cruises for more than twenty-five years, Clément Mousset and Cédric Rivoire-Perrochat, 47 and 49 years old respectively, are the co-founders of the Compagnie Française de Croisières (CFC), a new player that is now relaunching cruises to the French for Premium customers. Its motto: update the tradition of long-distance travel”, reads the company’s presentation.
Cruising Basics
Specifically, the CFC “intends to return to the fundamentals of sea travel, away from the excesses of the cruise-resort, and more attentive to its passengers.”
The company has only one ocean liner, Renaissance (629 cabins, 1,100 passengers, 560 crew members), under the French flag, registered in Marseilles, “the first in 38 years”. The ship offers “more space per passenger than any other ship in its category,” says the company.
His trips, most of the time of more than twelve days, entirely Francophone, will depart and return exclusively from two French ports: Le Havre and Marseille.
Clément Mousset and Cédric Rivoire-Perrochat, who have been fine-tuning their project for four years, state that they are “well aware of the need to open up a segment that was not occupied in the French cruise tourism panorama.”
120 night great escape
On the program, a first exit in February 2023 towards the northern lights and its inaugural season will continue in northern Europe, in Iceland, then, from Marseille, to the Greek islands, the Canary Islands, the Holy Land and Algeria. Finally, Renaissance will set sail on January 8, 2024 for a 120-night Great Escape on board, for an exceptional voyage of 50 stops around Africa and the Indian Ocean.
“Renaissance invites its passengers to a true return to its roots, to discover or rediscover emblematic destinations: the average duration of stops there is 13 hours (compared to 5 to 7 hours for its competitors). All excursions will be optional , with the possibility of pre-booking to benefit from preferential rates”, adds the operator.
The company is thus attempting a kind of return to the sources of the cruise, away from the current industrial methods of the large operators in a very 20s/30s environment (the press kit also takes up the graphic codes of this era) without positioning in great luxury
An average advertised price of 240 euros per day and per person
Therefore, the prices are meant to be affordable. CFC announces an average price of 240 euros per day and per person. Some cruises of 7 nights start from less than 800 euros, 1500 euros for 15 nights. These indicative rates vary according to the season and the type of cabin.
Above all, the company does not charge any accommodation or service fees, each passenger will be free to tip the crew members as they wish.
However, the environmental issue arises from the pollution of this type of ship. Therefore, the CFC is committed to proving that its lining is as clean as possible.
The company “chose a ship originally designed to sail in Alaska during the summer. Alaska is one of the strictest places in the world in terms of pollution management and various emissions. The ship, therefore, has already been equipped with scrubbers (exhaust gas washing system). But we are going to improve it by installing a closed circuit. The exhaust residues will be discharged in the ports that will be able to reprocess them. And of course, we will only use desulfurized and desulfurized fuel oil in our daily operations, even on the high seas.
The ship is also equipped with catalytic filters that reduce emissions of ammonia and nitrogen oxides by 99%, the company says. Renaissance is also equipped for a wharf electrical connection that will be mandatory in a few years in Toulon, Marseille and Le Havre.
Finally, the group highlights “food management, the elimination of single-use plastics, the installation of fixed dispensers in showers filled with ecological products that respect the environment, LED lighting, the permanent renewal of the air in the cabins.”
It remains to be seen whether these promises will be enough to convince the growing number of opponents of this type of tourism.
Le Havre prepares to receive more cruises
Three new terminals, intended to accommodate more ocean liners of scale, will be built in Le Havre by 2025 with an investment of 100 million euros.
“Welcome more ships and cruise passengers, in better conditions, respecting environmental issues”, such is the objective of this project, according to Edoaurd Philippe, mayor of the city.
The goal is to accommodate 600,000 cruise passengers in 2030 with around 200 stops, compared to around 350,000 in 2022 with 125 stops. Before the pandemic, the city had welcomed 420,000 cruise passengers and 145 stopovers in 2018, a record year.
“The outlook for the cruise business is extremely favourable, with 30% global growth expected by 2030,” said Florian Weyer, Deputy CEO of Haropa Port Le Havre.
For Edouard Philippe, at a time when the nuisance of transatlantic liners is disputed in several ports, this project should be welcomed positively. “We are reviving a Le Havre tradition (…) Here, the activity of cruise ships is historical and adds to that of the container in a large commercial port. The people of Le Havre are very attached to her”. “We bet, long before European regulations impose it, on zero-smoke scales, on fully electrified docks.”
Source: BFM TV
