Pullmantur returns to the cruise market?

   September 25, 2020 ,   Cruise Industry

Two months after Pullmantur Cruises filed for a supervised reorganization/bankruptcy (mid-July 2020, due to the ongoing pandemic), the company is active again with the latest announcement that it is working to return to the cruise market and restart operations.

In a series of questions on Facebook Pullmantur has been asking its customers for feedback on what they would like to see when the Spanish cruise line resumes voyages. Among the questions was if passengers are willing to pay 10-15% higher prices than previously offered in case it ensured a safer experience

Following the dismantling of the Pullmantur vessels Monarch and Sovereign (at Turkey's Aliaga scrapyard), the company might resume cruises with Pullmantur Horizon which is currently docked (in cold lay-up status) in Port Eleusis (Greece).

According to Pullmantur Cruises, they were working together with the bankruptcy administration in order to introduce a new business plan involving the return to operation and guaranteeing the viability of the company.

Pullmantur has been recently in the spotlight in the Spanish media saying that the company will leave its headquarters in Madrid Spain due to the inability to pay rent. Local media reported that 127 employees (out of total 311 in the headquarters) had not received their salaries for August.

Addressing the issue, Richard J. Vogel (Pullmantur's President and CEO) sent an email to the entire staff, assuring them that the salaries would be paid in the following days. He added that they were currently analyzing different options, but there was no decision made in relation to a potential change.