Ambassador Cruise Line and Compagnie Francaise de Croisieres agree to merge

Ambassador Cruise Line, a Njord Partners portfolio company, and French cruise operator Compagnie Française de Croisières (CFC), have reached an agreement to merge, forming the Ambassador Group.

The transaction is expected to close by the end of January 2025.

The group will operate a fleet of three small- to mid-sized vessels incorporating Ambassador’s Ambience and Ambition and CFC’s 1,200 guest-capacity Renaissance, which is fully refurbished following recent multi-million-euro investments.

The groups said both the Ambassador and CFC vessels will continue to offer a traditionally British or French product offering to their respective markets.

Renaissance will be upgraded with the latest environmental technologies after entering drydock in January 2025 to make her IMO Tier III compliant in line with her sister ships.

Ambassador Group said it is also introducing a joint fly-cruise Caribbean programme in Winter 2025/26 in partnership with Corendon, with itineraries from October 2025 and homeporting in Barbados, Martinique and Curaçao.