- The Last NORTH ATLANTIC Ocean Liners
- Last Ocean Liners to AFRICA & LATIN AMERICA
- To AUSTRALIA, FAR EAST & AROUND-the-WORLD
- SAILING SCHEDULES January to December 1966
- RANK & COMPARE the Last Ocean Liners
After World War II the largest passenger fleet under the French flag was operated by Messageries Maritimes, sailing from the great Mediterranean port of Marseille. The company built nine combination passenger and cargo ocean liners in the early 1950s for routes to areas of commercial and cultural interest for the French.
Three fast white ships were completed for Messageries Maritimes on the Indo-China and Far East service, the Cambodge, Laos and Viet-Nam. Their month long voyages called at Port Said, Aden (or Djibouti), Bombay, Colombo, Singapore, Bangkok, Saigon (westbound), Manila, Hong Kong, Kobe (eastbound) and Yokohama.
First class accommodations were quite sumptuous, with a lovely drawing room, card and writing rooms, bar, smoking room, swimming pool and dining room. Even ahead of the times, 34 First class staterooms featured a private veranda. Tourist class had a small lounge and dining room. Third class were accommodated mainly in 6 and 8-berth cabins forward, with a cafeteria serving as the lounge between meals. Additional forward space could be allocated for troops.
Cambodge, Laos and Viet-Nam carried French manufactured goods in their cargo holds on the outward journey, and returned with the mass production of Japan and Hong Kong.
Four of the ocean liners traded to exotic east African ports in Kenya, Tanzania, Madagascar, the Comoro Islands and Reunion, with a turnaround at Mauritius. The comfortable vessels on this service were the nearly identical Ferdinand de Lesseps, La Bourdonnais, Pierre Loti and Jean Laborde. Their three-class passenger accommodations were similar to the Far East ships. They also had five cargo holds including one for refrigerated items. The ports varied by voyage, but each one-way trip took about one month.
The handsome Messageries Maritimes combination liners Caledonien and Tahitien were designed to transport cargo, passengers and military personnel to French islands in the Caribbean and the Pacific. The long voyage from Marseille called at Madeira, Guadeloupe (or Martinique), Curacao, Panama, the Marquesas Islands, Tahiti, New Hebrides, New Caledonia and turning around in Sydney. It was one of the longest of all line voyages, taking nearly two months each way.
First class passengers aboard Caledonien and Tahitien enjoyed a smoking room, bar, card/writing room, pool bar and dining room. There were 30 First class staterooms with 2, 3 and 4-berths, 25 Tourist class with 2 and 4-berths and 41 Third class cabins with 2, 4 and 6-berths. Additional space for troops was provided as well.
In 1962, the French shipping lines operating to South America, Chargeurs Reunis and Sud-Atlantique closed their business and sold three of their fine combination liners to Messageries Maritimes. Charles Tellier, Laennec and Louis Lumiere continued serving the same route between Le Havre and Buenos Aires. They were similar in design and purpose to the company's original nine combination liners.
Promenade Deck C contained First class public rooms and cabins of one to four berths including two Cabins De Luxe with drawing room and private veranda. More First class cabins, the interchangeable cabins and Third class lounge were on D Deck. Third class accommodations were below on E and F Decks, mainly booked by migrants from Spain and Portugal to South America. They also had six cargo holds with substantial space for refrigerated beef from Argentina.
After the Suez Canal closed in 1967 and war was raging in Southeast Asia, Viet-Nam was renamed Pacifique and switched to the South Pacific service. The three South American ships were replaced in late 1966 by the new Pasteur, which served until 1976.
Competition from the airlines, and as well from the new generation of container ships, eventually led to the withdrawal of all of these important ocean liners.
Sample minimum one-way fares from Marseille to Yokohama: First class $903; Tourist class $631; Third class $447; from Marseille to Mauritius: First class $725; Tourist class $490; Third class $377; from Marseille to Sydney: First class $840; Tourist class $504; Third class $442; from Le Havre to Buenos Aires: First class $607; Third class $259; All fares are per person in U.S. dollars.
Go to Messageries Maritimes sailing schedules or select schedules by ship below:
 Cambodge Built: 1953 by Ateliers et Chantiers, Dunkirk, France Go to sailing schedules for this ship. |
 Laos Built: 1954 by Chantiers Nav de la Ciotat, La Ciotat, France Go to sailing schedules for this ship. |
 Viet-Nam Built: 1952 by Chantiers Nav de la Ciotat, La Ciotat, France Go to sailing schedules for this ship. |
 Ferdinand de Lesseps Built: 1952 by Chantiers de la Gironde, Bordeaux, France Go to sailing schedules for this ship. |
 La Bourdonnais Built: 1953 by Arsenal de Lorient, Lorient, France Go to sailing schedules for this ship. |
 Pierre Loti Built: 1953 by Arsenal de Brest, Brest, France Go to sailing schedules for this ship. |
 Jean Laborde Built: 1953 by Chantiers de la Gironde, Bordeaux, France Go to sailing schedules for this ship. |
 Caledonien Built: 1952 by Ateliers et Chantiers, Dunkirk, France Go to sailing schedules for this ship. |
 Tahitien Built: 1953 by Arsenal de Brest, Brest, France Go to sailing schedules for this ship. |
 Charles Tellier Built: 1952 by Ateliers et Chantiers, St. Nazaire, France Go to sailing schedules for this ship. |
 Laennec Built: 1952 by Ateliers et Chantiers, St. Nazaire, France Go to sailing schedules for this ship. |
 Louis Lumiere Built: 1952 by Penhoet, St Nazaire, France Go to sailing schedules for this ship. |