Cancelled Cruise

[Britboys]

The 3 night Festive Cruise due to leave today has been cancelled after pax boarded. A lifeboat issue apparently. Things not going well for Ambassador at the moment...

[MelbTone]

Yes, reported by Emma on her Emma Cruises FB page https://www.facebook.com/emmacruisesFB/ . 

[SteveH2508]

Just got home from it😒.

[Britboys]

And I see she is now en-route to Bremerhaven for emergency repairs, meaning the Christmas/New Year cruise to the Canaries has been cancelled too...

[paulatsea]

51 minutes ago, SteveH2508 said:

Just got home from it😒.

What happened Steve ?
Sorry to hear about this - how awful to get on board and then have to get off before getting anywhere.

[SteveH2508]

It was quite the catalogue of problems. Firstly, the key cards did not work and all had to be redone. This made accessing the cabin difficult. It slowed down the already glacially slow drinks service as well. There were just not enough waiters and bar staff.

The first seating for dinner (in our area at least) was disorganised to say the least. We waited half an hour for a food menu, meanwhile they were trying to take wine orders. The food (when it arrived) was good, though I shall now never know what the beef consommé was like.

 

Once the captain announced the cancellation during our main course, the wait team, to be fair, began to be 'quite free' with the wine pours.

 

After dinner the drinks service was again rather overwhelmed.

 

Temperature control in the cabins is still a problem.

 

The breakfast was prompt but not terribly good.

 

Apparently they are sailing to Germany to get the problem(s?) fixed. They have also cancelled the Christmas cruise to the Canary Islands.

[BigAl94]

I hope the Pilot is ok!

[paulatsea]

33 minutes ago, SteveH2508 said:

It was quite the catalogue of problems. Firstly, the key cards did not work and all had to be redone. This made accessing the cabin difficult. It slowed down the already glacially slow drinks service as well. There were just not enough waiters and bar staff.

The first seating for dinner (in our area at least) was disorganised to say the least. We waited half an hour for a food menu, meanwhile they were trying to take wine orders. The food (when it arrived) was good, though I shall now never know what the beef consommé was like.

 

Once the captain announced the cancellation during our main course, the wait team, to be fair, began to be 'quite free' with the wine pours.

 

After dinner the drinks service was again rather overwhelmed.

 

Temperature control in the cabins is still a problem.

 

The breakfast was prompt but not terribly good.

 

Apparently they are sailing to Germany to get the problem(s?) fixed. They have also cancelled the Christmas cruise to the Canary Islands.

Thanks Steve - jeez 🙄  what a shambles.

Full refund ?

Edited December 19, 2022 by paulatsea

[SteveH2508]

Full refund + 25% discount on a new booking or lift and shift with a 50% discount.

 

The lift and shift would come close to covering an 11 day cruise we have our eye on in March. We think we might wait to see what repairs are made (including the temperature issues), before we decide.

[paulatsea]

31 minutes ago, SteveH2508 said:

Full refund + 25% discount on a new booking or lift and shift with a 50% discount.

 

The lift and shift would come close to covering an 11 day cruise we have our eye on in March. We think we might wait to see what repairs are made (including the temperature issues), before we decide.

Perhaps “Ambition” will be a better ship. 
I would like to try ambassador at some stage.

[BigAl94]

1 hour ago, paulatsea said:

Perhaps “Ambition” will be a better ship. 
I would like to try ambassador at some stage.

Ambition is 24 years old and heading into her final years, currently chartered to the Scottish Government to house refugees and berthed in Glasgow. She will require renovation before cruising commences. Ambience is almost 32 years old and not surprising that there are issues. I wouldn't be confident about Ambassador's success.

[davemorton]

Also on this (none)cruise.  A couple of questions if anyone know the answer please. 

Can I claim for other expenses for this cruise does anyone know?  I am out of pocket by about £600 not including the price of the cruise.  Things like travel insurance, hotel stay the night before (I live too far away to risk same day travel), and train/taxis. 

Many thanks for any replies. 

Edited December 19, 2022 by davemorton

[foodsvcmgr]

Chandris successfully operated Britanis till nearly 60, CMV had Marco Polo over 50 and Astoria at 70, the current Ambassador fleet is barely broken in yet!!!!

[SteveH2508]

58 minutes ago, davemorton said:

Also on this (none)cruise.  A couple of questions if anyone know the answer please. 

Can I claim for other expenses for this cruise does anyone know?  I am out of pocket by about £600 not including the price of the cruise.  Things like travel insurance, hotel stay the night before (I live too far away to risk same day travel), and train/taxis. 

Many thanks for any replies. 

I am not a lawyer, however if your losses from their breach of contract are foreseeable, (which they almost certainly are) then you should be able to recover them. Your travel insurance may well cover most of this (not the premium however).

 

Definitely ask - don't ask, don't get.

[Britboys]

6 hours ago, paulatsea said:

Perhaps “Ambition” will be a better ship. 
I would like to try ambassador at some stage.

Ambition is a little younger and has been in service with Aida since the end of the pandemic, so hopefully any problems will have been ironed out then.

[BigAl94]

As Ambience has gone straight into dry dock in Bremerhaven, the issues must run much deeper than lifeboats, air conditioning or door locks!

[tring]

On 12/19/2022 at 8:19 PM, SteveH2508 said:

I am not a lawyer, however if your losses from their breach of contract are foreseeable, (which they almost certainly are) then you should be able to recover them. Your travel insurance may well cover most of this (not the premium however).

 

Definitely ask - don't ask, don't get.

 

Out of pocket expenses, are certainly claimable and it does not sound as though a good level of compensation has been given to cover these costs.  I would definitely not be interested in a reduction off a future cruise, if that is the only option - we have been on one Ambassador cruise and will NOT be repeating it!

 

The responsibility lies with the cruise line though, it is not an insurance issue.  I suggest you contact Ambassador in writing, email will do, but keep copies of your correspondence in case you need to take the matter further, (small claims track on court)

 

 

 

 

 

[toad455]

 

[SteveH2508]

This a direct quote from the CEO's post from the unmentionable place.

 

"Therefore, please allow me to outline what exactly happened and why we regretfully but rightly reached our decision to withdraw these itineraries.

In the months of December and January, Ambience was due to undergo a planned independent survey in order to renew its PSSC (Passenger Ship Safety Certificate). The inspection covers hundreds of different safety, technical and operational checks onboard the vessel, which are conducted both at sea and in port across a two-month period. This annual cycle is linked to the anniversary of the ship being built, and is not in any way related to when Ambassador actually started trading.

One of the required checks involves the safe and secure lowering of lifeboats. A full and thorough outside inspection, including required overload tests, was performed in March 2022 and the vessel was then furnished with a 5-year overload certificate. Since then, the operation of the lifeboats and tenders has been checked and performed at regular intervals, sometimes every day in case of tender ports, to ensure their readiness in the unlikely event they might have to be deployed during a sailing.

However, during an inspection of the lifeboat stations on Sunday 18th December, the Surveyor observed a slight movement of one of the sheaves used for guiding the steel wire ropes that move and hold the lifeboats in position. When checking on this movement further, the inspection brought to light a hairline crack on the bracket holding these sheaves in position, and more of these were found in a similar position on other brackets. While none of these would have interfered in any way with the ship’s safe operation immediately, these cracks could have led to potential issues in the future and needed to be repaired.

Therefore, we decided to immediately arrange repairs and not to operate the itineraries.

While these cracks are relatively straightforward to repair it needs certain preparations to be able to access the steel structure, including the lowering of all lifeboats and the removal of the steel wires holding them - something best done in a ship repair dock with sufficient access by crane. As such, we had to take the difficult decision to relocate the vessel to the next available and accessible ship repair yard, which is the Lloyd Werft Shipyard in Bremerhaven, Germany. Throughout her time in Bremerhaven, the lifeboat-related repairs, as well as additional works on key focus areas, will be carried out in order to ensure the vessel’s fully operational return to Tilbury in readiness for our Cuba and Treasures of the Caribbean itinerary on 5th January. We will continue to update you on our progress."

[zzdoug]

On 12/21/2022 at 2:10 AM, SteveH2508 said:

This a direct quote from the CEO's post from the unmentionable place.

 

"Therefore, please allow me to outline what exactly happened and why we regretfully but rightly reached our decision to withdraw these itineraries.

In the months of December and January, Ambience was due to undergo a planned independent survey in order to renew its PSSC (Passenger Ship Safety Certificate). The inspection covers hundreds of different safety, technical and operational checks onboard the vessel, which are conducted both at sea and in port across a two-month period. This annual cycle is linked to the anniversary of the ship being built, and is not in any way related to when Ambassador actually started trading.

One of the required checks involves the safe and secure lowering of lifeboats. A full and thorough outside inspection, including required overload tests, was performed in March 2022 and the vessel was then furnished with a 5-year overload certificate. Since then, the operation of the lifeboats and tenders has been checked and performed at regular intervals, sometimes every day in case of tender ports, to ensure their readiness in the unlikely event they might have to be deployed during a sailing.

However, during an inspection of the lifeboat stations on Sunday 18th December, the Surveyor observed a slight movement of one of the sheaves used for guiding the steel wire ropes that move and hold the lifeboats in position. When checking on this movement further, the inspection brought to light a hairline crack on the bracket holding these sheaves in position, and more of these were found in a similar position on other brackets. While none of these would have interfered in any way with the ship’s safe operation immediately, these cracks could have led to potential issues in the future and needed to be repaired.

Therefore, we decided to immediately arrange repairs and not to operate the itineraries.

While these cracks are relatively straightforward to repair it needs certain preparations to be able to access the steel structure, including the lowering of all lifeboats and the removal of the steel wires holding them - something best done in a ship repair dock with sufficient access by crane. As such, we had to take the difficult decision to relocate the vessel to the next available and accessible ship repair yard, which is the Lloyd Werft Shipyard in Bremerhaven, Germany. Throughout her time in Bremerhaven, the lifeboat-related repairs, as well as additional works on key focus areas, will be carried out in order to ensure the vessel’s fully operational return to Tilbury in readiness for our Cuba and Treasures of the Caribbean itinerary on 5th January. We will continue to update you on our progress."

That is a surprisingly candid explanation. I would not expect that level of disclosure from an American company in that situation. 

 

I had not heard of Ambassador Cruise Line until last night, when I happened to see Emma's vlog.

Edited December 30, 2022 by zzdoug

[BristolGolfer]

https://www.facebook.com/104659975058458/posts/pfbid0ea32QyRim4N38RWPgjFLefrQDqQKthQQ25XC2g7kSHQmxdhjNijxPsJ4W8VNRX8Sl/?app=fbl