Ambassador Cruise Line, Ambience, Northern Europe Review

Ambience, Northern Europe

Having been on the maiden voyage of Ambassador’s ship Ambience, which we loved, we decided to book the multi-generational cruise with our family. It did not disappoint!

We booked direct, rather than through a travel agent and received excellent service.

On arrival at Tilbury, the porters were on hand to whisk our luggage away and direct us to the embarkation lounge. We we’re onboard within 30 minutes.

Our cabins on deck 9 (9246 & 9250) were clean, comfortable and in our opinion spacious enough. There was plenty of storage, hanging space and lots of drawers. The bathroom was a good size and the shower lovely and hot. Air conditioning was a welcome treat after our hot weather here!

The Buckingham Restaurant and Borough Market Buffet served a variety of dishes and it was plentiful. We ate in the restaurant every night and if you could manage it, there were seven courses! The children were well catered for and had their own menu but could also have smaller portions from the main one. They were thoroughly spoilt but I’ll. one back to that later.

The bars around the ship were very welcoming and the decor was of a high standard. Having mentioned ‘bars’, we took out the middle drinks package which included gratuities and found this to be of great value. However, the drinks onboard are very reasonably priced anyway.

We’ve cruised with five different lines now and can honestly say the entertainment was the best we’d ever seen. It was truly first class and worthy of any London stage!

We loved the pool deck! There is one swimming pool and it isn’t massive but is 6’ deep and that is every part of it. The grandchildren loved the splash pool with the water jets.

A note for Ambassador, let’s have movies under the stars! We felt your large screen on the open deck was wasted and could be put to better use.

There wasn’t a lot to do for the children but then Ambassador made that very clear on booking. They were some activities but we took card games, colouring books and board games.

Perhaps something to consider Ambassador - employ someone who works with children and is school holidays too. We discussed this with my daughter (a teacher) and she came up with an abundance of ideas to keep the children entertained.

Duty free onboard was very good value. It’s not overcrowded with shops but sufficient with what they have.

Tender organisation was excellent We had a child’s buggy and a fold up mobility scooter which they took care of. No lifting on our part.

If you book with Ambassador, be sure to take a tour of the bridge (register when you board) it was a very interesting insight into how your floating holiday home is operated!

And now for the crew! What can I say? Every one of them and I mean every one were attentive, kind and never failed to smile. They loved the children and by the second day knew them by name and were loving having them onboard. Special shout out to our steward Ronal. Nothing was too much trouble!

Our waiters, Kadek and Kadek who served us as if we were royalty. We couldn’t thank you enough.

One point that must be made, those guys are there to do a job and look after you. Be kind! The people that spoke to them in a discourteous manner was unbelievable.

When we finally had to leave, disembarkation was as smooth as our entire trip! We left independently with our luggage and was off by 09:30.

Well, I’ve never written so much about a cruise and I’m sure I’ve forgotten some things. Will we cruise with Ambassador again? Yes! We’re already booked. Why? Smaller, comfortable and probably the friendliest most welcoming ship we’ve been on. Great value for money!

THANKS AMBASSADOR! SEE YOU SOON