Did someone say a ship tour to round off 2025? Count us in! As part of our membership with the CLIA Choose Cruise programme, we were able to embark Ambassador’s Ambition ship to get our first taste of the UK’s newest cruise line.
Making the journey down to the port of Tilbury, you know you’re in the right place when the unmistakable purple of Ambassador comes into view as you approach the car park. Walking into the Victorian port we were welcomed by the friendly Ambassador team and made our way onboard.
A warm welcome
Our first stop was for coffee and pastries with Gordon Nardini, CMO, Ambassador Cruises, who gave us insights into the birth of the cruise line, including where the choice of the brand colours came from and future plans for the line. It’s fair to say that not every cruise line would put their CMO in front of an eager blogging crowd to answer their burning questions so this was an excellent touch. Gordon, alongside Wendy and Sarah, were extremely personable and we appreciated their honesty and overall ethos.
Cabins
Offering an ample 680 cabins, Ambition has grades from suites all the way to solo cabins, there’s plenty of choice for avid cruisers to choose from.
Top of the tree is their suite offering with separate dining, lounge and bedroom. There’s even an inside cabin within the cabin which is something we’ve never encountered before! A fresh fruit bowl awaits you in all suite grades which is a nice touch and will help to balance out the calories before heading up to the buffet for embarkation lunch.
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Following on from the suites, the group made our way through the other cabins including balconies, outside, inside and solo cabins. All offering the comforts you’d expect during a voyage.
Ship tour
After a comprehensive tour of the cabins it was time to explore the rest of the ship. Here are some particular highlights we’d like to call out:
The Green Sea Spa onboard, offers a range of treatments. A well kept secret is that the facilities, including the sauna and hamman are free to use; no expensive spa passes needed onboard Ambassador Ambition.
The Cavern is where you find a live music bar inspired by the famous club in Liverpool which displays famous landmarks of the city as you walk in.
A special mention for Lupino’s, a speciality Mediterranean dining venue offering a taste of the Mediterranean and is named after a loyal and long serving member of staff who sadly passed away which adds to the family feel we got for the cruise line.
Dining experience
As part of our Ambassador experience we were treated to a five course meal at the Holyrood restaurant which is normally reserved for those most loyal cruisers with the line. A nice touch on the menu was that we could sample courses from Lupino’s and Saffron which are the speciality offerings onboard Ambition.
To start, we sampled the mezze from Lupino’s which consisted of olives hummus, parma ham, cheese, tomato and spinach pie along with a cruise classic of prawn cocktail, followed by Consumme Celestine and Tomato soup.
Ahead of our mains we were treated to a caesar salad and a chickpea and quinoa salad. The main event arrived with a butter chicken dish from Saffron and a grilled beef tenderloin.
To round off the meal we opted for the crème brûlée and cheese and biscuits.
The food was really tasty and excellent service ensured that our experience in the restaurant ran smoothly.
There’s a variety of drinks packages available to purchase either before your cruise or whilst onboard.
A cruise line with a lot of Ambition
A note for those of you who work in education and often suffer the usual price increases during school holidays: Ambassador do not put their prices up! We know this will be a real pull for many of you; another reason to book one of these adult only ships.
Keep an eye on this cruise line as they look to disrupt the cruise industry and expand their offering over the coming years.
Like what you’ve heard? Visit the Ambassador website to book a cruise and see for yourself how they really do offer ‘The warmest welcome at sea’.
Thank you to the Ambassador team for organising a fantastic day onboard supported by the CLIA team.
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