“It will take us about five hours to reach the mouth of the Thames,” Captain Egil Aune tells us on the bridge as we set sail. It’s a surprisingly leisurely passage along the 40 miles of the London waterway when everything else at the start of our mini-break weekend cruise has been so efficient.
We boarded Ambassador’s flagship the Ambience at the London International Cruise Terminal at Tilbury, Essex, in what feels like record time for a European departure: it takes us a mere 30 minutes after leaving our cases at the bag-drop in the car park to check in, clear security and reach our cabin.
