CFC President Maelysse Pierrot-Guibourt on Renaissance’s upcoming refurb and company plans

Having completed its inaugural year, the all-French cruise line, CFC, which entered the premium segment not previously represented in the country's cruise portfolio, is about to invest in more upgrades for Renaissance, as President Maelysse Pierrot-Guibourt explained.

2024 trading

CFC is looking to close 2024 having carried around 25,000 passengers.

‘This summer was a success, with an occupancy rate of 75%. Our children and teenagers' clubs were very popular and Christmas and New Year's cruises are fully booked,’ she said.

Looking to 2025, ‘Our two 15-night northern lights cruises heading to Norway on March 1 and 16 from Le Havre are filling up quickly.’

Eight cruises canceled for dry dock

In the meantime, CFC's only ship Renaissance is to undergo technical work at an unnamed yard in January and February, resulting in the cancellation of eight cruises.

The 1,100-passenger ship (built as Holland America Line’s Maasdam) already met certain environmental requirements as it had been planned for summer sailing in Alaska.

Before the ship launched for CFC, scrubbers were upgraded and the hull received a silicone coating at the Brest Damen yard in 2023.

‘At this next dry docking we will install latest-generation catalytic converters to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions as part of our Green Marine Europe Certification, which we are proud to announce,’ Pierrot-Guibourt said. 'Renaissance will be equipped for shore power, too, enabling us to sail anywhere in the world including some very exacting Norwegian fjords that we navigate in.’

Other upgrades entail air conditioning work, and some windows and carpets will be changed.

Some public spaces will also be renovated. ‘We already turned the casino into a card and board games room, where we also organize events for solo travellers, a clientele that represents more than 15% of our passengers and benefits from some 50 dedicated cabins at no extra charge,' Guibourt said.

Homeporting

CFC used two turnaround ports: Le Havre and Marseille, and is looking at Bordeaux as a possible third option which might appear on 2026 itineraries currently being finalised.

‘We have also listened to our agents and their customers' requests. Some of Renaissance's best selling cruises will be repeated next year,' Pierrot-Guibourt continued. 'We shall offer more shorter cruises and are planning more themed cruises, given the interest generated by the two we launched this year' (comedy in November and music in December).

CFC engaged Paris-based branding and strategic design agency Desdoigts for its recent rebranding focussing on the ‘Earth in sight’ theme,  and visuals based on the company's values of sincerity, curiosity and sharing. A website refresh is in the works for next year which will feature an English language version.

‘We aren't ruling anything out,’ Pierrot-Guibourt said.

New markets

Over 50% of CFC's sales are made by travel agencies, ‘which are very important to us’. But CFC wants to open new markets, such as MICE, and add more mini-cruises in 2026 and events when the ship is in port.  ‘With our all-French concept, we also plan to develop internationally in more French-speaking countries such as Belgium, Switzerland, Morocco and also Québec and to target a francophile clientele, as all our staff and crew also speak English.’