Ambience Review

Good Crew, poor organisation

Review for Europe Cruise on Ambience
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isthereanamethatisnttaken
10+ Cruises • Age 70s

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Sail Date: May 2022

Did 10 great cruises with Cruise and Maritime Voyages (CMV). Ambassador is attempting to fill the gap in the cruise market left by CMV's collapse. Have just returned from their 14 night cruise to the Baltic. The first irritation for me was the so-called " sustainable" booking procedures. What this means is cost savings for Ambassador at your expense. You need internet, computer, printer, paper to print out all the documentation, and there was a lot of it - a real pain. "Sustainable" - another example of woke speak like the description of organised tours as "destination experiences" I'm over 70 and don't appreciate this woke gobbledygook. There was nothing in Ambassador's documentation about the location of the car park. Arrived at Tilbury by car and there were no signposts. After driving around for 30 minutes could not locate car park. Drove to the terminal where staff were both rude and unhelpful (Ambassador - you need to look at the company contracted to handle embarkation/disembarkation - it does not reflect well on you). Eventually embarked. Cabin really cold first night and too hot the next and this temperature fluctuation continued throughout the cruise. The shower is a fixed head and there is no means of proper cleaning after using the toilet. A simple procedure made unnecessarily inconvenient and complicated. On third day had a letter saying my debit card was faulty, would I please contact my bank and implying my disembarkation would be difficult otherwise.. Had two more letters in the same vaguely threatening vein. Nothing wrong with my card. Made purchases in Karlskrona, Helsinki, Stockholm, Tallinn no problem whatsoever. No email or texts from my bank reporting any problem or requiring verification codes. It is your system Mr Matthias (Chief Financial Officer) that is faulty not my bank or my debit card. The onboard staff in Reception made no effort whatsoever to try and rectify things. I was unable to purchase an onboard drink or specialist meal for the duration of the cruise and for this reason alone I will never cruise with Ambassador again. I also note that the flag of Ukraine was not displayed on the final showtime night along with the other national flags of crew members despite 22 members of the crew being from Ukraine. Further, given current events and the cancellation of the Black Sea from your October Black Sea and Mediterranean cruise (because of free floating Russian mines? - see IMO Circular letter 4573 of 24/5/22) you still see fit to employ 2 nationals of the Russian Federation on the vessel. Or is this what's called being "inclusive"

Cabin Review

Adequate size. Comfortable beds. Ample storage space. See comments on temperature and sanitary arrangements above.

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