Ambassador Cruise Line Reviews 

Ambassador cruise around Caribbean, 1-15 dec2025.
Disappointing! Whilst the Caribbean was an attractive destination, the experience on the Renaissance was disappointing. The crew were plentiful and friendly but seemed disorganised. Service in the restaurant was slow and the food was often cold. The safety briefing before sailing was a joke. Just scanned our cruise card when we arrived at lifeboat deck.
Evening entertainment was ok but a bit limited.
Itinerary seemed rather haphazard, possibly because the ship picked up English, French and Dutch passengers from different islands.
Embarkation and disembarkation went well but had to start the final disembarkation procedure 8 hours before the plane was due to take off from barbados.

We recently sailed with Ambassador Cruise Line and, while there were some positives, the overall experience was disappointing.

The ports of call were good and the ship itself was clean and well presented. The housekeeping team, along with the dining and bar staff, were exceptional — friendly, hardworking and the highlight of the cruise. They are a real credit to the company.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for reception and the financial team. We were incorrectly charged on our card, and it took 11 days for the pending transaction to return to our account. Passengers should check their onboard bills very carefully.

We received letters instructing us to attend reception regarding the payment issue, yet when we did, the financial controller was nowhere to be found. When we eventually located her, she claimed she had not been informed about the situation. The lack of communication and accountability was unacceptable.

To make matters worse, the ship returned to Port of Tilbury four hours late with no prior communication, despite it being clear there was an issue. No complimentary WiFi was offered to allow passengers to rearrange travel plans. That level of customer care falls short of expectations.

Having previously cruised with P&O Cruises, the difference in professionalism and customer service was noticeable.

The onboard service staff did their jobs exceptionally well, but poor financial handling and weak communication significantly undermined the experience. Based on this cruise, I would not sail with Ambassador again.

I sailed on Renaissance on 29th Dec 25, The ship is very tired and worn it was sold as adults only and yet was full of kids running riot , the outside cabin I had on Deck 4 had loads of rust around the window and the towels in bathroom were very old and worn and looked quite disgusting.People were getting on and off several days with big queues..A bit like a ferry..Buffet was horrendous with seats difficult to find and in the evening rhe main restaurant was a bit hit and miss re food and one night no one asked if I would like a drink. They had lovely French bread but only had awful margarine to serve with it . I would never sail on Renaissance ever again please if you’re thinking of booking DONT…save your money . I have made a complaint to ROL that I booked through but doubt they will do anything ..AVOID, AVOID, AVOID

Booked the Ambassador Renaissance with Iglu.com advert suggested it was typical British cruising Adults only .Flew from Heathrow to Barbados on the 29/12/ 2025. Firstly there were children in board mainly French and Dutch really bad behaved because apart from the swimming pool there was absolutely nothing for them to do not kids clubs etc.No extraction in the bathroom as soon as you opened the bathroom door all the steam went into the cabin everything in the wardrobe felt damp and the bed .In the 2 weeks my sheets were only changed once because I literally ripped them off the bed .I complained about the noise from the air-conditioning and the fact it was freezing maintenance came and turned it off ,so we are sailing around the Caribbean roasting hot with no air-conditioning you couldn't control it yourself .Called them back they put it back on freezing and very noisy. Food absolutely terrible menus in Dutch and French which they favoured before anyone from the UK . Ate 3 times in the dining room and gave up are set dining time was between 5.45 and 6.15 far to early when you went to level 7 or 8 the queue was that big you couldn't get out of the lift .We decided to eat in the buffet the only cereal was coco pops nno fruit no butter only margarine we couldn't eat anything but dry bread or a croissant no jam . After the 5th day we gave up on eating on the ship and went for food when we were off the ship .Day 8 got ill along with several others i stayed in the cabin for 3 days i was afraid to go to the medical centre because it was getting close to flying home and i was terrified i would get an unfit to travel letter ..Didn't find out i actually caught pneumonia until I got home and went straight into hospital been home a month and I am still unwell .Was not informed before travelling that people joined the ship in Quadelope and Curacco and I.mean hundreds there were approximately 550 to 600 that flew from the UK 🇬🇧 .It felt more like booze cruise / Ferry .Over 32 years of cruising this is the worst experience by far . Ambassador are not interested in complaints they would rather ban you from their cruises which is fine by me but totally unprofessional .For anyone thinking of going on this ship do your home work i wish I did 😔 . Just received the typical response from Ambassador cruises contact guest relations and they will be happy to investigate this 😀Do you not think i have already done that ? And I know your next response from guest relations will be my comments have been noted or you will contact the ship re dining and housekeeping ! Well sorry that do not cut it for me because I had to endure all the faults with no offer of recompense . Ambassador are now saying Adult focused! There ships are primarily adults only but they allow children over the age of 3 😁The wording as been chosen very carefully because Adult focused means they do not have to provide kids clubs etc! Hence the fact the children on board were running wild , but that is ok first them they never paid thousands of pounds to be surrounded by children on an adult focused cruise , which was sold to us as adults only .This new wording Adult focused was not available to me at the time of booking .

This was a last minute booking to the Caribbean to take advantage of some winter sun. To be honest, we'd never fancied the Caribbean but are now converted!
But, to Ambassador. We booked through Imagine Cruising, but any dealings we had directly with Ambassador were great; both companies answer their phones, and usually very quickly.
Ambassador managed our flights and transfers and all was absolutely fine.
The ship, Renaissance, is relatively small, only 1200 passengers but that's its beauty. Everyone knows you and passengers quickly form friendships. Previous comments mentioned the French and they were in fact the only awkward guests, very entitled, unfriendly and often rude (until recently, the Renaissance was French), but unless you're very sensitive, they won't spoil your holiday!
Cabins are very comfortable (the beds are awesome) and, yes, there is only one electric socket, but we managed. Extension leads were confiscated but some passengers explained their needs, ie. medical appliances, and were allowed to keep theirs. Air con is variable. Our room was very warm and after two visits from the technical team, it was okay. Some rooms were very cool. But the air con does work, it's just not as controllable as you might like.
Cases ARE scanned, so don't bother trying to sneak on booze! And all bags are scanned after you've been ashore.
The food is lovely, especially at dinner in the formal restaurant. The buffet cooks up very nice dishes but it can be slow because you are served. There is very little that is self-service.
Drinks are British pub prices so no complaints.
The entertainment is really good. Very few acts join the ship, unlike in the Med/Europe where it's easy to fly acts in and out, but hats off to the Team. They are simply marvellous, supremely talented. The effects/technical team perform miracles and make the shows top notch.
During the day there are activities but quite low key, the way of many cruise lines now. The quizzes offer ample opportunities to mix with fellow passengers and are always popular. Across a fortnight there are two karaoke sessions, sign up early to avoid disappointment!.
Now to the staff. They are some of the best ever! Getting off and back on the ship is a very efficient process but the lovely people manning it are always extremely friendly and welcoming into the bargain. We bought duty-free spirits (top tip, St Maarten's is the cheapest place by far) when we went ashore and handed them in to the staff. They thanked us, logged what we'd bought and they were placed in our stateroom 24 hours before we disembarked.
The restaurant staff are super, always chirpy and helpful, often under pressure at busier times. Our steward was excellent, very unobtrusive, just friendly and helpful, we always returned to a spotless cabin.
There are plenty of sunbeds and the pool areas are clean and the bar is well-stocked.
We didn't buy the drinks' package because we got off the ship at every port, often for the day, but others enjoyed having it.
When an extra 200 passengers embarked in Curacao, it was noticeably busier and at times, the buffet restaurant was a tad manic. Although 1200 seems to be the capacity, it's a stretch in terms of space and staff. But in true Ambassador style, the staff smiled through and did all they could to help.
I met one lady that complained and ranted at me for a good few minutes, then asked me what I thought. When I said we loved it, she said, with real disdain, that it must be my first cruise....how rude. I assured her we'd been on quite a few cruises and named the lines.
So, ignore the doom-mongers, this a great cruise line. I'm assured that the other ships are better than Renaissance but we had few complaints about the fleet's latest acquisition. We'd do the same trip again in a heartbeat.
Thanks to all concerned in making this a fab holiday.

A bit peeved that I booked a 70s cruise early only to find a few weeks later perks like free spa, £20 vouchers and free coach links were being offered. I got none of this. maybe the trick is to wait for last minute deals.

The crew are wonderful - friendly, helpful and fun! The entertainment is exceptional, especially the Show Team. I just love the general friendliness of this cruise line. Travelling alone it is by far the best line to travel with. I have cruised with them 6 times and am currently in the process of choosing my 7th! I would recommend them unreservedly.

The cruise was well organised but unfortunately because of the weather we missed a few stops. The food and drinks were really good and the service all around the ship was excellent. Every night we went to the theatre and watched top class shows.

Excellent food choices. Excellent caring staff. Excellent value for money. They can't control the weather but promptly arranged diversions to overcome this and port closure @Morocco. Personally appreciate special lunches and meet ups for solo travellers.Entertainment overall not to my taste. Liked the senior crew interview/staff crew entertainmentntertainment and silent disco.Lectures interesting. Overall 9/10

Regards your reply to my original review below, your customer relations team took 6 weeks to reply and provided nothing substantive whatsoever to almost every issue raised. Very speedy at debiting money, I noted however. It only made a pitiful experience even worse. Absolutely appalling treatment in every way.

Went on Ambience christmas cruise.
I thought the cabin was not nice and had overhead bunk beds. Horrible old striped carpet although bed was comfortable. Spent a lot of time in cabin as often rough sea and found if I came out of my cabin I only had hand rails on right hand side which I couldn't use as that was my walking stick hand. I was a very long way from lifts to restaurants particularly borough market. Out of 18 nights I probably went to evening dinner 4 times and 2 shows. I didn't think the food was very nice at all so if I could get around I preferred borough market apart from getting up and down constantly for food. Often trouble finding somewhere to sit and especially at breakfast.
I went on ambition last April and really enjoyed it so was completely let down on this ship.
Borough Market food was not very good.I tended to live on soup and a roll,
A few chips and some fresh fruit
Only saw 2 shows which did not compare at all to ambition. Just singing songs so gave up bothering to go.
All in all not a good experience and would never wish to repeat.
The best part of all was that all the staff were very nice Indeed. Im not surprised that when we arrived back at Tilbury ambience went away for 2 or 3 weeks much needed refurbishment particularly in the cabins. The communal areas and bars were fine.

From embarking cruising the service from all staff food entertainment facilities and itinerary was fantastic could not fault anything
Enjoyed it immensely so glad I booked another Northern lights cruise party of 4 thoroughly enjoyed it will be back in October
Thank you all at ambassador very much appreciated

We very much enjoyed our Christmas and New Year cruise. It was our third cruise on Ambience, and I hope to go again at least once this year.

Casablanca was great; Rick's Café was just like the Hollywood version!
The tender landing at Madeira en New Year's Eve was a bit tricky but the burly seamen took good care of us. There were 9 cruise ships there that day, but being out in the bay meant we had the best view of the fireworks, a ten minute display coordinated along a kilometre of seafront.

One thing I particularly like about Ambassador is that they have bridge sessions on "at sea" days, and I found a good partner.

Tilbury is not the most convenient port for me, but I have enjoyed all my Ambassador cruises far more than those I've taken from Southampton.

I will be going on my 4th cruise with Ambassador. Fantastic value, great staff, great entertainment, go to great ports, and hope to book many more cruises with them.

I had an absolutely fab time on board Ambassador Ambition. Cruise ship, crew, food and entertainment were A1 ⭐️ couldn't fault them. They get 10/10 from me 👌

Unfortunately we had to cancel our Caribbean cruise last week. My husband was blue lighted into hospital. We weren’t expecting the cruise company to refund the whole of our money, but they have refused to refund us the pre paid gratuities and drinks package. After all it isn’t compulsory to pay any gratuities at all. I bet the staff haven’t received that money. The greedy fat cats will have pocketed it no doubt. Totally unethical and immoral. Many other cruise companies don’t keep money for services totally unused. I think this company are to be avoided at all costs.

Was on Ambution Christmas 2025-2026
It is a wonderful ship
The staff are absolutely brilliant
The food is incredible
And will be going again this year 3 years now

Fantastic cruise. Fantastic food & entertainment!!! Wonderful crew!!! Wonderful everything!!!!!!

We have now done 9 cruises with Ambassador and spent 130 nights on board their ships. We have been on many other lines. Some are better; some are worse. We think Ambassador are the best value of any line we have tried so far. We have three more cruises booked with them.

Friendly, great food, warm welcolme.
Great value for money