14 Day Ambassador Ambition - Arctic Adventure
Date- 23/02/2025 - 09/03/2025
Cabin- Balcony Rear 9229
Tilbury Docks.
Parking and Embarkation.
Parking at Tilbury Docks was very easy, with a bag drop-off at the entrance and very pleasant ground handlers to guide you through the process. Once you have dropped off your bags, you just follow the directions around the car park and park for the duration. There is a road between the car park and the cruise terminal, but a cheerful lolly pop man stops the traffic to make the crossing safe, join the queue for the check-in, and 20 minutes later, you are showing your pre-cruise QR code from one of the ships crew, the lady who checked us in was from Liverpool and is one of the dancers in the shows, it seems that they all have multiple jobs including their own on-board duties. The walkway between the ship and shore is a bit dodgy. It needs a lot of TLC and proper replacement. The actual terminal is lovely and harks back to its maritime roots. You join the Ambition on deck 5 at the Reception area, and there is a great welcome. The boarding times are quite accurate, and they don't start the boarding process until after 11am, which is quite a shock to the other cruise lines we have been on, as we were in the queue, and there were passengers still disembarking.
First Impressions.
When we booked with Ambassidor, we had very low expectations of the ship and actually expected a decor to suit the average age, which we thought would be about 70 plus, and the ship would be showing her age. In our defence, we had just cruised with MSC on the wonderful Vertuosa, and that ship is just bling everywhere. We were pleasantly surprised; the decor was up to date, with good seating areas and modern LCD screens and very tasteful paintings and photos dotted around the ship. The crew welcomed us aboard, and all greeted us like old friends.
Balcony 9229 Stateroom.
We were very surprised at the size of the room; compared to modern ships, it was a lot roomier, and the balcony was a good size. Over the top of the bed was a cotton awning, which looked very nice. The bed was just two beds pushed together, which is standard, but the quilts were single ones; we would have preferred a nice double/king-size cover. There were two fluffy pillows, and the bed was very comfy. Also in the room is a two-seater settee, a mirrored unit for all the stuff you collect, and a place for the kettle for making tea and coffee, which is also provided.
There is, as in all cruise ship rooms, a lack of plugs and considering the refurbishment date of 2023, a few USB points would have been handy, but there were only two UK plug sockets and two European round-pin outlets. We always carry a multi-USB to UK socket adapter, which has given us 6 USB points for just one plug. Also in the room is a hairdryer and plenty of storage areas for clothes, and next to the bed are two side tables with lampstands and the controls for the main room lighting. As I mentioned earlier, the balcony is a nice size, and the lower down the ship you go, the balcony gets bigger, but on deck 9, it was a nice size (3 mtrs x 2 mtrs) with two good-sized chairs and a small table for our coffee. The bathroom has a normal toilet, sink and shower. The only thing is that it is a bit cramped with the toilet being on the angle between the shower and sink. The shower cubicle has a very narrow entrance and is only about 2 feet wide, but it did the job and kept us clean with good water pressure and always hot water.
Main Restaurant and the Borough Market (Canteen)
We were at a table for six in the Holyrood restaurant and met two great couples and spent many hours of storytelling and laughter, and two Birthdays.
The Holyrood restaurant is a pleasant venue with plenty of room between the tables and between the seats. You are served by a waiter and a wine waiter who keeps your glass topped up, and they will change your food if it does not arrive to your liking or taste.
The food in the restaurant and in the Borough Market was very bland and a bit safe, and not a lot of choice. The food was very well presented and always warm. I just wish they would add a few ingredients to spice it up and have a few different types of bread on offer. The Borough Market has a little butty time with scones and a few small cakes, but once again, the small sandwiches were always dry and curling up at the corners; they must have been made in the morning. There was always a hot dessert with custard, normally a crumble, which I enjoyed, and if the crumble wasn't to your liking, then sometimes we got a sponge dessert from one area and covered it in custard. Nice, but overall, the food was very disappointing and needs to be sorted out.
If you wanted Burgers or Hotdogs and fries with all the trimings you have to go to the pool bar outside, and on an Arctic cruise that's not a great idea, even on a warm cruise its a bit of a inconvenience, with it being away from the dining room area.
On other cruise companies there is always a place to eat whether its in the main dining room, the self service areas, or other snak or quick eaterees, but on the Ambition there is only set times where food is available, I know its only a little thing, but if you miss breakfast the next chance is the noon dining, there is a Afternoon Tea at 4pm for half an hour for stale sandwiches and lovely Scones and cakes, this also creates a rush time with over thousand visiting the Borough Market.
The indian restaurant called Saffron got a lot of good reviews, and they said it wasn't too spicy but you could ask for a little extra umph if required.
Bars and Entertainment
There are six bars and one poolside bar; on an Arctic voyage, it was a bit too cold to partake in a quick drink.
The Cavern is a Liverpool-themed bar with photos of the famous riverside port on the walls and is used for all the ships quizzes and fun entertainment shows, with various musicians doing a turn throughout the day.
Pendennis Bar is a lively venue with a great singing pianist who packs the crowd in and can fill up very quickly. After 11pm, it turns into a disco where you will find the ship's entertainment crew dancing the night away and mingling with the ship's guests.
Purple Turtle wine bar is a quiet little bar at the entrance to the theatre and is perfect for any pre- or post-show drinks.
The Angel Bar overlooks the reception area with comfy seating and great bartenders. The
Consulate Bar is situated in the middle of the ship and has live entertainment; when we were onboard, it was a Violinist and Pianist duo who were very good and played their take on modern music and some classical favourites.
In the bars, there is a little weird rule that you can't make an order within 15 minutes of the last one. We tried an Irish coffee and a Coke, but got informed about the 15-minute rule, even though it was a non-alcoholic drink, strange. The bar menus are very limited, and if you like different types of wine, you are going to be disappointed with only one selection of each colour.
The Palladium Theater is a cosy area but with weird seating; there are bench seats with drink tables, which is very handy because there is bar service, but in front, on the same level, there are revolving chairs blocking the views from the bench seating, very annoying because they start to get used when the show has started by fellow passengers who turn-up late, and it does cause a few shouting matches.
The ship's production crew (who also double up for other duties) put on some great shows, 3 large LCD screens add that touch of extra magic with realistic backdrops, the singers and dancers are all very talented and seem to be as one outfit, which is rare where there's usually primadonners singing.
The selection of wines is very limited, and if you are a wine connoisseur of fine wine, you are going to be disappointed, and the same goes for all the beverages; there is a selection of all types, but not as many as you would find on other cruise companies. The crew working the bars and theatre are very professional, and do a great job and provide fantastic service.
Overall Thoughts.
We booked with the Ambassador with low expectations concerning the food, entertainment, and the age group of are fellow passengers, but the Ambition was the only ship sailing into the Arctic Circle, and that gave us a great chance of seeing the northern lights, so we bit the bullet and booked.
The reality was completely different, our fellow passengers were fantastic, and like-minded travellers who were well-cruised, with different companies, different experiences, and it was a joy to talk about our adventures, and listen to other trips and experiences. I've already commented on the food, so I'll skip that part. The entertainment is some of the best we have ever watched on the seas, and the singers and dancers were fantastic. As for the ship, she is a wonderful little intermate vessel, yes, she does rock and roll in rougher water, but as they all do, the decor is very modern, but with a bit too much purple for my taste but is very nice, plenty of seating around the ship and is overall very comfortable.
Would we cruise with Ambassador again, yes we would, they offer some great itineraries, visiting a lot of the smaller ports, so in the likes of the Aegean or Greek Isles, she would be perfect.
and to stay away from larger bodies of water, as we had a huge storm in the Arctic, and it was the worst we have ever experienced in nearly 30 cruises, the Ambition actually ended up with a big dent in her nose after that storm, as you can see in the photograph near the front and below the flag.
Would we sail on Ambition again? Once again, yes, they need to improve the food if they want to gain some of the P&O, other UK cruise customers, and improve on the beverage selections, especially in the wine on offer area, and as stated above, she is perfect to visit smaller ports. In ports, they always offered free transfers to the town, which some of the larger cruise companies could take note of.
I would like to offer many big thanks to a few passengers who made this trip a complete joy and shared 14 nights of laughs and anecdotes. Also, a big thank you to the crew and Medical team (different story) who made this cruise possible.
Thank you for reading this, and I hope it helps you to decide to book with Ambassador.
