Everything you need to know about the ambassador cruise line vibe | Cruise | Travel

The Cruise Line Ambassador was launched in 2021 and had the atmosphere, the first ship to be baptized on the Thames by Olympic gold medal athlete Sally Gunnell OBE a year later.

The ship has many fans of its previous incarnation as the imposing princess cruise, built in 1991.

Ambience joined Ambition in 2023, with both ships taking 1,400 and 1,200 passengers respectively, specializing in on-flying cruises for British people in their 50s and above, as well as multi-generational itineraries from local ports including Tilbury, Liverpool, Tyne, Bristol, Bristee, Dundee, Dundee and Belfast.

In 2025, the ambassador merged with French cruise operator Company Frances de Croyeres, departing from Barbados, Martinique and Curacao, offering a Caribbean fly cruise program in a 1,100-seater Renaissance.

The atmosphere has a very happy and relaxing holiday atmosphere. During the 10 days I was on board, I didn't hear anything complaining, from the cabin to the prices of food and drinks. This was a surprise as the atmosphere was not spring chicken and the menu might be good, but not gourmet. The secret behind the ambassador's popularity? Its extremely competitive prices, excellent itinerary, lively public spaces.

The ambassadors were primarily glued to entertainment thanks to the special theatre @Sea Group, which produces shortened plays and hilarious spoofing at the Palladium Theatre (I loved Abigail's parties and the quirky Berlin quirky tango).

The Ambience Theater Show Company has equally high standards, offering refreshing, fun songs and dances, such as the Fleetwood Mac Songbook Show and the late-night Abba Cabaret of The Observatory Lounge. Something for everyone.

Ambience has 798 cabins with 11 decks and comes in categories including inside, ocean views and balcony cabins. Everything is reasonably spacious and has a bunch of sofa beds or folderways for the third or fourth guest. There are also quite a few large suites and dulux suites.

Passengers traveling solo have plenty of single cabins available, including interconnected cabins for large families and groups, as well as wheelchair accessible cabins.

Everything has a good storage, a TV with news and sports channels, a hair dryer and a safe, but above all, there is at least one UK plug socket and a kettle in the cabin to make your own tea and coffee.

The bathrooms are pretty much fine – especially in the suites – but they are almost very small and inevitably a little dated. But I didn't hear anyone complain.

The main dining room, Buckingham Restaurant serves breakfast and lunch daily, with seats open and two sets of seating at the table where you eat each night. You can select tables 2, 4, and 6 when making a reservation. Solo travelers will be assigned 10 tables at dinner time.

If you prefer a more casual meal, there is the Borough Market Buffet Restaurant, which is open for all meals. It can be very busy with breakfast or lunch, but if the weather is nice you'll benefit from outdoor seating.

Located on the pool deck next to Borough Market, the Alfresco Pizza grill is a lifesaver if you miss breakfast or return to a hanging boat from an excursion. It is open when the autonomous borough market is closed.

Paid options include Indian restaurant saffron. Most nights open in comfortable, decorated private spaces within the Borough Market. The three-course meal costs £19.95, making it a huge hit with the curry devil.

Sea & Grass opens frequently and offers a luxurious 7-course set menu. This includes a selection of salmon grassella, mushroom truffle soup, sea bass, pull drum, ribeye steak, mushroom risotto followed by cheese board, lemon suffol, macarons and coffee. Great value of £29.95.

The Coffee House offers paid cakes and hot drinks from 7am until late at night. Alternatively, you can pay for room service (sweet guests can order a complimentary continental breakfast).

Most passengers are keen to explore each calling port during the day, but if it's a sea day or you're not just coming down, there's always a lot to do.

On most sea days, the theatres have expert lecturers. On my spring Norwegian Fjordland cruise we learned about the Vikings, Norwegian lifestyle in a small fjord village, and the stories of Christmas tree gifts in Trafalgar Square from Norway.

Daily morning trivia quiz, purple turtle pub has indoor indoor games – free morning fitness classes such as circuit training and meditation, including indoor curling and golf putting. The top deck also features active studios with table tennis and mats for yoga and stretching.

In the sea age, there will be a full-length theatre @ sea performance in the afternoon with palladium, with dedicated Kapoor Crafters Studio craft classes and Ace & Eight Cardroom board games.

You can participate in group meetings of games such as solo, knit, nutter fans, shuffleboards and more. There are also regular LGBTQ+ meetings.

On my North Atlantic voyage it was too cold for most people to use one outdoor pool (the shallow relaxation pool was closed), but those who know me went to Green Sea Spa to use the free sauna and steam room. There was also a regular flow of people paying for hair treatments and spas specialties, including good choices for massages and facials, as well as more experimental products such as LED light therapy.

Ambience's Lounges is the most beautiful thing you see in the ocean, especially the plant lounge. This is the event of a brightly filled, elegant country house with live classical music before and after dinner. Deck 7 also features SW19, a small bar near fashion and jewelry shops.

Above is a purple turtle pub. It's an oddly underground space thanks to the sunken dance floor, but big enough for a comedy show for viewers and popular quizzes.

One of the quietest spots is the centre court on deck 6. Here, Dickens Bar serves barista coffee and alcohol, but the most lively evening lounges are observatory, live music and dance venues that find discos of the most recent evening. Deck 6 also has a small casino.

But it's the Palladium Theatre that charges stars every night for crowd-pleasing songs and dance shows and great plays. There was the Elton John Songbook, the cheeky brother Blue Caper and the West End Classic.

But for me, the Theatre @ Sea actor was a true star and a breath of fresh air as far as cruise entertainment goes. He's always funny and funny with a silly sense of humor that should be welcomed.

The atmosphere lasted most of 2025, sailing from London Tilbury around Northern Europe, especially the Norwegian fjords, the Baltic Islands and the British Isles, but in January 2026 there will be Iberian and Canary cruises, Christmas markets and 40-day Caribbean cruise return trips.

* Ambience's 7 night Spring Fjords Cruise, returning from Tilbury London on April 3, 2026, calling Stavanger, Eidfjord and Ijmuiden in Amsterdam, starting from £659pp including free parking parking or Victoria Coach (0808 296 6337; Avassadorcruiseline.com).