CFC-Ambassador Cruise Line Merger (page 1 of 2)

Hello,

As you may have read or heard—or I’m letting you know now—CFC is merging with Ambassador Cruise Line 😉

I’ve sailed with Ambassador twice already, and honestly, this merger makes total sense! Both companies offer the same type of service (with Ambassador’s English touch), and they generally have similar ships and target the same clientele.

To be honest, I think this is great news! I really hope Ambassador’s influence rubs off on CFC, especially in fixing all the issues I’ve had on Renaissance that I’ve never encountered on Ambassador (food quality, service, cabin problems, etc.).

Leading Ambassador are real cruise enthusiasts—passionate people with a clear marketing direction and a much more professional way of working with travel agents than CFC.

In short, I think this is fantastic news 🙂

Plus, Renaissance will be in the Caribbean next winter, so I assume European cruises will run on Ambience and Ambition. If English doesn’t scare you (too much), and you like the cozy ship vibe with great value for money, check out Ambassador—they’ve got some amazing itineraries! 😉

If you’d like more info on Ambassador, just ask 😉

What do you all think?

Here are a few photos of Ambience

Hi there, Actually, it's the whole CFC concept that's going out the window... And in your sentence, if English doesn't scare you, that's exactly it. CFC was supposed to be a company where only French would be spoken, with French gastronomy, and it was also supposed to be an adults-only concept. Basically, none of that exists anymore... so I don't know if it's a good or a bad thing, but I think it's mainly a survival issue for CFC, which has had a lot of problems from the start.

The big question is also whether the French-speaking market is mature enough to sustain a 100% French-speaking cruise line or if the marketing and other aspects were just poor. The world is international, and France and the Francophonie aren’t the center of it. That’s just reality.

Even at Ponant, a large portion of the clientele is English-speaking (British, American, Australian, etc.). If we compare it to hotel vacations, Club Med in winter is 80% English-speaking guests.

I think we also need to open up to the world, and honestly, I’d rather have well-behaved, calm English guests than Italians (personal opinion).

Just FYI, Ambassador is adults-only too. They organize a few multi-generational cruises per year, but it's only a handful of dates, no more than that 😄

Well, I don’t know if this was specifically aimed at me, but English isn’t an issue for me... I actually travel regularly with American airlines. But yeah, that was the basic concept—though it seems it just wasn’t profitable. At any rate, CFC didn’t manage to make it work. Whether that’s because it *can’t* be profitable or because it was done badly, I don’t know...

No no, I wasn’t targeting you at all when I mentioned English 😉 I’m not targeting anyone, actually—I’m just giving a heads-up 😅.

I don’t know if the concept wasn’t profitable or if they just mismanaged things. Sadly, we’ll never know the answer, but if the two companies can pull off a 50/50 English-French mix, it could be really great!

And for info, Ambassador is adult-only too. They organize a few multi-generational cruises per year, but it's only a few dates annually, no more 😄

Unfortunately, CFC isn’t adult-only at all. If it becomes so again, I’d be thrilled though...

I’m still very skeptical about the future of a company that only has old ships....

Hi there, There isn’t much for kids on the Renaissance, and what’s more, kids aren’t “free,” so in reality, it’s mostly adults on board.

hi there some people mention kids being on board—maybe there aren’t many, but it’s still not ADULTS ONLY 😉

On the other hand, NCL is starting to consider it

I think it's the same strategy as Celestyal: buying older ships (which, let's be honest, were sold at bargain prices post-COVID), renovating them with a budget in mind, using them for 5-6 years, and then starting all over again with other ships.

Personally, I don’t find this strategy shocking—considering how long it takes to build a ship and the amounts involved... Ultimately, refurbishing older ships and squeezing every last bit out of them while offering cruises at affordable prices (as long as the price stays reasonable, of course!) makes sense.

I get the feeling this is a section of the ship that’s adults-only, like the solarium on Celebrity.

Yeah, it’s all the aft section over three decks... With the pool but also a bar and lots of long loungers and chairs.

About the indoor pool on Celebrity, there were two hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon when it was family time during the best hours... So I didn’t find that amazing... Here, it seems to be open all the time. I’ll let you know. 😄

Yes, an adults-only space like on Celebrity indeed.

Anyway, I’ll never understand the idea of going on a Renaissance cruise with kids.... Up to 3-4 years old: okay, because there’s a pool and they’re happy. But between 4 and 15 years old.... you need a water park, very specific activities, and things to keep them busy. So a ship that offers all that.

After 15, it depends on the teen in question 😉

Hi, I agree that in this case prices should be lower. That’s not always the case with CFC right now—some cruises are really expensive!

I think it's the same strategy as Celestyal: buying older ships (which, let's be honest, were sold at bargain prices post-COVID), renovating them on a budget, using them for 5-6 years, and then starting over with other ships.

The difference is that Celestyal knows what they're doing!!! Especially with excellent crews, great food, and solid organization.

Ambition was previously the Costa Neo-Riviera. I had a great cruise when this concept launched, with gourmet dining and long stopovers. But I don’t have an unforgettable memory of the ship.

We totally agree!

Just like Ambassador knows how to do it, so I hope they’ll bring that influence to CFC....

Actually, I don’t think that’s the issue. People used to go with CFC because it was French—only French or French-speaking passengers, and everything was in French. Clearly, that won’t be the case anymore, so the original concept just doesn’t exist anymore. As a result, there won’t really be any difference from other international cruise lines.

On the Corendon tour operator's website, the Renaissance is in Ambassador's colors, and cruises departing from Curaçao/Amsterdam are already online for late 2025. Looks like a merger-acquisition!