Ambassador Cruise Line Booking

[Britboys]

On 10/12/2021 at 7:02 AM, Skipper Tim said:

NEWS! According to MarineTraffic, the Satoshi/Ambience departed Bar at 23:35 yesterday (11th October) for Rijeka, Croatia.

 

https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/shipid:192731/zoom:10

It appears that she is not due back in Bar until March and there are several shipyards in Rijeka, so perhaps this is where she will have some refitting done.

[paulatsea]

Has anyone booked yet ? I’m interested to see how this line goes .

[BestGuessed]

Yes we have !!
British Isles Discovery cruise 3rd April 2023 11 nights.  I am sure other Cruise Critic members will be cruising before we do and I hope they will report back (favourably of course!) as Ambience will have been at sea for nearly a year by the time we go.   Are you considering booking ??

[paulatsea]

26 minutes ago, BestGuessed said:

Yes we have !!
British Isles Discovery cruise 3rd April 2023 11 nights.  I am sure other Cruise Critic members will be cruising before we do and I hope they will report back (favourably of course!) as Ambience will have been at sea for nearly a year by the time we go.   Are you considering booking ??

Yes - but I think I will see how the maiden voyage goes - I wish them well . Great choice on your booking - that looks good - was the booking process easy ? Did you go for a balcony as that’s what I would want ?

[BestGuessed]

We booked through a TA and it was exactly the same as other cruises we have booked, ie very easy.

There are huge number of cabin categories to choose from.  
We have booked a suite and we will be very interested to see how it compares to P&O and Cunard.  Being all inclusive is a big attraction plus the fact that it is effectively for adults only.

[paulatsea]

8 minutes ago, BestGuessed said:

We booked through a TA and it was exactly the same as other cruises we have booked, ie very easy.

There are huge number of cabin categories to choose from.  
We have booked a suite and we will be very interested to see how it compares to P&O and Cunard.  Being all inclusive is a big attraction plus the fact that it is effectively for adults only.

Thanks - same things appealed to me. The all inclusive packages look good and we only go adults only. 

[Paul S]

We booked last July directly with Ambassador for the Baltics cruise May 2023,  and it was straightforward.

 

We were on Marco Polo in 2007, and were due to be on Columbus on a near identical itinerary to the Baltics July 2021, but got our deposit back from our credit card issuer when CMV went out of business.

 

We are also in a suite. Ambassador seems rather more expensive than CMV (and no 2 for 1!) but  Tilbury is a short drive away from our home.

[Skipper Tim]

On 2/16/2022 at 11:26 AM, Paul S said:

but  Tilbury is a short drive away from our home.

The fact that Tilbury is such a pain to get to from where we live (Slaithwaite, Yorkshire) is the reason we are looking to transfer our deposits to the new (to Ambassador) 'Ambition', which will have some sailings from Liverpool, a mere two hours away! I am hoping the name signifies that the ship will have ambitious itineraries, befitting an even smaller ship (48kGT vs. 70kGT of the Ambience). They should go on sale in "Q2". 

[paulatsea]

1 hour ago, Skipper Tim said:

The fact that Tilbury is such a pain to get to from where we live (Slaithwaite, Yorkshire) is the reason we are looking to transfer our deposits to the new (to Ambassador) 'Ambition', which will have some sailings from Liverpool, a mere two hours away! I am hoping the name signifies that the ship will have ambitious itineraries, befitting an even smaller ship (48kGT vs. 70kGT of the Ambience). They should go on sale in "Q2". 

I was reading recently they plan to expand their routes to exiting and exotic places once they have settled in and everything going smoothly - 23/24.

 

I have been looking at the uk cruises and may try one of them first - tilbury is easy for us.

 

Looking forward to hearing from someone who has been with them - maiden voyage soon I think.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[indiana123]

We are booked for lst May, Round Britain.

 

I thought I would mention the following as because it is a new line there could be misunderstandings.  It might help somebody.

 

I am partially disabled (due to an accident en route to a cruise ship.)  I use a tiny fold up scooter, so small it can go in a plane cabin  .I only use it mostly in the evenings when tired or if going on a long walk.  I use it to get on board too .. up that snake tunnel!!!  Some days I'm good, some days not so good.  I can manage in the cabin.

 

OH said no need to mention it when booking as it has been on two other cruise lines but I insisted, and sure enough they do not allow walking aids of any kind unless you book an accessible cabin.   I queried it a lot, but a supervisor gave me an explanation.  For safety reasons apparently they are only allowed a small number of wheelchairs etc.  I might have misheard but thought it was 16.

 

Anyway, the upshot was that they let me know there was an accessible cabin so I had to book that.

 

So here we come for lst May.  Can't get off at some ports due to tender, but I can't wait.  We love the whole cruising experience, and we loved Magellan.

[richard_london]

I had a quick look on MarineTraffic and she is still in the floating dry dock in Croatia.

Less than 4 weeks to go now until her maiden voyage.

 

If you haven't seen there is a Facebook group as there are limited photos on the official FB page for Ambassador.

https://www.facebook.com/pacificdawnpage/

 

You don't need an account to view the page.  The latest photos show she is getting her white/green/purple livery at the moment.

 

She is looking a lot sharper freshly painted.  I wonder what she will be like inside.

[Britboys]

4 hours ago, richard_london said:

I had a quick look on MarineTraffic and she is still in the floating dry dock in Croatia.

Less than 4 weeks to go now until her maiden voyage.

 

If you haven't seen there is a Facebook group as there are limited photos on the official FB page for Ambassador.

https://www.facebook.com/pacificdawnpage/

 

You don't need an account to view the page.  The latest photos show she is getting her white/green/purple livery at the moment.

 

She is looking a lot sharper freshly painted.  I wonder what she will be like inside.

I think much will still look the same as when she was Pacific Dawn, probably with new carpeting and some other soft furnishings. The most significant internal change is likely to be the original casino, which is now a lounge/bar called the Purple Turtle. There will also be a few changes of use to the units around the atrium. Externally, the water slides have gone and there will be a shallow pool in place of the children's water park.

 

For those on fb, there is a very friendly and useful group called "Cruising with Ambassador". The Ambassador CEO seems to engage with the Admin of the group and has answered many questions. It is a private group but well worth joining if you are going - or thinking of going - on her.

[NorbertsNiece]

Hi 👋 

Am booked Iceland/Greenland/Canada for September. Have to sort insurance.....

[Britboys]

Ambience was moved out of dry dock today and is now berthed alongside just behind the dry dock. Ambassador posted on their social media. Things are moving forward!

[richard_london]

Any if you look a bit further south AidaMira is currently docked in Pula in Croatia, not that far from the shipyard where the Ambience is.  I wonder how long it will be before she heads to the shipyard?  I'm not sure she is sailing for Aida anymore, so perhaps she is just waiting to be refitted.

 

I found this video online, she looks nice inside, I think and she has quite a nice profile.

 

[Britboys]

13 hours ago, richard_london said:

Any if you look a bit further south AidaMira is currently docked in Pula in Croatia, not that far from the shipyard where the Ambience is.  I wonder how long it will be before she heads to the shipyard?  I'm not sure she is sailing for Aida anymore, so perhaps she is just waiting to be refitted.

 

I found this video online, she looks nice inside, I think and she has quite a nice profile.

 

No, she is now officially owned by Ambassador and there was a 'handing over of the keys' ceremony to the CEO and the Captain a couple of days ago.

She's not currently due to sail for Ambassador for a year so unless that changes, I doubt she will go into the shipyard for a while yet.

[Martha1974]

On 2/17/2022 at 12:01 PM, Skipper Tim said:

The fact that Tilbury is such a pain to get to from where we live (Slaithwaite, Yorkshire) is the reason we are looking to transfer our deposits to the new (to Ambassador) 'Ambition', which will have some sailings from Liverpool, a mere two hours away! I am hoping the name signifies that the ship will have ambitious itineraries, befitting an even smaller ship (48kGT vs. 70kGT of the Ambience). They should go on sale in "Q2". 

 

We're nearly in your neck of the woods @Skipper Tim(Bingley, Yorkshire but I work in Hudds). We've booked Ambassador out of Tilbury for the German Xmas Markets but have booked the "Festive event" for the night before to take a bit of the pressure off the journey down (I can cope with being late for dinner but at least she'll still be quayside when we get there!) I'd be interested to know what you think of the sailings from Liverpool when they start as that would be a lot easier for us too. 

[richard_london]

There is a post on Facebook showing her out of the drydock with final work going on around her funnel.  Also looks like the uppermost part of the superstructure abvoe the bridge needs to be completed.

 

https://www.facebook.com/pacificdawnpage/photos/a.160950443956241/5149508461767056/

[richard_london]

Just seen this:

 

https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/ship-operations/supply-chain-issues-delay-inaugural-sailing-ambassadors-ambience

 

The first three cruises have been cancelled due to supply chain problems.  How disappointing for all those booked on board.

[Britboys]

5 hours ago, richard_london said:

Just seen this:

 

https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/ship-operations/supply-chain-issues-delay-inaugural-sailing-ambassadors-ambience

 

The first three cruises have been cancelled due to supply chain problems.  How disappointing for all those booked on board.

Very disappointing indeed. Ambassador have emailed everyone affected today. If pax are unable or don't wish to transfer to the new date of the maiden, they will get a full refund plus 20% future cruise credit.

[richard_london]

Since the pandemic and now with war in Ukraine and all the disruption this is all causing around the world it is making booking a ship's maiden voyage a bit of a lottery.  I know it is a first world problem and in the scheme of things, a lot worse thing happen, but it was the case that you could a maiden voyage sailing with confidence it would go ahead.  Now it seems much more uncertain.

[indiana123]

We are on lst May.  Have fingers crossed it goes ahead.  As has been said, worse things going on in the world, but disappointing in our own little world.

[Britboys]

4 hours ago, indiana123 said:

We are on lst May.  Have fingers crossed it goes ahead.  As has been said, worse things going on in the world, but disappointing in our own little world.

Absolutely - always a worry with such things but I am sure all will be well with your cruise. Whilst we all know how awful things are around the world, our own lives also go on...

[Britboys]

Ambience left the shipyard in Croatia this afternoon and is bound for Ravenna in Italy, presumably en-route to Tilbury.

[Britboys]

After some sea trials off Ravenna, she has made her way across to Bar in Montenegro, where she is berthed bedside her sister-ship, Ambition.