NEW YORK (Bloomberg) - Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., the world's second-largest cruise-line company, plans to start a line of ships catering to French vacationers.

The new line, CDF Croisieres de France, initially will operate one ship to be launched in May, Miami-based Royal Caribbean said today in a statement.

Royal Caribbean is expanding throughout Europe, where cruise vacations are becoming more popular and it can charge higher rates.

The Bleu de France will sail in the Mediterranean and Caribbean, and French will be spoken on board.

Royal Caribbean rose 28 cents to $36.49 at 4pm yesterday in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have fallen 12 percent this year.

Carnival Corp. is the world's largest cruise-ship company.