The first British cruise line to launch in the UK in more than a decade has been delayed until after the Easter break. Ambassador Cruise Line, which was set to depart on its maiden voyage on April 6, is now not scheduled to set sail until April 25.
The line's first ship, 1,400 capacity Ambience, has undergone extensive engineering and other works whilst in dry-dock in Croatia. The process has been subjected to some significant recent supply-side delays which also led to a temporary lack of availability of marine gas oil in that country.
Whilst these have now been resolved, her maiden voyage to Hamburg, originally planned for April 6, has been re-scheduled to now depart on April 20. Her first two sailings to the Norwegian Fjords have subsequently been cancelled.
Chief executive Christian Verhounig said: “We have taken the difficult decision to delay the launch of our first ship Ambience . It’s not a decision that has been made in haste but something we have been working tirelessly to try and avoid.
"Whilst we were able to mitigate several delays impacting our extensive programme of works during the period Ambience was in dry dock, everyone is aware that there is at present, extensive supply chain disruption and delays in many commercial areas. Most recently these have been worsened by the crisis in Ukraine.
"It has therefore not been possible to depart for London Tilbury on the original date we had planned. This has had a knock-on effect to our inaugural sailing programme which we have managed to limit to the three initial sailings."
He added: "It is incredibly disappointing news to the guests booked on these sailings and we apologise for the disruption to their holiday plans that this news will cause. We are hopeful that most of them will be able to enjoy our ship and service on the revised dates and the alternatives we put together for them.
"The good news is that despite the delay, the ship has completed her refurbishment, she is now operating to a higher level of environmental responsibility, the captain and crew are on board, and she is looking wonderful. All of us at Ambassador cannot wait to welcome our first guests on board."
Sailing from London Tilbury, Ambassador will operate no-fly itineraries on 31 sailings calling at more than 90 different ports. Itineraries will include the British Isles, the Norwegian Fjords, The Nordics, Greenland, the Arctic and Iceland, plus several short break cruises.
For the winter months, a range of exploration style voyages will sail to the Canaries, Cuba, the Caribbean, Cape Verde and Scandinavia.
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