NEW Ambassador Cruise Line Injects Confidence into Travel Industry

The UK travel industry has received a new boost of confidence as the first new cruise line to launch since 2010 has put its inaugural year of cruises on sale.

Ambassador Cruise Line, which is targeting the 50-plus age demographic, has a programme of 33 sailings, all “no-fly” and departing from London’s Tilbury to destinations featuring the Norwegian Fjords, the Baltics and St. Petersburg, Greenland, the Arctic, and Iceland. For the winter months a range of expedition style voyages will sail to the Canary Islands, Cuba, the Caribbean, Cape Verde and Scandinavia. The inaugural cruise will be to Hamburg on 6 April 2022.

Ambassador has some distinctive business features. 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 presently 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 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.

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, Essex.

Ambassador has also made a conscious decision to better serve the solo market. Travellers, particularly in the age demographic it targets, often travel alone and their needs tend to be overlooked by the travel industry or made prohibitively expensive. Ambassador has a dedicated solo activity programme onboard and has assigned 89 of the cabins onboard its first ship, Ambience, to solo cruisers. These single occupancy cabins spread over five-cabin grades and are offered at a highly-competitive supplement that is cheaper than the industry standard. This will not only enable the growing solo traveller segment to cruise at a more attainable price, but all guests will benefit from the improved guest /space ratio, with greater room to breathe.

Ambience will be upgraded with emission reduction technologies to be IMO Tier III compliant, prior to the start of the cruising season. She will not only adhere to the latest updated rules regarding emission reductions (Tier II from 1 January 2022 in certain NOX Emission Control areas) but will already be compliant with rules which come into force by 1 January 2025 (Tier III of the IMO NOX regulations – aiming to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by approximately 70 percent compared to the Tier II standards). In addition, Ambience will be equipped and outfitted with the latest ballast and sewage water treatment systems, enabling her to sail in all strictly environmentally protected seas.

The team bringing Ambassador Cruise Line to the market has significant travel industry tenure. The Chair of the Board of Directors is Gordon Wilson who has over 30 years of experience, including his role as the President and CEO of Travelport, a leading global travel commerce platform until July 2019. Wilson is joined by a talented management team which includes CEO, Christian Verhounig, CCO, Christopher Coates, CIO Gary Hides and CFO, Simon Weeks, all of whom have significant cruise industry experience.

CEO Christian Verhounig said: “It is wonderful to lead with some positive news, investment and employment opportunities in the travel sector. A red letter day for all of us at Ambassador Cruise Line, going on sale with our inaugural season cruises today. Our commercial launch is testament to our confidence in the no-fly cruise market in the UK, with our cruises operating a required vaccination policy for guests and crew alike”.

Ambassador will offer a premium-value, authentic and friendly cruise experience with no-fly itineraries. The maiden season commences on 6 April 2022 with an inaugural short-break cruise to Hamburg. The First Edition 68-page brochure features the full year programme, operating through May 2023.

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Please see here for a selection of images, and the media kit.

Editor’s notes

About Ambience

• 70,285 tonnes
• 1,400 guest capacity
• 798 cabins: (23% balcony) ranging from 18-52sq metres
• Guest to space ratio: 50.2 per guest (gross tonnage divided by number of guests, a metric for space on

Ambience per each guest)

• Crew to guest ratio: 2.15 (one crew member for every 2.15 guests)
• Classification Society: Lloyds Register of London

About Ambassador Cruise Line

Ambassador Cruise Line is a brand-new premium-value cruise line. It is the first new British cruise line to be launched since 2010. Its purpose is to inspire and delight every guest to enjoy an authentic cruise experience effortlessly, and sustainably.

Ambassador’s extremely experienced management team is led by Chief Executive Officer, Christian Verhounig supported by Chief Commercial Officer, Christopher Coates, Chief Information Officer, Gary Hides and Chief Financial Officer, Simon Weeks.

Through funds managed by Njord Partners LLP, London, the company is fully equity-financed (no financial debt). The Chair of the Board of Directors is Gordon Wilson who has over 30 years of experience in the global travel industry. This includes his role as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Travelport until July 2019. He is a member of the Supervisory Board of BCD Holdings which owns global corporate travel management company, BCD Travel. He has been appointed to the Chair of the Board of Interactive Investor, the second-largest direct-to-consumer investment platform in the UK.

Ambassador will sail for the British market from London Tilbury on an ex-UK no-fly range of voyages that are adult-focussed and primarily aimed at the 50-plus market. The first ship, Ambience, will sail in Spring 2022 and is designed to carry up to 1,400 guests in 798 cabins. After completing its inaugural season in Spring 2023, the cruise line plans to extend sailings from additional regional ports. Ambassador is based in Purfleet, Essex.

Ambience’s inaugural voyage will be a short break cruise to Hamburg on Wednesday 6 April 2022.

www.ambassadorcruiseline.com

Further press information from Jules Ugo, Hollie Thomson and Lydia Matthews at [email protected]