,
Turkey in July 2020. Pullmantur began cruise operations in the 1990s by initially selling cruises on board , 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. Premier changed its business plan in 1997 and canceled its contracts with operators, such as Pullmantur, and later collapsed in 2000. Pullmantur then acquired SS
Big Red Boat 1 and started its own cruise line, Pullmantur Cruises. The
Oceanic became very successful, and in 2002, Pullmantur acquired a second ship,
MS Pacific, from
Princess Cruises, Two more ships followed in 2003 when Pullmantur acquired MS
Superstar Aries from
Star Cruises and renamed her , In 2004,
R Five was chartered to
Oceania Cruises. The acquisition was expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of the year. In 2008, Pullmantur received
Empress of the Seas from
Royal Caribbean International and renamed her . Also in May, Pullmantur purchased
Pacific Star from
P&O Cruises Australia and renamed her
MS Ocean Dream. In April 2008.
Lloyd's List reported that Pullmantur was in the process of purchasing
Pride of Aloha from
Norwegian Cruise Line's subsidiary
NCL America. However, the deal fell through and
Pride of Aloha joined Norwegian's fleet. In January 2009,
Sky Wonder was renamed
Atlantic Star, and in March,
Oceanic was sold to
Peace Boat. In mid-April 2009,
Island Star was transferred from Island Cruises to Pullmantur Cruises. In April 2013, Royal Caribbean transferred
Monarch of the Seas to Pullmantur.
Ocean Dream was chartered to Peace Boat to replace
Oceanic and
Pacific Dream, which had been renamed
Horizon, was transferred to CDF. In 2014,
Zenith joined sister ship ''L'Horizon'' in the CDF fleet. In 2014 it was announces that the
Majesty of the Seas would join the Pullmantur-fleet in 2016, but these plans were cancelled in 2015, and
Empress was transferred back to Royal Caribbean in early 2016. CDF ceased operations in early 2017, and both ships in the CDF fleet were transferred back to Pullmantur. In July 2019, it was announced
Zenith would leave the fleet in early 2020, having been chartered to
Peace Boat. Later in 2019, Pullmantur announced
Grandeur of the Seas would be transferred from Royal Caribbean to Pullmantur, joining the fleet in April 2021. There plans were cancelled in 2020. During the COVID-19 pandemic, more than half of the crew members onboard
Horizon were reported to have tested positive for the
coronavirus following the company's suspension of operations. In early-June 2020, Pullmantur's fleet had been moved into "cold lay-up" due to the company's extended suspension of operations given the pandemic.
Reorganization plan On 22 June 2020, Pullmantur's owners announced that, due to the significant economic impact caused by the pandemic, they had filed for
reorganization of Pullmantur under Spanish insolvency laws. A December 2020 news item stated that four companies had been declared bankrupt: Pullmantur S. A., Pullmantur Cruises SL, Pullmantur Holdings SL y Pullmantur Maltesas. The plan certainly required reorganization, as the board of directors had acknowledged in June 2020: "Despite the great progress the company made to achieve a turnaround in 2019 and its huge engagement and best efforts of its dedicated employees, the headwinds caused by the pandemic are too strong for Pullmantur to overcome without a reorganization". The December 2020 news item stated that the Royal Caribbean had agreed to provide some funds to allow Pullmantur to move ahead with a "viability plan, and to carry out the reorganization process necessary to adapt the company to the new reality with a new fleet". In the meantime, negotiations were underway with the over 300 employees who were no longer working. In July 2021, however, Pullmantur was completely liquidated. ==Former fleet==