Ambassador Cruise Line Reviews 

KFor our 50th wedding anniversary we wanted to have a very special memory making holiday to the arctic circle. Having already done a fjords cruise some years ago we thought we'd found the perfect holiday, visiting Norways far north with a chance of seeing the northern lights, waking up surrounded by snow capped mountains was what we were looking forward to most. Topped up by visiting reindeer and huskies and seeing amazing scenery. Within 24 hrs our holiday took a turn for the worse with a tannoy announcement that due to high seas and storms our itinerary would change, not holding off travelling north until the weather subsided but a completely different cruise in the western edge of the baltic. (A cruise we had already done a few years ago) instead of waking up in the mountainous region of Norway, we woke in various industrial dockyards of middle Europe.
Now we fully understand the safety aspect of travelling in heavy seas, but this was day one of a 13 day cruise and no attempt was made to get back on track with the original itinerary. Can't help thinking that this cruise could have been handled so differently, floating around the baltic was not what we'd signed up for and feel robbed of what should and could of been an amazing holiday. The 1 star is for the staff who were very friendly and work so hard. Consider cruising on a bigger ship that isn't so weather dependant. Or a cruiseline who can weather a storm.

My wife and I booked an arctic cruise with Ambassador.
Within 20hrs our dream cruise became a cruise nightmare. It was announced that we were to have a complete change of itinerary. This company by some miracle were able apparently to find 6 new ports( shipping terminals ) in 4 new countries, along with all the land based facilities needed for a cruise ship!
Within 24 hours they had arranged tours to book and buses from the shipping ports to each capital city!
We did not want to go to these cities or we would have booked to go to them.
The issue a huge portion of us have is there was no way this was not pre planned. We would have cancelled this cruise and booked with another provider had we been informed, yet Ambassador insist this was because of weather, funny this because every other cruise line still went to the Arctic on the same dates, yet Ambassador informed us it was because of the safety of the crew and passengers, the only excuse to stop people claiming their money back.
Absolute bunch of scammers. Don't waste your holiday or money with these liars. It isn't just the money, our holiday time is precious and they just hijacked our holiday,ruined our 2 weeks and our dreams of visiting the Arctic, which is unforgivable!
My wife bought the WiFi package as soon as we heard the news of the change,according to the shipping weather they knew about this storm 24 hours before we sailed, meaning they could have informed us, giving us the option of cancelling, which was denied. She also checked the ASI which showed this cruise was NEVER headed for Bodø, our first port.
Legal proceeding are now taking place.

Very disappointed with the level of communication after our first cruise set sale for the arctic circle in Norway on the 22nd of March knowing full well it wasn't going there. We weren't given the choice to not go and were trapped once on board. Still waiting for a response from them. Any future bookers please read the small print.

I certainly won’t be cruising with Ambassador again.
I excitedly booked a once in a lifetime cruise (bucket list trip) to the Artic Circle. I upgraded my room as I was expecting to see fab view, scenery, possibility of the Northern Lights and lots of wild life in their natural habitat.
22 hours into the trip the captain announced that we would be changing course and heading to the Baltic and visiting Cities which weren’t on my bucket list and no beautiful views outside my window. Some of the ports they had chosen were pointless places. The reason for this change was due to extreme weather conditions. However, there were other cruise lines that were in the same “boat’ sheltered for a day and then headed up to the Artic Circle to continue their bucket list holiday. The weather did improve. The Baltic cruise was a much cheaper cruise. Ambassador have not offered any compensation for changing to a cheaper cruise.
Also Ambassador knew the weather was bad before we set off do why wasn’t we given the option to get off in Tilbury.
Check your t & c’s before you travel with this company as so far I have not been offered any compensation for receiving a cheaper cruise. I paid nearly 4K.
The communication from them has been very poor.
Come on Ambassador management team get your act together
Disappointed solo traveller

Booked our first ever cruise with Ambassador for a trip to Norway billed as an Arctic explorer and northern lights 13 night cruise. We’re really looking forward to husky sledding, a night at the Holmen Husky Lodge and ‘chasing the Aurora’. Due to adverse weather (which was known about in advance allegedly but not communicated to us passengers) the itinerary was completely changed into a Baltic cities cruise some 24 hours or so into the sailing. Ambassador’s failure to adequately acknowledge or deal with customer complaints is staggering. Please be aware that if you book with Ambassador, you may not get the cruise you actually paid for! On a positive note, the crew onboard ship were marvellous.

Complete Itinerary changed after 27 hours from Arctic Circle to boring Baltic cities due supposedly to bad weather. Other cruise Line ships sheltered from the storm and then continued their voyages up to Alta, they did not do a complete change of Itinerary like Ambassador

The weather was known before we left Tilbury but passengers were not informed about the change until 24 hours had expired which means the guarantee that Ambassador boast about was worthless. The cynic in me says that the timing was deliberate to prevent people from exercising their rights under the guarantee to leave the ship at Oslo for a full refund.

Emails to Guest Relations and CEO have gone unanswered. Reply received so far was the standard corporate copy / paste and did not address any of the issues raised

This was my first and will be my only experience of Ambassador as although the crew were mostly lovely and the food passable their customer service if you have a problem or a complaint is abysmal. I always judge a company by how they resolve issues and Ambassador have failed on all counts.

I expect the standard response of send my complaint to Guest Relations but will be waste of time as I have already done that but to no avail.

Edit (14/05/2026) Ambassador responded but only to say Guest Relations were in contact with me but that was a while back and only to say tough accept the situation as it is. They have not responded to any of my follow-up emails including those to the CEO.

I booked the northern lights cruise for the once in a lifetime itinerary. I understand that weather can change these plans however I never would have expected that bad weather that may have disrupted us for a day or two, instead changed our Itinerary completely to a Baltic cruise. They were aware of the weather before our departure however only announced this after 27hours.

Unfortunately I had visited all the alternative ports before and as we were not informed I had not packed accordingly.

The customer service was appalling and I have not had a response to my complaint. Two weeks annual leave wasted along with this year's holiday fund.

Booked to do a northern lights & arctic cruise on 22 March, on Ambition,but itinerary completely altered to a 13 night Baltic cruise instead. Really no comparison. Reason given because of weather, but this surely did not require the entire change. I’m sure most people would have been happier to miss a port and still get to see Norway instead of what we did get.
Our “compensation” amounted to a discount if we booked the same type of cruise when it was due to go again later that year or March 2027. No refund on what we had paid despite the fact that most of us had spent a great deal of money for a bucket list cruise and the necessary clothing for it. For a lot of us, even with discount, we can’t afford to do this again and furthermore, as a solo cruiser, the discount really amounted to nothing in comparison to what we had paid for the cruise we were on.
I’m hugely disappointed in Ambassadors’ complete lack of appreciation for our circumstances.
I’m sure all of us appreciated the service from the staff, but we just were not where we wanted to be.
It also appears that many cruisers are being refused compensation by their insurance companies for missed ports, which just rubs salt into the wound.
Some real and proper understanding of the situation by Ambassador would be nice!

My wife and I were hoping to tick off one of our bucket list experiences with Ambassador at the back end of March this year to enjoy the delights and experiences of Norway, on their Arctic Explorer and Northern lights 13 night 14 day cruise aboard Ambassador Ambition. We had booked experiences dog sledding, going to a Sami Village, doing a Viking evening and so on. As well as that there was the Northern lights and whale watching to look out for….. well that’s what this pair of pensioners were hoping for anyway. We had even spent around £800 extra, on Ambassadors recommendations, for cold weather protective clothing.
Unfortunately, that all came crashing down by late afternoon/evening of the second day. Amazingly, just outside the 24 hour period where their T&C’s took over!! Funny that isn’t it??🤬😡 Especially when you find out that Ambassador knew they would be doing this and the reason why on the morning before we set sail from Tilbury! Passengers were told, just after the captain and crew had met everyone in the ships theatre, and said how much they were looking forward to our itinerary with us, via a message over the ships tannoy, that due to bad weather conditions ahead and of course passenger safety, we would be turning right into the Baltic and heading for Oslo.
That’s good I hear you say, what’s the problem.
We were then taken to industrial ports around the Baltic for the rest of the two weeks!! The storm by the way caught up with us the following day and was gone again about 12-18 hours later, and only a choppy’ish sea to contend with.
Meanwhile, it transpires that three other cruise lines, like us, found ports for safety for the next 12-18 hours, then carried on with their original itineraries!! Where they enjoyed smooth running
For the rest of their cruises.
Essentially, we feel were conned by Ambassador, we have complained both onboard and when we got home, and so far not a squeak from
Ambassador.
Are we happy with Ambassador….. NO!
Would we want to recommend Ambassador to anyone asking? At this point definitely NO!!
Will we be sailing with Ambassador anytime soon? NO not on your nelly!!!
We are feeling both devastated and abandoned by Ambassador at the moment, and can only hope that they decide to speak to us soon….
You have been warned!

Sadly we will not be cruising with them again. I was excited to be using a no-fly UK based cruise line. However our experience was dreadful. We booked a suite on deck 12, which was just a single room balcony cabin. My vegetarian partner could not eat much as his options were very limited. Then to top it all they completely changed the itinerary from an arctic Norwegian northern lights cruise to a Baltic city mini-break. All other cruise ships waited for the storm to pass, but our ship went to Oslo and despite there being another 12 nights they didnt try to rejoin the planned route. We filled out complaints forms on the ship and to date they have not responded 44 days later despite promising to reply within 28 days. Totally disgusted. They planned the alternative route before we left but deliberately witheld the information, so we could not claim our refund due as first time unhappy cruisers with them. Update: still zero response and I did contact GuestRelations!

I am writing to you as one of the hundreds of disgruntled customers following the cancellation of the A22604 itinerary.

This cruise itinerary was out of the ordinary and a very special one in that it was scheduled to visit the west coast of Norway right up to Tromso and Alta within the Arctic Circle. It was going to be a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience Norway’s Sami tribes and see how they live in subzero temperatures for most of the year, ride on Husky led sleds and a lot more. Additionally it would give passengers the best situation to witness the Northern Lights. Since 2000, I have been fortunate to cruise most of the World on several cruise lines with my wife who sadly, suffers from Alzheimers dementia and is now in a care home. Visiting the Arctic had always been on my “bucket list” and this was my first cruise with Ambassador and the first as a solo passenger.

The ship left Tilbury on 22 March as scheduled and guests were told almost immediately to expect severe weather in the North Sea. Then within 24 hours, on the second evening on board, before our first port (Bodo), it was announced that the whole itinerary was cancelled due to extreme weather and high seas in the North Cape. By the following morning a letter to all guests dated 23 March, gave information about a totally new itinerary visiting ports in Scandinavia bordering the Baltic Sea. This revised itinerary was of no interest to me and many other guests as I had visited these ports previously on other ships and on business. I therefore registered my feelings with the reception desk on board almost immediately and asked for the "Ambassador Guarantee" to be put in place thus providing a full refund as this was my first experience with Ambassador and I was not “happy”.
Despite a number of message exchanges, I have heard no more of this request from Ambassador. The letter referred to, acknowledging the disappointment of cancellation, also offered guests a 50% future cruise discount on 4 Northern Lights Cruises (2 in 2026 and 2 in 2027), or 25% discount on a “Solar Eclipse” cruise in 2026 or 20% off any other sailings departing before 31 December 2027. Whilst these appeared at first to be generous offers, they took no account of the disappointment experienced by many guests who had booked this cruise for the sole purpose of visiting the Northern Cape and had no opportunity to book any future cruises at the time. As it turns out, the discounts were based on the full brochure price of the cruises being offered. I did try to book a future cruise but there were no actual solo prices available for the “Outside” cabin type I was in at present. The only offer was to get the percentage discount off the price of 2 people. This would mean a new booking at 75% more than I had paid for this cruise, which I was not about to do. I am therefore left with absolutely no compensation for the lost itinerary. I also believe that solo travellers were being discriminated against.

I fully understand and acknowledge the safety reasons why the original itinerary was cancelled but I believe Ambassador knew this cruise was going to be cancelled prior to disembarkation from Tilbury. I say this as I'm sure the Company had the knowledge of the sea conditions in the North Cape from their other ship (Ambience) which was already suffering from high seas in the same area together with sophisticated weather forecasting technology. I also found it suspicious that they were able to announce a completely new itinerary within 12 hours of notification that the cruise was effectively cancelled. It comes as no surprise to hear that some ships from other cruise lines did in fact brave the weather and continue on their journeys.

Needless to say I am very unhappy and have request a full refund but as yet with no success.

DO NOT BOOK AMBASSADOR . Ambassador are the Ryanair of the season. Even one of their own officers says this...look if you want to play roulette over whether where you go is actually what you booked and paid for then give them a go BUT if you planning your bucket list dream holiday then please please dont trust it to Ambassador. Dont get me wrong the experience on the ship by the staff was amazing but we paid for a cruise around the Norwegian fjords and to hopefully experience the northern lights. To go on husky rides and spend the night in the husky lodge. To feed reindeer and see the absolutely outstanding sights norway has to offer. What we got was container ports and couple of sightseeing stops that needed an hour on the coach to get anywhere worth seeing. Ambassador refuse point blank to acknowledge they did anything wrong. Well Ambassador let me tell you that you messed up BIG TIME and you must listen to your customers and try to put things right

We have just returned from the Springtime fjords cruise. Embarkation and disembarkation went very smoothly, however I was disappointed to learn that while waiting to disembark (7.30-10.15am) we were no longer able to get even a coffee. Norway was stunning and the staff were exceptional. The cabin - I found the beds very comfortable, however, my husband was unable to use the toilet for (pardon me) for No. 2s, due to the lack of knee room. Even I had to leave the shower door open. TMI I know but it was a major issue. On one occasion our toilet overflowed as the suction system didn't work but it was dealt with very quickly. We did not like having to sit with strangers at dinner so used Borough Market for all our meals. Frequently we were unable to find a seat as people would sit on after their meals to read and have a cuppa. Frequently the tea/coffee machine and juice machine in the restaurant would run out. Having the juice machine as the only place to refill water bottles seemed ridiculous. I was amazed that all the restaurants served the same menu, so if what was on offer did not appeal then you went hungry. The food I found was mediocre or strange concoctions e.g. who puts cardamom in fruit crumble? The drinks were great. The entertainment was cringeworthy especially during the day - basket weaving, choir, book club, knit and natter. The highlight of sea days was the evening quiz in the Cavern. We feel that the cruise was a week too long and could easily be fitted into a week if the ship had sailed faster - 12 knots is slow! I feel that prospective customers need to be made aware that this cruise appears to be aimed at an older audience. I was told before sailing that the majority of people onboard were 50+. I'd disagree and say 65/70+. This was our first cruise and our last. We were glad to get home. I would suggest that for the days when the seas were rough or the weather poor that the TVs in the rooms had some basic TV programmes, even BBC News or pay per view and it might be an idea to turn the Palladium into a movie theatre now and again.

I booked an experience of a lifetime to the Arctic Circle to hopefully see the Northern Lights, see reindeer, husky dogs, other wildlife, take part in the Sami culture. A 13 night experience to remember but I now remember it for the wrong reasons.
Due to 2 days of storms (which Ambassador knew about before we left) we were taken to the Baltic to visit three cities and three industrial ports with few redeeming qualities. The explanation was weak, senior management absent for any support, the customer service on return poor.
The option to seek shelter for 2 days of bad weather then continue was not given to us, despite other cruise lines doing exactly that and arriving safely in the Arctic that week.
As a recently widowed solo traveller I felt let down, unsupported and unable to get off the ship to return home.
The expensive Arctic cruise became a third rate meandering slowly around the Baltic to places that I didn’t want to visit.
I will never use Ambassador again and recommend that others find a more reliable company

*When you read the response below from Ambassador please understand that I’ve contacted Ambassador formally about this twice and they haven’t dealt with it.
So by answering they cover themselves on Trust Pilot as being a company that responds *

But they don’t!

Ambassador advertise amazing itineraries to get you booked, but sadly have a very poor success rate of getting you to the ports. I was on cruise in March26 and 27hrs into sailing, Ambassador changed the entire 2week itinerary and what should have been a bucket list Arctic trip became a Baltics capital cruise, docking in very unpicturesque trade ports. They made the changes under the guise of weather, but have failed to answer a single guests question as to why we did not continue after taking shelter overnight as Fred Olsen, P&O and Cunard all did. Sadly my cruise is not a one off, with similar happening frequently, albeit usually only a few ports rather than an entire itinerary. Ambassador customer service is very poor, with a patronising standard response issued, ignoring customers questions. Whilst a discount was offered to book another Ambassador cruise, it was restricted by date and duration, meaning not everybody could benefit, and those who couldn't afford to immediately rebook, or do not have the health to do so, have been left paying a premium price for a below par cruise. I would also not trust Ambassador to get me there the second time around given their track record on Arctic itineraries. Ambassador have been dishonest and treat customers very unfairly. What i will say, is that the staff and entertainment teams on board are incredible, so if you aren't bothered about the destination and just want the cruise experience, then Ambassador are good. But selling trips that their ships are not fit for is false advertising and lets their otherwise great onboard teams down.

I had a fabulous holiday with Ambassador on the Ambience on the Greatest Hits II cruise recently. I was very impressed with Ambassador and the ship was a good size and easy to find your way around. They had obviously taken the trouble to put like-minded people together on the dining tables and our table was absolutely brilliant - I think lots of other people wanted to be on our table!! The food was excellent and so were the shows in the theatre. Well done to all the staff and crew!

The company would be better if they conducted their business with candour.
We booked and paid for a cruise to the arctic. What we fot was a third class trip to the Baltic.
Can't bear the lies and deceit of it all.
Ambassador you ripped our dreams into peices, dreams that many people will never be able to now fulfill.
Lying about no prior knowledge of a COMPLETE change of itinerary, many of your staff told us they already knew we were never going to the northern arctic. You denied us the option of cancelling our holiday and just went ahead taking us to capital cities we did not want to go too You docked us in shipping Terminals, not cruise terminals Lying to our faces whilst insulting many of us. The rude arrogant hotel director actually had the gaul to say we weren't prisoners on the ship. A lot of people cruise due to health and flying etc, my husband included in that, so in actual fact, we weren't able to get off and fly home and I felt kidnapped to some extent as there was no option for us to go home. Had you been honest before departure. This cruise would have been abandoned, but of course Ambassador know this, they know at least 3/4 of the passengers would have said they did not wish to continue and they would have to refund us all. Its despicable.
From the words of the hotel director on board, Madam you booked with Ambassador, its the equivalent of flying with Ryan air. Speaks volumes!
EDIT
To the team who responded to my trust pilot review. Its a shame you haven't responded to the complaint I did on board to head office and the complaint I made about no response, or maybe the response I finally got telling me my original response would be 28 days. Approximately 40 days ago. GET YOUR FACTS RIGHT!

We've cruised a fair bit but first time (and last) on Ambassador. We did the round the UK itinerary. It may be that this itinerary attracted an older demographic. Getting on and off the ship by the gangway was tortuous slow with HUGE queues.- needs a second gangway as so many had mobility needs. Tender ports were dreadful- it clearly says you must be able to get on/off the tender and manage steps. It's clear this was widely ignored and is a disaster waiting to happen. HUGE queues for tenders with staff physically lifting people on/off the boats and moving heavy mobility aids.
Most staff were lovely and a special shout out to the light entertainment team for their excellent fun quizzes. The rest of the entertainment was poor. Food wasn't great. One particularly strange meal was chicken parm with potato wedges and salad. It arrived with hot beef gravy - over the salad....it was sent back. Food in the MDR is exactly the same as in the buffet so limited choice. Vegetarian dishes poor and repetitive. Food service times short.
6 of us cruised as a group and every single one of us had upset stomachs on more than one occasion following fish/seafood dishes.
Cabins are tired.
Initially we were on deck 10. The vibration in the cabin was so bad nce the ship set sail that whilst lying in bed you couldn't read a book. The book shook too much!!!. This cabin however was clean and had comfortable beds and a functioning hairdryer. They moved us to deck 5 which was better for vibration but the beds were rock hard and the floor was bowed /loose/bouncy throughout. The bathroom stank of urine despite a 'deep clean'. Shower curtain held on by 3 shower hooks, shower drain kept blocking despite attempts to clear it. They did find us a couple of mattress toppers which made a difference. Cabin very tired, useless hairdryer.
We actually considered leaving the cruise in Liverpool- half way through as it was so bad. The logistics of getting from Liverpool to tilbury to get the car from the car park was just too difficult so we decided to tough it out. Couldn't get into Aberdeen as weather too rough, Guernsey port day was substituted for....... Portsmouth
In short - embarkation at Tilbury excellent. Staff mostly lovely. Light entertainment team fabulous.
Food nearly average, ship tired, rooms very tired, entertainment dreadful.
Ambassador is now Number 1 on our list for all the wrong reasons and will not be an experience we will wish to revisit.
I've given it 2 stars because staff were mainly lovely ....the ship/cruise/food would be a 1 star review

We travelled on the 12th of april cruise from portsmouth, visiting Portugal and Spain. Had a great time and many great memories created. Would use ambassador again.

Every one of the staff were friendly and polite. Nothing was too much trouble. The unexpected birthday celebration for my 80th birthday on the 5th April 2026 was exceptional and will be remembered for ever. We have already booked two more trips which proves how good they are