Ambassador Cruise Line has released its debut 33-sailing programme, featuring itineraries ranging from four to 42 nights and visiting more than 90 ports, ahead of its launch in April next year.
Up to 46,000 passengers could potentially sail on the line’s only vessel – 1,400-passenger Ambience (pictured) – during its maiden season out of Tilbury running from April 6, 2022, to May 16, 2023.
Destinations include the British Isles, the Norwegian Fjords, the Baltics, St Petersburg, Greenland, the Arctic, Iceland, the Canary Islands, Cuba, the Caribbean and Scandinavia.
The line’s programme begins with an inaugural round-trip four-night cruise to Hamburg. Prices start from £369.
The 42-night Cuba & Treasures of the Caribbean sailing, departing on January 5, 2023, leads in from £2,649. Ports of include Bridgetown, Barbados; St George’s, Grenada; Kingstown, St Vincent; Montego Bay, Jamaica; and Havana, Cuba.
Passengers can access two fares when booking an Ambassador cruise – the Fair Maiden fare and the Ambassador fare – in the line’s debut programme.
The Fair Maiden fare offers a 20% discount off the full fare and up to £630 on board credit depending on the cabin booked.
Passengers will also be able to purchase the Ambassador Explorer Drinks package, which includes house wines and house alcoholic drinks, gratuities and services charges, at a discounted rate of of 25%. This represents a saving of up to £283 per person.
A second Ambassador premium fare offers a 20% discount, up to £630 onboard credit and savings of up to £330 per person on Ambassador Expedition Drinks package, which includes premium drinks, teas, coffees, gratuities and service charges.
The Ambassador Expedition Drinks package includes teas and coffees whereas the Ambassador Explorer Drinks package does not.
The Ambassador premium fare also includes guaranteed first or second dinner sitting and priority for complimentary cabin upgrades – subject to availability.
Speaking on a Travel Weekly webcast, chief commercial officer Chris Coates said: “When you benchmark these fares against the market pricing at the moment for summer 2022, availability is quite limited for the main season.
“Largely to the fact that customers have transferred bookings now into 2022. That has had an impact increasing fares right across the market. The fares that we’re going to be launching are extremely attractive as a benchmark against the rest of the industry. The lead price is £509 for a six-night Fjords cruise. We remain very confident that the launch will get off to a bumper start.
The itinerary programme, which is aimed at the over-50s market, includes two multi-generational cruises because “a lot of people are looking for extended multi-generational travel”, chief executive Christian Verhounig said in a Travel Weekly webcast.
Children and babies over six months are welcome on the seven-night Fjordland sailing, departing on August 6, 2022, and the 14-night Baltic Treasure & St Petersburg voyage, departing on July 23, 2022.
Prices for the August 6 departure lead in from £579 and the July 23 sailing starts from £1,149.
The car park at the Port of Tilbury, where Ambience is based, can hold up to 800 cars. The line has outlined plans to offer passengers “a premium level of service” from the start of the journey at embarkation in Tilbury and going on to the ship.
Coates said: “Airports present quite a different challenge. But I feel we do have an advantage with using a terminus like Tilbury. We have exclusive use of Tilbury on the day and no one else will turning around ships.”
Of the 798 cabins on Ambience, the line said 89 cabins – across five grades – are dedicated to solo travellers which can access “supplements that are 70% cheaper than what the competition is offering”.
In total, there are 22 cabin grades to choose from.
Ambience, formerly known as Pacific Dawn as a P&O Cruises Australia ship, is being upgraded over the next before its maiden cruise in April next year.