Ambassador Cruise Line - the first British cruise line to launch in the UK in over a decade – will christen its first ship, Ambience, today ahead of her maiden voyage from the Port of Tilbury.

With Covid travel restrictions easing, Ambassador say there is major pent-up desire from consumers to resume cruise holidays.

It has already signalled its confidence in the growth potential by announcing the purchase of its second ship, to be named Ambition, entering service in 2023.

Ambassador Cruise Lines is targeting the 50-plus, premium-value cruise market with no-fly holidays for UK customers, offering cruises around Europe, Scandinavia, the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, and the Arctic.

It is also focusing on the growing number of solo travellers who, it feels, are currently under-served by the travel industry, with 89 of its 798 cabins dedicated to solo cruisers.

And the company, which has launched the first cruise-line anti-whaling campaign, in partnership with ORCA, will host ocean conservationists on 11 sailings, encourage guests not to consume whale meat, and not visit oceanariums at destination ports as part of their Destination Experiences programme.

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Ambience has an average guest capacity of 1,400 and with careful configuration offers a feeling of spaciousness whilst retaining a sense of intimacy.

The cruise line will create in excess of 100 UK job opportunities, 40 of which will be shoreside. In addition to this, we will be appointing a 650 strong and diverse team aboard the first ship, Ambience.

Its headquarters are in Purfleet.

Through a multi-million-pound investment and funds managed by Njord Partners LLP, London, the company is fully equity-financed with no financial debt – which is somewhat unique in the cruise industry.

Compared to most of the established cruise lines, Ambassador’s guests’ deposits are not used to finance the operation. Guests’ deposits and payments for their cruises are paid into a fully compliant, independent managed Trust Account and the monies are not released until the cruise departs.

Likewise, additional insurance cover is in place to financially protect all monies paid directly to Ambassador or via travel agents, in case a cruise is forced to cancel. These additional safeguards are designed to give consumers greater peace of mind, over and above the existing protections that are enshrined in UK law.