What are Ambassador cruises like.

[Cruisemeister2002]

Apart from our second cruise, which was onboard Sea Princess we have taken the other 16 cruises on P&O. My wife keeps saying "why don't we try Ambassador" but although some of the P&O ships such as Aurora launched 2000 and Arcadia a few years later are older ships I look at Ambassador and think that although they look o.k. they really are old and forgive me if I am wrong, but weren't these virtually scrap before being resurrected.  

[Milaandra]

Ambition wasn't.  It was actually completely refurbed by Aida at the end of 2019, and only sailed for a short time because of covid.  I haven't been on her yet, but I'll let you know in a few weeks.

[Milaandra]

Cruise Buoys have a couple of youtube videos about the launch event, if you want to see a review of the ship and what it has to offer.  

[Britboys]

On 5/21/2023 at 10:59 AM, Cruisemeister2002 said:

Apart from our second cruise, which was onboard Sea Princess we have taken the other 16 cruises on P&O. My wife keeps saying "why don't we try Ambassador" but although some of the P&O ships such as Aurora launched 2000 and Arcadia a few years later are older ships I look at Ambassador and think that although they look o.k. they really are old and forgive me if I am wrong, but weren't these virtually scrap before being resurrected.  

I've sailed more with P&O than any other line and took a short cruise on Ambience last December. They are a bit hit & miss for me. The interiors of Ambience don't particularly look over 30 years old. Until 2020 she was in service with P&O Australia. I think her last internal/passenger facilities refurbishment activity was in 2014. The public rooms are mostly very pleasant but are nowhere near as elegant as those on Aurora or Arcadia. Cabins are very spacious but have a dated look. Mine was in a very good state of repair. Likewise, bathrooms are very dated but mine functioned well.

One of the issues for me is that Ambience only has one swimming pool for 1400+ passengers and that pool is not heated. Makes it more of an ornament on most itineraries.

Food is more interesting than the current P&O offering. All dining is fixed time, no 'freedom' dining.

Entertainment is very good.

Feel free to ask any specific questions.

[Martha1974]

@Britboys If memory serves I think we were on the same cruise as you in December. We sailed on Ambience again in March and in my opinion the offering had improved (although I wasn’t unhappy with the product first time round).

I agree with you regarding the pools (the ‘swimming pool’ is small and I’m not sure I understand the point of the ‘paddling pool’ at the other end of the lido deck) and about the quality of the food. I haven’t yet sailed with P&O so can’t agree or disagree on your comparison of the public areas. Overall for me as a no-fly cruise out of the UK I think the Ambassador product is pretty good for the price.
My theory is that if I can take 2 Ambassador cruises per year or 1 with another line I’ll take the 2 😁🥂🍾

[paulatsea]

On 5/21/2023 at 11:51 PM, Milaandra said:

Ambition wasn't.  It was actually completely refurbed by Aida at the end of 2019, and only sailed for a short time because of covid.  I haven't been on her yet, but I'll let you know in a few weeks.

Is this the maiden cruise you are going on ? Look forward to reports. Thanks

[richard_london]

On 5/22/2023 at 11:20 PM, Milaandra said:

Cruise Buoys have a couple of youtube videos about the launch event, if you want to see a review of the ship and what it has to offer. 

I watched their videos with interest as I was due to sail with CMV twice during the pandemic but both were cancelled and then the company collapsed. They would have been my first cruises with the company, so with Ambassador emerging with so many former CMV people involved I have been following, and was interested to see the Amibition.

 

I watched the cabin tour video and I was pleasantly surprised with the overall standard of the cabin and it looked light and fresh, but two things bothered me.  At the very start of the video when outside the cabin you can see one large dent and lots of smaller indentations all over the door and then when inside the cabin, there is the cupboard door that is a bit broken/hanging off.  I would have thought these things would have been fixed since she's been under refit.  Disappointing they haven't been, so will wait until the first full reviews come in.

[Milaandra]

9 minutes ago, richard_london said:

 

I watched the cabin tour video and I was pleasantly surprised with the overall standard of the cabin and it looked light and fresh, but two things bothered me.  At the very start of the video when outside the cabin you can see one large dent and lots of smaller indentations all over the door and then when inside the cabin, there is the cupboard door that is a bit broken/hanging off.  I would have thought these things would have been fixed since she's been under refit.  Disappointing they haven't been, so will wait until the first full reviews come in.

I noticed the big dent, but I didn't see the cupboard door...I'll go watch again.

I was disappointed there weren't videos of other cabin classes.  There are a couple of other cabin tours on youtube, but again, they are from comped reviewers, so they are also junior suites.  One showed a quick glance at an inside, but just of the beds, which didn't help.  I'm not used to cruising without knowing exactly what the storage situation is, the layout and where the power points are.

[Milaandra]

6 hours ago, paulatsea said:

Is this the maiden cruise you are going on ? Look forward to reports. Thanks

No, we're on, I think, the third voyage.  Passengers on the maiden voyage should be disembarking Friday, I believe, so hopefully more information will come in soon.  

[richard_london]

Just now, Milaandra said:

I'm not used to cruising without knowing exactly what the storage situation is, the layout and where the power points are.

Yes, in the junior suite there seemed lots of storage but the power points seemed to be on the dressing table/desk, so I wonder where in other cabins.

 

If you look in Go With Jo's video also of a Junior Suite you can see her room is set up with twin beds and not double like the in the other video.  There are no power points visible by the beds on this set up either. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R20Vl_2To5I

 

[Britboys]

On 5/24/2023 at 2:55 PM, richard_london said:

I watched their videos with interest as I was due to sail with CMV twice during the pandemic but both were cancelled and then the company collapsed. They would have been my first cruises with the company, so with Ambassador emerging with so many former CMV people involved I have been following, and was interested to see the Amibition.

 

I watched the cabin tour video and I was pleasantly surprised with the overall standard of the cabin and it looked light and fresh, but two things bothered me.  At the very start of the video when outside the cabin you can see one large dent and lots of smaller indentations all over the door and then when inside the cabin, there is the cupboard door that is a bit broken/hanging off.  I would have thought these things would have been fixed since she's been under refit.  Disappointing they haven't been, so will wait until the first full reviews come in.

From what I've seen, the refit comprised mechanical/engineering upgrades, new livery and changing signage. Understand what you mean about dents and/or breakages though...

[dsrdsrdsr]

On 5/21/2023 at 10:59 AM, Cruisemeister2002 said:

Apart from our second cruise, which was onboard Sea Princess we have taken the other 16 cruises on P&O. My wife keeps saying "why don't we try Ambassador" but although some of the P&O ships such as Aurora launched 2000 and Arcadia a few years later are older ships I look at Ambassador and think that although they look o.k. they really are old and forgive me if I am wrong, but weren't these virtually scrap before being resurrected.  

Ambience was built in 1991, Ambition in 1999.  That's not old for a ship.  I've flown in older planes!

[Britboys]

On 5/26/2023 at 3:34 PM, dsrdsrdsr said:

Ambience was built in 1991, Ambition in 1999.  That's not old for a ship.  I've flown in older planes!

Sadly, there have been so many new cruise ships built in recent years that some cruisers seem to think anything over 5 years is old!

[Milaandra]

I'm back from two weeks on the Ambition, and I'll be doing a review in a few days 

In the meantime, I'd be happy to give you my impressions of the ship itself if that would be useful. I was in an inside cabin.

Overall, I liked the ship.  Small enough to get where you need to go quickly, but it felt roomy. Some areas were creatively designed and felt really comfortable.  It does need some tweaks...the beverage areas of the buffet desperately need to be moved to facilitate easy traffic flow, carpeting in the cabin deck hallways needs replacing, the cabin storage needs adjusting to be truly useful and the Buckingham needs a reboot (bad chairs, traffic flow issues and it was oddly noisy which we speculated was due to the ceiling material)  The inside cabin had a small bathroom...frankly, heavier people might find the toilet unusable as the space was very narrow even by cruise ship standards. And why, oh why, don't cruise ships provide a swing out magnifying mirror?  You can get them in the pound shops, for goodness sake! (sorry...pet peeve of mine as I'm nearsighted as hell)

[tim_london0]

You might be able to buy such mirrors for a pound, but what you got to do on a ship is fit them so that they don't go swinging around on their own, bashing against a solid object, breaking and sending glass shards onto the floor, during a storm.

 

Though stick on magnifying mirrors are available that might be useful to you.

[London-Calling]

My June Ambience review here:

 

Ambassador’s Ambience Ship: One Year On | WaterWorld by Malcolm Oliver (wordpress.com)

[bluenote5]

Just wondering if Ambassador still do towel animals.

I'm not that keen when they use towels that are still in use and hanging up

I don't mind if all the towels are new but sometimes couples keep their towels separate for a reason ( eg skin infection, foot problem or just prefer to each have their own towel ) so it can be a little bit off putting if the towels are put together.

 

[jh1809]

I've never cruised with Ambassador, but have just been looking at their website, and their prices seem amazingly cheap, especially for someone like me who wants a single cabin. I've generally cruised with P&O, who I've been very happy with, but Ambassador's prices for a single cabin seem to be about half theirs. I like small ships, and the age of their ships wouldn't be a concern. So I'm left wondering what the catch is, if any.

[yorkshirephil]

22 hours ago, jh1809 said:

I've never cruised with Ambassador, but have just been looking at their website, and their prices seem amazingly cheap, especially for someone like me who wants a single cabin. I've generally cruised with P&O, who I've been very happy with, but Ambassador's prices for a single cabin seem to be about half theirs. I like small ships, and the age of their ships wouldn't be a concern. So I'm left wondering what the catch is, if any.

We have had three great cruises with Ambassador in the last 18 months and were planning on going on the 42 night Caribbean and Brazil cruise until they had the prop shaft issue with Ambience and the cabins were blocked for people who lost their cruises. We have had plenty of cruises with P&O and find little difference, especially as we prefer the smaller ships which are generally older. Ambassador are similarly priced to P&O at cruise release but have some really good late deals which as retirees we have taken advantage of. The food, entertainment and clientele are similar.

[jh1809]

1 hour ago, yorkshirephil said:

We have had three great cruises with Ambassador in the last 18 months and were planning on going on the 42 night Caribbean and Brazil cruise until they had the prop shaft issue with Ambience and the cabins were blocked for people who lost their cruises. We have had plenty of cruises with P&O and find little difference, especially as we prefer the smaller ships which are generally older. Ambassador are similarly priced to P&O at cruise release but have some really good late deals which as retirees we have taken advantage of. The food, entertainment and clientele are similar.

Thanks. I've now booked a 12 night cruise with them in March 2025 to test the water, as I'm already booked up for 2024. I see that, though their ships have self-service laundrettes, they don't seem to have a laundry, which I find useful for longer cruises, as I like to travel as light as possible but don't fancy doing my own laundry while on holiday.

[yorkshirephil]

23 minutes ago, jh1809 said:

Thanks. I've now booked a 12 night cruise with them in March 2025 to test the water, as I'm already booked up for 2024. I see that, though their ships have self-service laundrettes, they don't seem to have a laundry, which I find useful for longer cruises, as I like to travel as light as possible but don't fancy doing my own laundry while on holiday.

Don't know about the laundry service but we do use the laundrette since we retired as we tend to take longer cruises. We prefer the Ambassador laundrette as there is a £3 charge for washer and same for drier which means that you rarely have any issue getting a machine whereas with the free P&O laundrette people put just a few items and you sometimes need to get your timing right. Enjoy your cruise.

[jh1809]

1 hour ago, yorkshirephil said:

Don't know about the laundry service but we do use the laundrette since we retired as we tend to take longer cruises. We prefer the Ambassador laundrette as there is a £3 charge for washer and same for drier which means that you rarely have any issue getting a machine whereas with the free P&O laundrette people put just a few items and you sometimes need to get your timing right. Enjoy your cruise.

Thanks.

[London-Calling]

My Ambition review is here: Ambassador’s Ambition Review | WaterWorld by Malcolm Oliver (wordpress.com)