Ambassador cruise review: exploring Norway’s stunning Fjordland

As cruise aficionados know, sailing is as much about the journey as the destination. One of the best ways of experiencing this is sailing in the fjords of Norway. You get 360-degrees of scenery, from waterfalls and clear water to mountains that almost touch the heavens.

Wildlife watchers have the chance to spot whales and dolphins as you learn about the legends that fill these calm waters, such as waterfalls where Vikings would drink to feel young and fertile.

The Viking boats may have gone but there was plenty of life on board the Ambience ship as my family and I took part in a week-long summer Fjordland sailing with British cruise line Ambassador.

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Making waves

Ambassador has quickly navigated into a well-recognised brand just two years after launch, winning bronze in the best no-fly cruise category at the British Travel Awards in 2022 and two Cruise Critic Awards for best value for money and best mid-sized cruise.

It is hard to imagine that this gem of a ship, with its purple funnels brightening the waters of London Tilbury on embarkation day, was once set for the scrapheap. It was previously owned by Princess Cruises as Regal Princess in the 1990s before being sold to P&O Cruises Australia where it was renamed Pacific Dawn – the country’s first superliner.

The vessel was due to be retired in 2020 but was instead sold to a company called Ocean Builders that named the ship Satoshi and planned to create a floating cryptocurrency community in the Gulf of Panama. Insurance and licensing issues meant the company gave up and planned to send the ship to the scrapyard – that was until May 2021 when Ambassador stepped in. There are no signs of cryptocurrencies or the old brands since a refit in October 2021, but there is plenty of character both on board and at the various destinations.

The Ambassador brand is usually aimed at the adult-only over-50s market. However, it has opened some sailings to kids during school holidays so families, or “multi-generations” as it calls it, can experience what Ambassador means by its “enjoy yourself” tagline.

Tours and activities

As an adult-only ship, there is no kids club where sun-starved parents usually stick their children while they relax by the pool. But the typically rainy Norwegian summer meant there was little point trying to sunbathe during our sailing. There were plenty of on-board activities to keep us busy though such as quizzes, treasure hunts and discos. All were geared towards families and all generations rather than just adult-focused events that you may usually find on larger ships.

Ambassador has also partnered with marine conservation charity Orca to teach guests about looking after sea life. Rather than a dull lecture about stopping whaling, kids took part in Guess Who?-style games to learn about different types of whales and dolphins and the sights and sounds to watch out for to spot one in the water. I was particularly proud when my daughter correctly identified the image of a common dolphin.

Once in port, guests can arrange excursions either independently or with Ambassador in advance. We donned our raincoats for a closer look at the waterfalls in Geiranger on a rib (rigid inflatable boat). It was worth moving from a sturdy ship to a more windswept dinghy to get a sense of how large the mountains really are and to see the shapes of the waterfalls – one even cascades round the rocks to leave the pattern of a wine bottle.

On another stop in Bergen we took a funicular 1,050ft to the top of Mount Floyen. Unfortunately, the clouds meant there wasn’t much of a view but our daughters enjoyed exploring the troll forest and running around on what is probably the highest playground they have ever got wet in.

Luckily the clouds cleared for us on another day in Voss, western Norway for a trip in a cable car to the top of Hangurstoppen mountain, where views of the valley 2,600ft below made it easy to forget about the lack of sun over the past week.

Cabins

For a mid-sized ship, Ambience has big ideas when it comes to accommodation. Its capacity is usually 1,400, but with around 400 kids on board for our multi-generational sailing, that meant more space needed for beds and of course clothes. This didn’t seem to be a problem. We counted around 16 large drawers across two bedside tables and a large wooden dresser before you even consider the walk-in wardrobe-style hanging space and another chest of drawers in our junior suite.

The double bed was well positioned opposite the large balcony doors, meaning you can wake up and look straight at the view, as long as you persuade a child on the nearby sofa bed to open the curtains.

The suites are on deck 11, providing easy access to the hot tubs and pools for when the sun does come out as well as the buffet. The decks below have a range of inside, guest and ocean view cabins which are slightly smaller, and therefore cheaper than a suite, but other guests were still impressed with the level of storage.

Eating and drinking

The ship stays true to its British roots with many of its bars, restaurants and seating areas named after iconic London venues. The Wimbledon-inspired centre court is where you will find guest services as well as Dickens coffee and cake bar, while sailors spend the evening being entertained by shows in The Palladium theatre.

The buffet, open for breakfast, lunch, dinner and of course afternoon tea, is called Borough Market. It serves a range of dishes from fish and chips to a carvery as well as burgers, pizzas and vegetarian and vegan options.

A sit-down lunch and dinner is served in the Buckingham Restaurant, which is included in the cruise price, plus there is a specialty Indian restaurant called Saffron where guests can enjoy a range of delicious South Asian dishes for £16.95 per person.

You can relax with a beer, wine or cocktail in Raffles, the Botanical Garden or the pub-style Purple Turtle. At around £6 for a cocktail and £3 for a beer, the prices are much cheaper than usual for a cruise and even lower than what you would pay for a night out in London. This makes it well worth raising a toast to the view, whatever the weather.

Marc Shoffman and his family were guests of Ambassador Cruise Line. Prices vary depending on dates and destination. A seven-night Summertime Multi-Generational Fjordland sailing aboard the Ambience departing London Tilbury on 3 August 2024 starts from £689 per adult and children cost from £99. Other dates and destinations including Iceland and the Mediterranean as well as adult-only sailings are available throughout the year; ambassadorcruiseline.com