Ambassador Cruise Line, a new cruise line in the UK, announced the purchase of its second vessel. Ambition, a former AIDA cruise ship, will enter service in 2023.
The purchase became clear earlier this week when AIDA announced the sale of their oldest vessel AIDAmira. Ambassador cruise line offers cruises from a wide variety of ports in the UK, focusing on guests of 50 years and older looking for an authentic luxury cruise experience.
Ambassador Cruise Line Fleet Expansion
The newly formed Ambassador Cruise Line has announced it has purchased a second cruise ship. As Cruise Hive reported earlier this week, ambition, formerly known as AIDAmira, has been confirmed to sail for the UK-based cruise line from 2023 onwards.
Ambassador Cruise Line CEO Christian Verhounig said: “We are delighted with the warm reception given to the introduction of Ambassador to the market – a new brand, proposition, and our first ship. This announcement of the addition of Ambition to the fleet reflects our confidence and willingness to invest in the future of Ambassador and the cruise sector.”
The cruise ship has a gross tonnage of 48,123 and a guest capacity of 1,200 guests. Ambition will join sister ship Ambience in the United Kingdom and offer guests a wide variety of sailings from the Tilbury docks near London and Newcastle, Dundee, Belfast, Liverpool, Bristol, and Falmouth. Cruises are being finalized and will be released in the second quarter of 2022.
“We are particularly excited to be offering regional departure options for Ambition in 2023, whilst also offering guests who travel from London Tilbury a greater choice of sailings and ships on which to enjoy them. Clearly, we are all focused on the success of Ambience’s maiden season which commences in April this year,” Christian Verhounig continued.
Authentic Cruise Experiences
Ambassador Cruise Line is the newest cruise line to emerge from the United Kingdom since 2010. The company aims to attract guests 50 years and older looking for an authentic luxury cruising experience. To limit the amount of traveling guests must undertake to sail, the cruise line only offers cruises from ports in the UK.
Like her sister ship Ambience, Ambition will offer no-fly sailings predominantly targeting the 50-plus market with a premium-value, authentic cruise experience. The 1,200 guests onboard will enjoy a wide variety of dining options, with two main restaurants and specialty dining options, a more casual bistro-style café, four bars and lounges, and a pub. There will also be a wellness center, gym, two pools, and several retail outlets.
Ambition was built in 1999 and first sailed for Festival Cruises under the name Mistral. She has four sister ships that currently sail for MSC Cruises. These are MSC Armonia, MSC Sinfonia, MSC Lirica, and the MSC Opera. After the bankruptcy of Festival Cruises, Mistral became Grand Mistral sailing for IberoCruises.
From 2013 until 2019, the vessel sailed for Costa Cruises as Costa neoRiviera and transferred to sister cruise line AIDA Cruises in 2019. Here she underwent a $55 million renovation and upgrade.
However, she only sailed for the company between December 2019 and March 2020 due to the pandemic. Due to operational changes in the AIDA fleet, AIDAmira was sold this month to Ambassador Cruise Line.
