bonjour, Je recherche des informations sur la qualité d'enseignement en Thailande. Mon fils voudrait aller étudier à l'école Vatel Bangkok. Je me pose la question sur la qualité de l'enseignement à Bangkok par rapport à une autre école Vatel en France. En sortie d'école , pour un emploi, les opportunités sont elles les mêmes que pour les autres écoles? Beaucoup de questions que je me pose avant de laisser partir mon fils pour une durée de 4 ans minimum. Il connait déjà la Thailande pour y avoir vécu 1 an dans le cadre d'un échange. Je suis preneur de toutes les infos que vous pourriez me communiquer. merci d'avance Phil

bonjour, je suis a l'institu vatel et je voudrais faire mon stage d'apprentissage aux etats unis et je me pose des questions sur le formulaire ds2019 est ce que c'est l'hotel qui l'envoie ou il faut passer par un organisme special , je n'habite pas en france donc je ne peux pas payer en euros . Avez vous une solution ? merci

Bonjour Je suis algérienne. Je dois étudier à l'institut VATEL de TUNIS dès le 2 Octobre prochain. Je suis inquiète car je vais me retrouver loin de ma famille . On m'a dit que la vie en TUNISIE était facile et agréable. Je crains de regretter .....

bonojur, je suis etudiant marocain , je passe en license 3 , vatel ( écple international du mamnagement de l'hotellerie et du tourisme) , je voudrais bien me renseigner un peu sur les etudes à dubai, apres ma license je compte faire un master a dubai, il ya mon ecole a dubai mais moi je veux etudier et travailler au meme temps et ce n est pas possible a vatel dubai. SVP jai besoin de vos conseils. merci

Bonjour à tous,

Je suis français vivant près de Paris. Mon école (Vatel Paris) m'offre l'opportunité l'an prochain de partir à l'étranger faire un ou deux semestres académiques à l'étranger dans une des autres écoles Vatel dans le monde. Mon choix c'est porté sur Vatel Quebec.

Vatel Quebec se trouve précisément au Cégep de St-Hyacinthe. Pour moi le Canada ca toujours était un rêve de pouvoir venir, même si ce n'est que quelques mois, étudier ou faire un stage. Maintenant que cela est possible je dois m'organiser.

C'est pourquoi j'aurais plusieurs questions :

- Saint-Hyacinthe, au niveau du logement est-il globalement assez facile d'en trouver ? - Pour moi qui suis étudiant, est apprécie tout particulièrement Montréal, pour y être allé en tant que touriste, n'est-ce pas mieux de me rapprocher de Montréal quitte à faire un trajet aller retour soit Montréal - St-Hyacinthe, ou en partant de Longueuil. J'ai vu déjà plusieurs messages concernant les trajets, j'ai bien tout lu, et j'ai effectuer beaucoup de recherches, et en terme de temps je trouve ca gérable (à Paris je met au tant de temps, et pourtant je n'habite pas si loin...), mais es-ce vraiment ce qui à de plus pratique ? Sachant que j'ai tout de même envie de passer du temps à Montréal... et notamment d'aller voir certains match de hockey... 🙂

J'hésite vraiment à faire le trajet ou à m'installer directement près du Cegep. Je me pose beaucoup de question à savoir ce qui est le mieux pour moi, sachant que je ne connais pas du tout St-Hyacinthe.

Voila pourquoi je sollicite votre avis.

Merci d'avance.

Amicalement,

Bonjour à tous, Je cherche à me renseigner sur les études en tourisme à Maurice. Pouvez-vous m'aider? Merci

Bonjour, Bonsoir

Je suis nouveau sur le site. Donc j'entame pourquoi je suis là. Enfait, j'ai été admis au Cegep de St Hyacinthe via Vatel Québec ( école de gestion Hôtelière ). J'aurai voulu savoir un peu plus sur cette ville, les transports pour se rendre à Montréal, si la vie est sympa etc..

Dans l'attente de vos réponses !

We’ve just returned from a cruise that my wife and I will remember—unfortunately, not in a good way. There’s so much to say that I’ll proceed chapter by chapter. Pre-Cruise On January 24th, 2025, I booked through a supposedly attentive cruise agent the repositioning cruise of the CFC Renaissance to the French West Indies, initially departing from Le Havre, then from Dunkirk, on November 1st, 2025. The return flight was included in the price of this trip. From January, right after booking, this adventure got off to a bad start. Used to major cruise lines, I asked my agent to reserve a table for 4 at the "Vatel" restaurant for the second seating, and to link this reservation to the cabin of friends traveling with us. First brush-off: "Ask the maître d’ at the restaurant entrance on the first night."

"To govern is to foresee, and to foresee nothing is to head for disaster," as Émile de Girardin said.

Following this maxim, in February, I started looking for transportation to Le Havre, which was initially the departure port. Then, I asked the travel agent which airport the return flight would land at. I knew flights from Pointe-à-Pitre to Paris served both main Parisian airports. Here, I found myself like a ping-pong ball between the cruise agent and CFC: The cruise agent said, "Ask CFC," and CFC replied, "No, your agent is your intermediary—ask them." It went back and forth like that. Impossible to pre-book the flight that would take us back to our final destination. During the summer, we learned that the departure port was no longer Le Havre but Dunkirk. We canceled our transfers to Le Havre but, of course, lost the cost of the reservations. Meanwhile, we purchased our "Beverage" package—we chose the "Fraîcheur" option, which included all non-alcoholic cocktails, canned sodas, fruit juices, bottled water, and regular coffees. This detail is important for the rest of the story. Every month, I followed up to find out the return airport. Nothing until October 28th (3 days before departure), when CFC finally informed me it was Orly, along with the flight number and time. Of course, on top of booking at full price, I had to arrange my final transfer home. Since I had very little time before the return flight, I had to book an Uber in a rush for the Orly/CDG transfer. Right after, we were told that our first stop in Lisbon—the most anticipated for many cruisers—had been canceled due to a strike at the port of Lisbon and replaced with Vigo, Spain. A completely unremarkable stop—nothing outstanding. As you can see, the prelude was already problematic, yet we’re far from reaching the peak of our disappointments. .......... to be continued soon.

Hello everyone, I’m so happy to be back on Voyage Forum Cruises. I’ve missed this forum for planning my cruises over the past few years. Even though we came back very sick with Covid (diagnosed on disembarkation day) and at first we didn’t want to go on another cruise, the call is too strong, and we’re thinking of going again at the end of the year… 😎 After a big disappointment with COSTA (we were on the DIANANT) that couldn’t be resolved, we switched to MSC in Yacht Club and recently with our kids and grandkids in an Auréa Balcony cabin. But I have to admit, MSC’s dining options don’t suit me as well as COSTA’s. For the end of the year, I’m torn between Costa Toscana and CFC. Could someone give me info on the latter when traveling in a suite? Apart from the cabin size, no details are provided (dedicated restaurant, for example?). See you soon on the forum.

Je veux préparer un diplome d'etudes superieures dans la gestion des hotels et restaurants et je trouve que la tunisie est le bon lieu pour s'offrir une bonne formation dans ce domaine tout en sachant que je suis algérien et je vis en Algérie je suis diplomé en sciences de gestion option management des affaires et j'ai 25 ans. Donc veuillez me renseignez SVP pour bien savoir où dois-je m'inscrire comment et quand.Merci d'avance Nassim

Salut à tous,

Je suis étudiante en France et je recherche un stage à Sydney en hotellerie-restauration pour une période de 4 mois allant de fin mars à début juillet. J'ai une convention de stage assez stricte, entre autre, l'entreprise doit me loger et me donner une gratification d'environ 220€ par mois. J'ai fait tout un tas de site internet, j'ai appelé l'ambassade australienne et je suis tjs en galère. Je connais un peu l'australie puique j'y suis allée déjà plusieurs fois... Si quelqu'un pouvait m'aider ce serait extra... Merci d'avance

Hello, We’ll be sailing on the Renaissance with CFC to southern Norway from July 4 to 11, 2026, departing from Dunkirk (the cruise was booked through "Planète Croisière"). When entering some personal details or pre-selecting options on the CFC website, I’m wondering about the "optional" categories for drinks and WiFi. I’m actually a bit surprised by these extra charges, as we weren’t used to them on other cruises (Australis in Patagonia; Hurtigruten’s Coastal Express in Norway and Alaska; Rivages du Monde in the Arctic or on the Douro River; a Nile river cruise in Egypt), where we sometimes had access to basic drinks at meals and free WiFi when near land. Anyway, for those who’ve already taken a CFC cruise on the Renaissance, could you share some advice? Specifically about the most basic drink package, called "Fraîcheur" (238 € for two), which doesn’t seem to be described anywhere. The "Premium" package seems excessive (490 € for two for the week) for light drinkers. As for WiFi, it’s 10 € per day per person. While I find that price acceptable for parking our car in Dunkirk, it feels overpriced here (especially since it was free on the Nordlys "Coastal Express" just 3 or 4 years ago). So, I’d love to hear from experienced cruisers who’ve been on this ship! Looking forward to seeing the excursion prices, which should be available soon! 😐

Thanks in advance!

‌ Hi there, Here’s a little review of our cruise on the Renaissance from October 18 to 29, 2025 (11 nights). It was our first experience with CFC. Some other forum members were on board too, so we can probably compare notes and correct me if I’m wrong!

The stops were as follows: 10/18 departure from Marseille 10/19 at sea 10/20 Cartagena 10/21 Almería 10/22 Gibraltar 10/23 Cádiz 10/24 at sea 10/25 Leixões (Porto) 10/26 Vigo 10/27 at sea 10/28 at sea 10/29 Dunkirk

First, a quick intro. We’re a family of four with two kids, ages 8 and 11. We booked this cruise in January 2025, right when it went on sale. At the time, it was priced at 763 € per adult (+ 99 € in tips) and 114.45 € per child (under 12, no tips to pay) for an ocean-view cabin (all ocean-view categories were the same price). Since there was also a single-parent offer (meaning one paying adult in the cabin was enough to get the child rate for the accompanying kid), I asked if we could take advantage of this offer to get two double cabins at the same price as one quadruple cabin (to have more space), and yes, it was possible. So we booked two premium ocean-view double cabins side by side. It was the same price as a quadruple. We booked directly through CFC because my husband had a promotional code from his works council. In total, for the four of us, we paid 1830 €, tips included. It’s true we booked early, but the rate was good, and we had the constraint of traveling as a family of four, so cabin choices were more limited. It’s also worth noting that the single-parent offer is limited.

Now, about embarkation: 10/18 Marseille Coming from the north, we took the direct TGV that morning at 7:22 AM, scheduled to arrive in Marseille at 12:24 PM. The trip went smoothly, great weather, and we arrived just one minute late. I had planned to get to the port using the free 35T shuttle from Joliette. To get to the bus stop, there were two options: the metro or walking. Since the weather was beautiful and the kids needed to stretch their legs, we opted for the second option. The route is all downhill, so it was pretty easy even with the suitcases. But I wouldn’t do it the other way around! We arrived at Joliette around 12:50 PM, just in time for the 1:00 PM shuttle, which arrived a few minutes late. Other cruisers got on board too. That day, there were two Costa ships and one MSC ship at the port as well. Traffic was heavy, and the shuttle arrived at the port entrance at 1:30 PM. We were scheduled for 2:30 PM. We were lucky to be at the closest embarkation terminal. So we were among those who had the least walking to do. We dropped off our suitcases and headed to the check-in counter. There were plenty of desks and almost no passengers. So we quickly completed the embarkation formalities—in just a few minutes—and when we boarded, it wasn’t even 2:00 PM yet. We headed to the buffet, where there weren’t many people. As we finished lunch, it was around 3:00 PM when they announced the cabins were ready. We went down to drop off our luggage in the cabins and then went up to the top deck to take some photos. The ship’s daily program said the safety drill would be at 4:00 PM. So we went to deck 6 at the scheduled time. But later, they announced it would actually be at 4:30 PM! In short, we waited 30 minutes for nothing because of a difference between the scheduled and actual time! The drill itself was long. Gathering everyone took about 20 minutes, I think. Just as we finished, they announced the departure, originally scheduled for 5:00 PM, was delayed until 9:00 PM due to latecomers. We went to check out the library, which had tons of board games and books—more than we’d ever seen. What stood out on this first day was that, for the first time, we had a French-speaking embarkation, announcements only in French (except for the safety drill), French-speaking servers, a paper daily program in French, books in French (which we’d never find on another ship), and menus in French. To wrap up the day, we had dinner at Vatel. I had requested the first seating (6:30 PM) and a table for four, and we got it. We were seated upstairs near the window—a very pleasant table that we’d occupy every evening. What was a little surprising, but we got used to it, was that you had to order everything you wanted at once. The portions weren’t big, but you could choose what you wanted. The cheese was French and excellent.

To be continued...

Hi everyone, In a month, I’ll be on the *Renaissance* with Compagnie Française de Croisières. I’d just love to hear your thoughts on this ship—what you liked, what you liked less, etc. Thanks to all of you! Have a great day

My wife and I are going on the "Christmas and Holiday Traditions" cruise from December 22 to January 5. This is our first time with CFC. We’ve done dozens of cruises over the past 35 years—including three world cruises with Costa—but we’re tired of the Italian attitude. We’ve also done 3 or 4 with MSC, Club Med 2, and a long time ago, the Mermoz with Croisières Paquet, in short… Given the reviews, we’re wondering about the all-French aspect, since the Filipino crews are nice but French is complicated for them. And the comments about the food aren’t exactly reassuring. Yes, the drink packages are way too expensive. We’ll have to wait and see how much the excursions cost… It’s an old ship, so let’s hope everything still works. See you soon!

"Moi, j’adore manger et mon pire souvenir de ministre, c’est de manger quelque chose de super bon avec un connard."(Cécile Duflot, entretien avec le cuisinier Thierry Marx dans le Libé de ce weekend)

Bonjour,

Je rejoins mon ami à Marrakech pour l'année et je souhaiterai savoir si les piscines d'hotels sont accessibles aux résidents car je ne suis pas sure de supporter la chaleur des mois prochains sans un point d'eau ! Si vous connaissez des hotels qui ouvrent leurs piscines ainsi que leurs tarifs, je suis preneuse !

salam, SVP, vos conseils, vos experiences, toute historie, infos ne peut être que utile pour moi et pour tous!! PS Etudes à des prix raisonnables si ce n'est pas les moins chères..

je serai en thailande en mars amsterdam bkk avec cette compagnie et en voulant me renseigner sur la ponctualité je suis tombée sur des messages pas trés rassurant au niveau de la sécutrité sans être parano, j'avoue flipper un peu quand même, vos avis svp et merci pour votre aide !

bonjour a tous voilà, mon mari et moi somme tous les deux dans l'hotelerie et la restauration et nous aimerions bien nous etablir en pf mais nous ne savons rien sue le mode, le niveau de vie de la polynesie.y a t-il du travail dans ce secteur? est-il possible de france de trouver un emploie et un logement a distance ou est-ce preferable d'etre sur place? merci d'avance pour vos reponses🙂

😉Hi there, A few months ago, CFC put the EN VOGUE experience on sale, departing from Dunkirk. I booked this package to test the boat and onboard services for myself. I’d read a lot of reviews mentioning numerous issues on board, so I wanted to see for myself what it was really like…

Okay, I’ll stop rambling… The package included boarding at 6 PM on Friday, dinner, a show, an overnight stay, and breakfast. We chose an interior cabin for this experience—since the boat wasn’t leaving the dock, we didn’t see the point in paying more… All in all, it cost 130 € per person. My mom joined us; she got the same cabin for 130 € with no single occupancy supplement.

We’d checked in online to board faster. We took the train to DUNKIRK, then a taxi to the shuttle pavilion—7 € for the ride. When we arrived at the pavilion, we were told to wait because there was a connection issue with check-in. Great start… After about ten minutes, we were finally allowed to proceed. At the counter, they said they didn’t have our cabin cards and no record of our check-in… Very odd. With no solution, they put us on the bus and said we’d sort it out at reception. Perfect. We went through security, and they confiscated our water bottles—never seen that before! Then they said my mom had a corkscrew in her bag, so they searched it… but there was no corkscrew. Total amateur hour… They eventually dropped it.

We got on the bus for a ten-minute ride… We boarded the ship with a crew member and headed to reception. Turns out, we weren’t the only ones in this situation. The nightmare began… Only two staff members were handling all the issues, and everything seemed complicated. They told my mom her cabin had been given to someone else 😲. That was the last straw…

It took forever—they had to redo the entire check-in. Finally, they told my mom her cabin was good to go; they’d mixed her up with someone else… After a solid half-hour, we could finally head to our cabin.

I’m determined to test everything: the pool, jacuzzi, show, restaurant, spa, etc… TO BE CONTINUED

Hi there, So, I booked this cruise... I know CFC gets a lot of criticism— - And that it’s not really like the ships I usually take. But the destination really interested me... So, I’m giving it a try... I’m going in with an open mind, thinking I got a good deal, so I’m not expecting the same experience as when I travel with Yacht Club or The Haven. We’ll see... soon!

Hi everyone,

We were offered a visit to the Renaissance by the new CFC cruise line through Croisiland. After reading all the reviews—some very harsh, others glowing—I wanted to form my own opinion without having to book a full cruise to test it out. This visit to the ship at the port of Le Havre for 49 € per person came at the perfect time, even if I’m a bit put off by having to pay for a ship tour. That’s not how it usually works with other cruise lines, as far as I know.

The Renaissance is a former Holland America Line ship, built in 1993 and renovated in 2023. We’re familiar with this style of ship since we took a long cruise in Polynesia in 2014 on one of its sister ships, the MS Statendam. We remember it as a charming small ship with a lovely pool terrace at the very back.

Off we went this morning for a relaxing day on a ship—always a nice change!

The Pont de Normandie is the last elegant structure you see before entering the vast and rather smelly port area of Le Havre.



The area around the port where the Renaissance is docked is total chaos—cars everywhere and only a handful of taxis. We were supposed to have a reserved parking spot in front of the terminal (we’d even given them our car model and license plate), but we were denied entry. There’s no paved public parking, so we left the car on a vacant lot.



CFC was officially acquired by the British cruise line Ambassador Cruise Line in January 2025. Ambassador Cruise Line, launched in 2010, already owns two ships of the same type and age. They wasted no time repainting the funnel in their new colors.



The line of passengers disembarking and waiting for taxis is endless... and taxis are trickling in. Is this the aftermath of yesterday’s strike, or is this the norm in this port? Either way, I feel bad for the poor travelers waiting—it’s going to be a long haul. Many are leaving on foot, dragging their suitcases. Compared to the port of Marseille, this is pretty dismal.



Forty spots were available for this visit organized by Croisiland, but we ran into a good hundred people at the meet-up. A group from the AVF (Accueil des Villes Françaises) of Le Havre will be joining us. Our Croisiland group consists of twelve people, if I counted right.

Security clearance is done alphabetically, and we quickly board the ship. Now we’re getting to the heart of the matter.

To be continued...

Hi there, By sheer chance, a family housewarming in Brussels gave us the opportunity to depart from Zeebrugge for our first experience with CFC, allowing us to discover ports we didn’t know (which has become rare). After some questions before departure while browsing the forums, we discovered this company with great pleasure. Of course, luck may have played a particularly favorable part: dream weather, a sea as calm as a lake, and boarding and disembarking almost as if the ship were reserved just for us, since during our departure from Zeebrugge, only a small number of passengers were taking advantage of the unoccupied cabins from the previous cruise ending in Le Havre. As a result, we couldn’t get a suite, but our balcony cabin was very functional, with plenty of storage and a whirlpool bath we thoroughly enjoyed. Admittedly, the carpet was a bit worn, but it wasn’t a big deal. Having a large enough table allowed us to have breakfast in the cabin (our usual habit) in excellent conditions. The ship, a reasonable size, was pleasant, in great condition, and had many comfortable lounges. A large enclosed and heated space with a pool, jacuzzi, and deck chairs offered a calm atmosphere without intrusive activities (which is rare). I won’t mention the entertainment since we barely participated, but I think there was plenty of choice, including a "special bridge" activity. The restaurant had a lovely setting, with quick service and particularly attentive staff, reminding us of cruises from the past. The food was good quality and well-presented, though portions were quite small—something big eaters might regret. We loved the charm of an old-fashioned theater with comfortable seats and a table for drinks. The shows were fairly high quality, though opinions may vary. They catered mainly to a French-speaking audience, which is quite rare, and featured a live orchestra. The excursions seemed reasonably priced for what they offered, but we didn’t participate since we prefer organizing things ourselves. To sum up, we were pleasantly surprised by this "old little ship" with a mostly French-speaking, very attentive staff, all in a great atmosphere.

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 Has anyone sailed with the French company CFC? What do you think? Haven’t seen many reviews about this company.

Ouverture du 113ème Concours Photos de Voyage Forum. Après les lieux de cultes, la transition était toute trouvée pour le thème suivant :

" Châteaux et palais dans le monde"

Pour ce dernier mois de l’année, j’aimerais un feu d’artifice de photos qui me fassent rêver. Des photos de châteaux dignes de la Belle au bois dormant, des palais issus des Contes des mille et une nuits...

Les édifices peuvent être pris à l’extérieur comme à l’intérieur, on ne peut y voir que certaines parties, une pièce, le toit… Les ruines sont acceptées mais le bâtiment doit être tout de même reconnaissable.

Quelques exemples

Le palais royal de Madrid



Le palais royal de Phnom Penh



Les toits du château des rois de Navarre à Olite



Une cour intérieure du palais des Nasrides à l’Alhambra de Grenade



Dépôt des photos jusqu’au Lundi 23 décembre minuit. Vous pouvez poster jusqu’à 3 photos, numérotées et postées dans des messages différents, accompagnées d’un petit descriptif (lieu, anecdote...)

Vote du Mardi 24 décembre au Mardi 30 décembre minuit. Merci d’indiquer le numéro de la photo, le pseudo et le nombre de points attribués. Photo n°1 = 3 pts Photo n°2 = 2 pts Photo n°3 = 1 pt Tous les membres de VF peuvent voter (même ceux qui n’ont pas déposé de photos).

En cas d’égalité de points pour la première position, la photo gagnante sera celle ayant obtenu le plus grand nombre de 1ères places, puis de secondes places ! L’heureux (se) gagnant(e) devra organiser le premier concours photo de l’année 2020.

Pour discuter, c’est par ici

Bonsoir à tous,

Auriez-vous des suggestions d'hôtel à BKK avec piscine, dans un quartier sympa, pas trop cher et qui propose des chambres avec au moins 3 lits? (notre fille de 1 an pourrait dormir entre nous...)

L'idée c'est de pouvoir se poser dans un cadre sympa et surtout que les enfants se reposent après un ce long voyage, tout en leur offrant quand même un premier aperçu du dépaysement qui va les attendre les 3 semaines suivantes 😎

Merci beaucoup pour vos idées

Bonjour

En préparation d'un voyage , la Cote d'Azur , en 3 étapes -Nice et environ -St-Tropez et environ -Toulon et environ

Selon certaines personnes ayant demeurés dans cette région , nous déconseille la 3e étape (Toulon) , n'est pas représentative de la France et le coté sécuritaire n'est plus assuré ?