A Small ship with a big heart.

An old ship with a new look.

It was the itinerary that enticed me, 3 weeks to Greenland, but having missed the rescheduled Maiden Voyage I was keen to try out the ship.

We had a very spacious outside cabin on deck 9, identical to previous cabins on Columbus. The cabin appeared to have been refurbished with new carpet & wall coverings, the twin beds were very comfortable and there was lots of storage space. Cases fitted easily under the bed and our Cabin Steward Made was fabulous. Our cabin was kept spotless with a fun towel animal every day.

The only negative I could find about the cabin was the bathroom which is a little dated, but perfectly functional.

The initial boarding was extremely slick, possibly the quickest and most efficient I’ve had post Covid.

Food was served in the buffet, Borough Market, the Main Dining Room, The outside Grill or in two specialty restaurants Saffron or Sea and Grass, both of which I sampled

Borough Market is a huge Buffet, with stations such as bread, Vegetarian, Indian/Oriental, daily Roast, Fish & Chips, Italian, daily special, cold meat & cheese, fruit, desserts.

Boarding day Vegetarian Sushi was served which was absolutely delicious but unfortunately I didn’t find this on the menu again

There were only 800 guests onboard but even so the buffet was incredibly busy at times and hard to find a seat. I was alone as my cabin share didn’t work out, so could always slip in somewhere but couples and groups really struggled at times. There’s also quite a lot of high seating which doesn’t suit everyone.

Our itinerary meant there was nowhere to replenish food stocks so over the 3 weeks they did run out of quite a bit, fresh pineapple is completely understandable but Weetabix and frozen chips?

Super Chef Alok, aka Lubbly Jubbly presided over the buffet, he never stops smiling and always has a happy word for the guests, all former CMV guests were delighted to see him, something like 90% of the kitchen and waiting staff are ex CMV, there were a lot of familiar faces which was lovely

Dinner in the MDR, Buckingham Restaurant was always a treat, and there was never a problem getting a seat here, table size ranged from 2 to 10, portions were a good size, and other than the last night service was excellent

I had lunch twice in the MDR where on the second occasion there was no vegetarian main, they assured me Chilli Con Carne made with mincemeat was vegetarian- If I had lunch, it was elsewhere after that.

However I preferred to skip lunch and have afternoon tea. This was excellent. Simply the most comprehensive afternoon tea I’ve had (and I’ve tried them all lol). Cheese Toasties were my favourite but there was absolutely everything available, sandwiches, scones, sausage rolls, hot food, cookies, shortbread, cakes, fruit. A fabulous spread

The speciality restaurants were superb. Saffron was identical to the Indian Restaurant on CMV with the same mouthwatering Vegetarian starter available, you just need to let them know in advance if you’ve any special requirements. The rice they serve is absolutely delicious Id have been happy with just that as a main and there was lots of it and the pudding was both beautifully presented and delicious

Sea & Grass is a performance, a culinary delight for the eyes and the taste buds. There are 7 courses, it took us a full 3 hours as we had to have a break midway, the wine pairings were superb

The cheeseboard was comprehensive, fresh and beautifully presented. Kiran Dias who has just been promoted to Restaurant Manager popped in to see how we were all getting on which was a lovely surprise. This dining spectacle is definitely worth the surcharge.

The bars were well presented and well stocked. Most had evening entertainment, the classical duo in Botanicals were exceptional, and we usually finished up in The Observatory (Dome) where we enjoyed Valentina”s singing and all the show team cabarets The band jam and Bradley’s shows were definitely my favourites

The onboard entertainment was superb. The production shows were a visual spectacle with amazing costumes and seven strong voices singing. They were complimented by 2 plays and a series of mini plays or vignettes which were fabulous, the Dorian Gray one was my favourite. Cruise Director Johnny and his assistant George popped up in the shows occasionally which was really good

On nights they weren’t preforming the show team greeted you on way into theatre however a post show photo opportunity would have been great as no photography was allowed during the performance

I feel I have to give a special mention to the amazing voice of Thiago, he put on 2 solo shows, ran the choir and took part in some production shows, Nessun Dorma got him a mid show standing ovation, but there were many well deserved standing ovations at the production shows and the classical show, never has 45 minutes gone so quickly!

There are 2 hot tubs on board, these were hot but did not bubble. There was one compact swimming pool which isn’t heated so I didn’t venture in.

The lifts are fun, 9 different lifts and 9 different images, one was out of action most of the cruise. The polar bear and horses were favourites, however a lot of people walked in and high fived the polar bear earning him the nickname ‘superspreader’

The atrium, centre court was over 3 levels, bright and well furnished with a great coffee shop on 5 but again at events seating was at a premium. The shops ran by Hardings were well stocked and identical to their shops across many lines

I paid for ships wifi. I was aware it may be patchy in Greenland, however I found it pretty weak everywhere compared to other lines. I prefer to pay for wifi as I don’t like wasting time in port, but really felt this wasn’t worth the money

All in all I was happy with the Ambassador experience

I wanted to do the itinerary and it certainly did not disappoint. After I booked Ambassador introduced a policy of maximum 50% solo supplement on any offer fare which is fantastic value.

Any complaints I had about the ship are minor, the cruise was good value for money but I missed some of the luxury touches of cruising. I didn’t like having to queue for a cup of tea in the buffet at breakfast, I’m currently on Fred and really appreciating my morning teapots. Evening turndown does not involve a chocolate and there are no biscuits in cabin. There’s no daily news sheet from home, I appreciate they want to reduce paper but it could be included in app

The positives were definitely the entertainment, the afternoon tea selection and the friendly staff I walked into Sea & Grass to ask if they could do vegetarian and was greeted by name, it must be 3 years since that waiter last saw me, now that’s impressive

Would I book again? Yes if the price and itinerary were right, and although I just didn’t come off the ship thinking I can’t wait to book another Ambassador cruise, looking back now, I could be tempted…