Sailing to Northern lights: this 25 year old lady scrubbed up well, better than the old lady writing the review.
The ship had 1,090 guests on board and in places you noticed, slow service in some of the public areas and the buffet, "Borough Market", was best summed up by some other passengers as "Cattle Market". It was woeful, traffic flow down narrow passage ways a complete struggle and simply ...
We chose this cruise as, having cruised with various other cruise lines on much larger ships, we felt the smaller ship would suit our Norwegian Fjords cruise best.
The ship's main foyer is tired and unimpressive. The decor is dated and dull. The cabin was far from 'superior' as advertised - being very tired, only having one single plug socket for a double occupancy with a shabbily added USB ...
We chose this cruise ship...The Ambience as it was smaller than other ships and thought our Fjord cruise would benefit from this.
In reality this ship lacked a lot of the benefits of the larger cruise ships.
The food was adequate but nothing special.
The main restaurant, Borough Market closed at 10pm. Which meant if you wanted anything to eat there was nowhere to go...not even a few ...
We returned from our fourth cruise on the Ambience on the 26th August which sailed to Spain. Portugal and the Balearic isles. (Not the round Britain cruise that the drop down list suggests.) We love this ship, the friendliness of all the crew is second to none, the food is good quality,plentiful and served hot. The ship is spotless both public rooms and your cabin. Everything to give a good value ...
It was cheap !
It was local !
It floated on the water even if if vibrated more than a road menders drill when going at more than 10kts !
If you are after a step back in time with classic carpets and decor with added rust, together with the smell of musty hoovers and damp carpets where the superstructure leaks, coupled with public area windows that have either failed with misty panes, or ...
Lets start with the positives!
Ambience must be THE friendliest ship I’ve cruised on. You only have to sit with a coffee and the person next to you will begin chatting and you end up having a lovely and unexpected talk with them. Same at mealtimes and in the evenings. As a solo cruiser I really loved this aspect
Entertainment - the young show team were exceptional. Not just the dancing ...
Let's start with the good points. The food and staff (bar a couple) were fantastic. The buffet is the best I've had on a cruise ship and I like the way it was presented. It does however get too busy at breakfast and lunch. The decor in a few areas like the Botanical Lounge, Market Borough and the Observatory is very nice. It Takes Two and Benjamin Moss were great on entertainment. Pricing on ...
First the good points and then a few comments.
If you book an inside cabin it works out to about £50/day, quite a bargain (however a balcony, is closer to £150/day, not such a bargain).
No plastic water bottle, although you can by a glass bottle of water for £1.50. You are not allowed to fill up your personal water bottle at the water dispenser, you can only fill glasses and then empty them ...
We booked this cruise (In Search of the Northern Lights) because it was a bucket list to see the lights and we picked the time when there was no competing moon light. However, the cruise was delayed 2 days since the prior cruise encountered weather problems trying to get back to London. Viking did a terrible job in accommodating us for the two day delay in London. The hotel they put us up at was ...
Thank you, krow13, for sharing your experience with us. Your kind words about our onboard staff are truly a testament to their dedication to your comfort. While sometimes adjustments are...
We were looking for replacement to TUI. lots of thinks right but got major issues wrong. Main issue with most people was the Aircon or lack of in cabins. Guests should not have to sleep with balcony door open to cool down the cabin or cabin corridor door open to raise temperature. Very abusive attitude when entering the main dining room for breakfast or lunch and was commanded to sit at a table ...