Third Time - with Ambience

[arxcards]

Reminiscent of Oct/Nov 2007 when Regal Princess arrived from the US, then departed for Singapore to be made over into Pacific Dawn.

 

She still scrubs up OK, at least from the outside.

[cruiselover53]

we spent many happy hours in the "Dome

[bazzaw]

I have always been intrigued about cruising from the London Port of Tilbury and coupled with my fondness of Pacific Dawn , I have been watching Ambience closely. I was surprised that they sent her of a WC - she is after all pretty old. Has there been any feedback anywhere about this current cruise?? 

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, bazzaw said:

I have always been intrigued about cruising from the London Port of Tilbury and coupled with my fondness of Pacific Dawn , I have been watching Ambience closely. I was surprised that they sent her of a WC - she is after all pretty old. Has there been any feedback anywhere about this current cruise?? 

She is old, but Ambassador is a classic offering. The ship came out of a drydock in early January, and she has made it half way OK. Friends that saw her up close today mentioned that she looked tired, but she has had lots of recent sea days. No posts or blog from the WC that I am aware of.

 

What do Brisbane & Tilbury cruise terminals have in common?

[beatleman]

2 hours ago, arxcards said:

She is old, but Ambassador is a classic offering. The ship came out of a drydock in early January, and she has made it half way OK. Friends that saw her up close today mentioned that she looked tired, but she has had lots of recent sea days. No posts or blog from the WC that I am aware of.

 

What do Brisbane & Tilbury cruise terminals have in common?

Both are miles from nowhere😬

[arxcards]

Just now, beatleman said:

Both are miles from nowhere😬

And their next door neighbour is ❓

[bazzaw]

5 hours ago, arxcards said:

What do Brisbane & Tilbury cruise terminals have in common?

Have been to London many times - but always sailed from Southampton . Would just like to sail from Tilbury to experience going out the mouth of the Thames but getting too old to fly to Europe anymore 😞  

[arxcards]

5 hours ago, bazzaw said:

Have been to London many times - but always sailed from Southampton . Would just like to sail from Tilbury to experience going out the mouth of the Thames but getting too old to fly to Europe anymore 😞  

I have never been a fan of those long flights. Less so year by year. We have a Dover departure to look forward to next year, after another of those flights.

[windsor26]

10 hours ago, arxcards said:

And their next door neighbour is ❓

sewage farm

[ceeceeDee]

We too have been following Dawnie's (Ambience) new life. We have many fond memories of sailing on her. She was our favourite P&O ship. Just something special about the old girl. Would have loved to have been there to see Ambience sail into Sydney. 🤗

[MicCanberra]

I am steering clear of Ambassador for personal reasons.

I just cannot believe operators (CMV) can treat people with such little respect  and then start up a new company without any responsibility to previous dealings.

[ceeceeDee]

Yes, Mic, I know what you're saying. It's the ship I love, not the current operator. It would definitely be a 'look, but don't touch' situation in my case.

[Tripmode33]

2 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

I am steering clear of Ambassador for personal reasons.

I just cannot believe operators (CMV) can treat people with such little respect  and then start up a new company without any responsibility to previous dealings.

Yes, a bit wary. We had a cruise booked with CMV fully paid (Norwegian Fjords) when Covid arrived. With no word on possible refunds after we knew it was cancelled, I finally requested a refund on compassionate grounds due to a devastating health diagnosis. They promptly refunded and the very next day went into liquidation. I still don't know if the refund was granted by my long-term travel agent or CMV.  I too was extremely surprised they were permitted to restart operations under a new name but essentially same company.

[arxcards]

As companies, they are very different. Yes, the CEO of CMV bailed and played phoenix for Ambassador. CMV had virtually no assets, so when they lost cash flow with covid, it all fell over quickly. CMV wasn't much more than a cruise wholesaler. 

The money and ship owners for Ambassador bear little connection with CMV, and carried no obligation to CMV passengers - not even morally.

 

Given that the ex Pacific Dawn was headed for Alang, it is great to see she is still sailing.

[ceeceeDee]

8 minutes ago, arxcards said:

As companies, they are very different. Yes, the CEO of CMV bailed and played phoenix for Ambassador. CMV had virtually no assets, so when they lost cash flow with covid, it all fell over quickly. CMV wasn't much more than a cruise wholesaler. 

The money and ship owners for Ambassador bear little connection with CMV, and carried no obligation to CMV passengers - not even morally.

 

Given that the ex Pacific Dawn was headed for Alang, it is great to see she is still sailing.

I was really happy when I read that Dawnie wasn't going to be scrapped. Of course, she will be eventually, but for now it's great she's still viable.

[MicCanberra]

1 hour ago, Tripmode33 said:

Yes, a bit wary. We had a cruise booked with CMV fully paid (Norwegian Fjords) when Covid arrived. With no word on possible refunds after we knew it was cancelled, I finally requested a refund on compassionate grounds due to a devastating health diagnosis. They promptly refunded and the very next day went into liquidation. I still don't know if the refund was granted by my long-term travel agent or CMV.  I too was extremely surprised they were permitted to restart operations under a new name but essentially same company.

You were lucky, many lost everything  on their cancelled cruises, we only lost a deposit. The thing that bugs me most is they set up the new company almost straight away.