21 Nights Springtime Azores, Madeira & North Africa Cruise

No Frills Ship

Travelled on Ambition for Christmas and New Year. Paid to park at Tilbury Docks for the three weeks we were away, but as we arrived early we were prevented from entering the carpark by security who advised us to go to Asda and wait there! Not a great start but we did it. Returned to the carpark to be once again told we could not go in, despite it being almost empty. Security could not give any reason but would still not allow us entry. We lurked about and suddenly a lady from Ambassador called us over and apologised saying that was an error and allowed us in - we never saw the gang of security guards again - hopefully, they were sacked as they were very rude! We were then held outside the waiting area in a drafty corridor with all our luggage which soon filled up with passengers waiting to board. As we had booked a suite we were supposed to have priority boarding but this never happened. Despite this rocky start, once we boarded, our suite was lovely and we enjoyed our cruise very much. Everyone was really nice and we met some great fellow travellers - having cruised on many lines, we would not say that the food or entertainment was 5* and the ship was definitely no frills but probably perfect for the older traveller who likes bingo and crafting. The staff were all nice, everywhere was kept spotless and reception was always helpful. The size of the ship made it easy to get around and we were lucky to have a couple of sunny days to enjoy the hot tub and sit on the deck. We tried the Saffron Indian restaurant and enjoyed the food although the restaurant itself lacked any atmosphere. Overall, we had a nice holiday and were even invited onto the Captain's table - would recommend.

Lovely relaxing cruise for older generations.

Great cruise on a smaller ship. Beautifully clean and the staff are wonderful and cannot do enough for you. The food was absolutely excellent. The only negative for me personally was the passenger demographic which was mostly people in their 70s and 80s. I have never seen so many mobility scooters in one place! We had seven stops on our 16 night Cruise which was a great balance of sea days. There are five lounges offering an excellent variety of drinks, two main dining rooms plus a couple of buffet restaurants and one speciality restaurant. There was an average amount of entertainment available during the days and a theatre production every evening. There were three drinks packages available to purchase as well as three Wi-Fi packages. My ocean view cabin was very comfortable and cleaned once a day. The only improvements would have been a larger TV and an armchair instead of a desk chair.

A 26-year-old's view on Ambassador Cruise Line.

After 12-night cruises and the British Isles (and Belgium), I just got off the Ambition. It wasn't my first cruise, but my first with Ambassador. I didn't think I would enjoy it because I was only 26, and it is mainly marketed for people aged 50+. I did go with my parents, both in their 60s, and my grandad, who is 94. Bein able to board and disembark was much easier than flying to Southampton or another City. The ship was a lot smaller than what I am used to, but it was still big enough. The gym is a good size, with plenty of machines and cardio equipment; however, the rower wasn't working the whole cruise. The sauna and steam room were free, and all the classes were free. The entertainment was 10/10. The best that I have witnessed on the waves. The hip has both singers and dancers and four actor hosts. These people doubled up as the cruise director staff. The four actor hosts (Casey, Conor, Lee and Maddy) were my favourite. They ran all the quizzes, theatre at sea and the interactive game shows (the spy one was my favourite). The only downside was that the assistant cruise director who got on near the end of my cruise seemed to be a do-it-by-the-book rather than the flow guy—nothing was wrong with how the cruise director's staff worked before he came aboard. The food was terrific; however, whatever was served in the main dining room was also served in the buffet, which was ok but annoying. The service from my servers in the Buckinghamshire Restaurant from Adi and Irfan was stellar; I could not fault them! The tender operation was flawed; the same can't be said for the gangway. There was only one, so there were long queues and no separate gangway for wheelchairs/mobility scooters. If possible, I'd like to see a forward and midships/aft gangway introduced, one for getting off and one for getting on. Many people didn't get a chance to get off in Portsmouth, which leads to my next point. In the small islands, we had a good 9-12 hours in port; however, in Portsmouth, we only had 7. I wanted to explore the historical dockyard, but it closed at 5.30, and the ship docked at 1 pm... I purchased the premium Wi-Fi for £156 for the whole cruise. The ship uses Starlink, and I never had any issues with connection, even when streaming. It may be different depending on the age of the people on the ship and how much bandwidth is available, but most of the people seemed to be around 70-90. Despite some negatives, I would definitely go on another Ambassador cruise. This was my first cruise post-COVID, and they didn't seem to be as pushy about handwashing as other cruise lines I have been on have been (RCCL, P&O, MSC).