THE BEST OF FRENCH CRUISE CLUBS, PORTS, AND SUPPLIERS COME TO
CRUISE SHIPPING MIAMI 2009 THIS MARCH

Chicago, February 10, 2009 (word count: 1587)
From March 17 to 19, come visit the French Pavilion at the 2009 Cruise Shipping Miami at booth 1058 in Miami Beach, Fla. This bona fide convention is the standard for the cruise industry. Celebrating its 25th anniversary, this milestone year’s edition will draw nearly 1,000 exhibitors from more than 100 countries, and 11,000 visitors. This year, the French Pavilion will host  33 exhibitors including cruise clubs, cruise ship equipment suppliers, ports of call, and tourism offices, cruise from France’s coastline, listed below.

Cruise Clubs:
CORSICA CRUISE CLUB is developing cruise activities for Upper Corsica in a global manner in terms of expansion of both the economic activity and tourism in the region’s magnificent areas. Four call zones, including ports and anchorage, have been determined: Calvi, L’Ile-Rousse, Saint Florent and Bastia. www.clubcroisiere.corse.fr

FRENCH RIVIERA CRUISE CLUB provides a one-stop shop for everyone with the destination of “Côte d’Azur.” It works with cruise lines, local business, and tourism industry professionals to provide a common platform of cooperation, unified activities, and to raise awareness of the cruise industry’s economic value. www.frcc.fr

MARSEILLE PROVENCE CRUISE CLUB is launching a “2009 Cruise Passport” to accomodate its expected 700,000 passengers for the year. Marseille is one of the most important ports in The Mediterranean Sea and ideally located at the heart of the western Mediterranean. For the first year, more than 10 vessels will offer over 250 cruise departures from the port of Marseille on a non-stop basis from January to December 2009. www.marseille-cruise.com

VAR PROVENCE CRUISE CLUB promotes networking between public and private sector cruise industry stakeholders and optimizes development of the cruise industry in the VAR region. The VAR region is France’s leading area for tourism. Forming part of the vast Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur area, it is the southern-most point of the French Mediterranean coast centrally located on the Italy-Spain axis, just a few miles from Corsica. www.varprovence-cruise.com

Equipment Suppliers:

ACEBI designs davits and deck equipment for military vessels, merchant ships, and megayachts. It has a new range of carbon fiber megayacht equipment that includes bridges, ladders, doors, davits, and platforms. www.acebi.com

ACS PRODUCTION creates textile architecture including awnings, canopies, and covers. It has installed canopies on more than 80 cruise ships and has developed a new field: installation of canopies during refits and dry docks in direct cooperation with several ship owners. www.acs-production.com

AIA DE LA RIZE NANTES is an association of architects and engineers that specialize in interior design for cruise ships. The Nantes AIA is one of four localized AIA groups in France. Some recent projects include cabins, dining areas, and entertainment halls. www.a-i-a.fr

CONSTRUCTIONS METALLIQUES RICHARD (CMR) has worked for the biggest shipyard in Europe for the fabrication and installation of metal and glass products such as balconies, steel decorative stairs, wind screens, and glass walls since 1999. Its glass-sticking process is certified by SIKA Flex. www.cmrsa.fr

DEVISMES manufactures marine doors and marine fire doors (B15 door and type C door). Its priority is to design and manufacture doors that fulfil customers’ needs in terms of safety, lead time, and cost.  www.devismes.fr

DL SERVICES designs, coordinates, and supervises new building and modernization/refit projects for cruise ships, putting together food flow concepts, lay-out designs with itemized budgeted equipment specifications, turnkey specifications, and installation supervision. www.dl-services.com

ENODIS MANITOWOC GROUP specializes in tailor-made cooking equipment for the marine industry. It performs both rebuilds and new construction. It offers a large range of products including griddles, bratt pans, kettles, fryers, combi-ovens, blast chillers, microwave, meat slicers, mixers, and more. www.enodis.fr

EVAC manufactures and markets environmentally friendly wet and dry waste-collection and treatment systems for the shipbuilding industry. Its extensive product line includes the Evac 910, the quietest vacuum toilet on the market. www.evac.com

GESTAL has 60 years of experience in the shipbuilding industry by supplying small metal components, sheet metal work, pipework, plumbing, and electrical motor rewinding. All the company’s activities are housed in a single facility covering 16,000 square meters (approximately 172,000 square feet). www.gestal.fr

MAPAC designs and produces panels for floors, walls, ceilings and more for prefabricated sets such as naval cabins, modular arrangements, verandas, etc. MAPAC panels are in accordance with construction requirements for fire classification, mechanical resistance, heat insulation, and noise reduction. www.mapac.fr

POLYREY creates and produces decorative laminate and melamine-face surfaces for interior fittings. Its designs can be found on ships such as the Coral Princess, Napoleon Bonaparte, Island Princess, Seven Seas Mariner, and the Queen Mary 2. www.polyrey.com

SOCIETE MARINE DE SERVICE ET D’EQUIPEMENT NAVAL (SMS) provides furniture for new buildings, retrofit and refurbishing in cruise ships including: theatre seating; stools for casinos, bars, and children areas; sofa-beds and reclining seats; and doors, ceilings, panels, glass, and equipment for galleys, laundry, bathroom, public spaces, cabins and technical spaces. (no website)

STIRLING DESIGN INTERNATIONAL specializes in designing and building megayachts and bluewater cruisers. In 2008, SDI built two 140-meter cruise ships at Fincantieri shipyards for CMA-CGM and helped create a new green cruise ship concept for STX Europe. www.stirlingdesign.fr

ZODIAC produces live-saving marine equipment including lifeboats and life rafts. It recently introduced a new “stacking container” design for life raft storage, and a new extended-service liferaft, which offers a 30-month service interval compared to the 12-month industry standard. www.zodiacsolas.com

Ports of Call:

AJACCIO & SOUTH CORSICA – CHAMBER OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY (CCIAS) ensures a high-quality and well-equipped welcome for cruise companies with four ports: the new Ajaccio berth, Bonifacio (refitted quays), Porto-Vecchio (accepts 190-meter ships), and Propriano (a new landing area that can accept 210-meter ships). www.ajaccio-sudcorse.cci.fr

CHERBOURG NORMANDY CRUISE DESTINATION introduces a new Cherbourg cruise terminal that provides a 600-meter-long berth with a water depth of 13 meters, 2,500 square meters on two levels for top-class operation to passengers and luggage-handling, easy connections to buses and taxis, and covered access to the ship via electric gangways. www.port-cherbourg.com

CRUISE BORDEAUX highlights Bordeaux, a traditional port of call for passenger liners and cruisers since before World War II. Located on the South Atlantic coast at the head of the breath-taking Gironde Estuary,  the Port of Bordeaux offers three berths, catering specifically to cruise liners (210 meters long) affording a unique view over the 18th century frontages. www.atlanticalliance.eu

FRENCH RIVIERA PORTS has recently added two new ports of call: Antibes and Golfe-Juan. These two ports join the mainstays Cannes, Nice, and Villefranche, making the French Riviera Ports the best way to access the region’s heritage and cosmopolitan culture. www.ccinice-cote-azur.com

PAPEETE PORT AUTHORITY – TAHITI TOURISM is a French marine area as large as continental Europe. Today, Papeete Port can welcome cruise ships up to 350 meters in length and their passengers in an exceptional location: four secured berths in the center of the business capital of French Polynesia close to the international airport. www.portdepapeete.pf

PORT OF BAYONNE invites visitors to witness the region’s unspoiled coastlines, majestic interiors, and historical architecture. The Basque people, with their mysterious language, have a deep respect for their past, their land, and their culture. Nearby Biarritz is home to the Biarritz Le Phare golf course, one of the oldest courses in continental Europe. www.port-of-call.com

PORT OF BREST is at the crossroads of the English Channel & Atlantic Ocean routes. The harbor is at the foot of one of Western Europe’s largest coastal cities, endowed with all the facilities required to accommodate the largest ocean liners, deep in a naturally sheltered bay. UNESCO recently classified the area’s Ushant island and the Molene archipelago as a world biosphere reserve. www.cruiseeurope.com

PORT OF LA ROCHELLE is one of the most easily accessible ports on France’s Atlantic coast. This medieval city offers a very attractive mix of architecture from the Middle Age to the present day, as well as wide range of exciting shops. La Rochelle and the area offers a large choice of excursions for gastronomy, history, and the region’s landscapes and villages. www.larochelle.port.fr

SOUTH BRITTANY-LORIENT CRUISES opens the door to Brittany’s superb landscapes and Celtic civilizations. Passengers can enjoy Breton cuisine including crepes, cider, and the authentic Breton fresh seafood platter. Each season offers its own smells and colors. This region is a place of legends in tune with tradition and nature from exotic gardens and chateaux to the beauty of Paul Gauguin paintings, and the mysterious megaliths that dot the land. www.lorient.port.fr

PORT OF NANTES-SAINT NAZAIRE is the gateway to the Châteaux de la Loire (Loire Valley Castles), the Guérande medieval city, and Muscadet vineyards. Open since 2007, the attraction “Machines of Ile de Nantes” is part-laboratory, part-museum where machinists bring to life and tell the story of fabulous dream machines direct from the imagination of Jules Verne. www.nantes.port.fr

PORT OF ROUEN-HONFLEUR is a major port on the Seine River that leads directly to Paris. At Rouen, vessels berth right in the center of the city and, in addition to visiting the historic center of Rouen, passengers can travel down to Paris during their stopover or admire the gardens of Giverny that inspired Claude Monet. www.rouen.port.fr

PORT OF SAINT-MALO is located right in the middle of this unique and historic walled city. Strategically placed for cruise itineraries, Saint-Malo accommodates ships up to 240 meters long. It is the quickest way to Mont Saint Michel and is within easy reach of the Channel Islands, Ireland, England, and, further south, Spain. www.saint-malo.cci.fr

PORT OF TOULON – VAR-PROVENCE is an increasingly popular port among major cruise lines who are considering it an attractive alternative port of call in the Mediterranean and particularly in Provence. It has a central position in the western Mediterranean and on the French Mediterranean coast. It has four piers, with one able to accommodate ships up to 330 meters long. www.varprovence-cruise.com

Tourism Offices:

MAISON DE LA FRANCE is the official French government tourism office. The office’s website includes practical travel information for visitors, destination guides, event listings, and much more. us.franceguide.com

LE HAVRE OFFICE OF TOURISM promotes Le Havre, the premier French cruise port of the European west coast. The port of Le Havre has the capacity to host the biggest cruise ships in service in the world, round the clock. From Paris to Le Havre, river cruise ships take the impressionist itinerary of the Seine Valley. In 2010 Normandy will host an international cultural event: Impressionism in Normandy. www.lehavretourisme.com

For more information, please contact:

UBIFRANCE
Florence Zuchowski
Trade Advisor
ZAC de la Joliette
2-4, Place d’Arvieux
13002 Marseille
FRANCE
Tel.: +33 (0)4 96 17 25 95
E-mail: florence.zuchowski@ubifrance.fr

or:

FRENCH TECHNOLOGY PRESS OFFICE
205 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 3740
Chicago, IL 60601
Tel.: (312) 327-5260
E-mail: contact.ftpo@ubifrance.fr

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