Ambassador Cruise Line has cancelled its three-day Festive Market Getaway sailing aboard the Ambience that was set to sail on Dec. 18.
The UK-based brand said that ‘following annual maintenance works conducted, an issue with the lifeboat station on board Ambience was identified,” in a statement.
“We have chosen to immediately address this as a precautionary measure and, as such, will not be able to complete the repair and post-repair test in time to successfully operate today’s sailing,” the company said. “It is never an easy decision to cancel any itinerary, particularly at this time of year, and we would like to apologise to all those guests who were due to sail with us today.”
The Ambience is expected to be back in service for a Dec. 21 departure for a “winter sun” itinerary sailing 15 nights to the Canary Islands for Christmas and New Year.
The line is advertising for several new roles including national sales manager, business development manager, business development executive and trade support assistant.
Ambassador said the exact structure of the team would be agreed once the recruitment process had taken place, and interested candidates should apply to nicola.harper@ambassadorcruiseline.com
As part of its expansion, Ambassador will split its group and trade booking function into two “distinct” departments among its new-look distribution team.
Meanwhile, the line has also announced the departure of business development manager Moira Gregson, who is set to leave the company on 25 November to take up a new role.
Ambassador’s chief commercial officer Phil Gardner said the company had “stepped out of start-up mode” and “firmly into a day-to-day operation with all the regular workings of a business built for success”.
“Following the arrival of Nicola Harper as our new head of distribution last month, I’m delighted to announce our exciting plans as we look to ensure that Ambassador has the right commercial structure in place for distribution so that it serves our business in the most effective and productive way possible.”
“I would like to sincerely thank Moira for the great work she has done during her time with us and wish her well for the future,” added Gardner.
Ambassador Cruise Line confirmed it’s chartering of the Ambition to the Scottish Government. Formerly known as AIDAmira, the 1,428-guest vessel will be used to house Ukrainian refugees in the country.
“We have agreed to a joint arrangement with the Scottish Government that means we can help the Scottish resettlement program for the Ukraine population, many of whom are fleeing the country,” the company said in a prepared statement.
Currently sailing to Scotland, the cruise ship is set to arrive in Glasgow at the beginning of September, Ambassador explained.
“We are proud to be supporting such an important humanitarian cause,” it added.
While the duration of the charter agreement has not been disclosed, no changes to the inaugural timeline have been confirmed so far.
“We are still finalizing the details with the various parties concerned, but we will be communicating with guests in due course to explain this agreement and we hope you are able to understand our wishes to help with this cause,” Ambassador noted.
Docked in Montenegro for the past four months, the Ambition has been out of service since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Launched in 1999 as the Mistral, the 48,200-ton vessel was built for Festival Cruises.
After the collapse of its original operators, the ship was acquired by Iberojet for further service in Europe as the Grand Mistral.
Before being sold to its current owners, the vessel also spent time sailing for Costa Cruises and AIDA Cruises.
As the second ship of Ambassador, the Ambition is now set to provide departures from regional UK ports such as Newcastle, Dundee, Belfast, Liverpool, Bristol and Falmouth.
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