Founded in 2021, Ambassador Cruise Line is among the world’s newest ocean cruise lines. However, who owns the cruise line and where did it originate?
Ambassador Cruise Line
Ambassador Cruise Line is one of the newest cruise lines in the world. It sails for the British market from eight area ports with a focus on high value. Ambience was the first ship on the Ambassador Cruise Line. It sailed from Tilbury in April 2022 on a range of no-fly routes leaving the UK. Along with routes that leave from London Tilbury, she offers cruises from seven regional ports in the UK: Edinburgh, Newcastle, Dundee, Liverpool, Belfast, Bristol, and Falmouth.
Although it caters to all ages, Ambassador Cruise Line is largely targeted at those over 50. Throughout the summer, the cruise line will offer many multigenerational voyages.
Ambassador offers fine dining, exciting cruises on vintage ships with top-notch entertainment, and like-minded travelers seeing priceless locations.
Who own the Ambassador Cruise Line?
Unlike many other cruise lines that are components of larger cruise or tourism corporations, Ambassador Cruise Line is a privately held firm. The principal owner of Ambassador Cruise Lines is the London-based investment firm Njord Partners.
Larger corporations own the majority of other British cruise lines. The Carnival Corporation owns P&O Cruises, whereas the TUI Group owns Marella Cruises. However, Ambassador is a standalone, smaller business.
Royal Caribbean Group: Owners, Stock, History, Net worth and More!
What was the former name of Ambassador Cruise Line?
Founded in 2021, Ambassador Cruise Line is a brand-new business. On the other hand, others think it’s a rebirth of the British cruise line Cruise & Maritime Voyages, which went out of business in 2020. The business is connected to CMV because it shares a CEO and is headquartered in the same region.
It would therefore be absurd to claim that the companies have no connection at all; it is unlikely a coincidence that a year after one cruise line went out of business, its CEO joined a new business that was headquartered nearby and catered to the same clientele.
However, the firms are legally and officially separate, which makes sense given that CMV was forced to stop trade while under administration.
Compared to CMV, Ambassador is positioned slightly differently. While Cruise & Maritime Voyages was more of a traditional, low-cost cruise line, Ambassador is a more upscale cruise operator.
Who is Ambassador Cruise Line’s CEO?
Christian Verhounig serves as Ambassador Cruise Line’s CEO. Verhounig has over 25 years of experience in the cruise business. From 2011 until 2020, he served as the CEO and Chairman of Cruise & Maritime Voyages, before taking on his current position at Ambassador.
Who is Ambassador Cruise Line’s CFO?
Matthias Seeger is the Chief Financial Officer of Ambassador Cruise Line. Seeger, whose background is in FMCG and retail, is not associated with Cruise & Maritime Voyages, nor has he ever been on a cruise, unlike CEO Christian Verhounig.
In terms of cruising experience, the new Ambassador Cruise Line management team is diverse. Christian Verhounig is the only member of the senior ambassador team with experience from cruise & marine voyages; the other members have backgrounds in finance, retail, and marine roles.
Phil Gardner is Ambassador Cruise Line’s Chief Commercial Officer (CCO). He has experience in the travel industry, having worked with TUI and Thomas Cook in the past.
What is the base of Ambassador Cruise Line?
Based in Purfleet, Essex, is Ambassador Cruise Line. The cruise line’s majority of its trips depart from London Tilbury, which is the port closest to Purfleet. But Ambition, the fleet’s second ship, also provides cruises from smaller ports in the UK.
Although visitors can also schedule voyages from Newcastle, Dundee, Liverpool, Belfast, Bristol, and Falmouth, her home port will remain London Tilbury.
Where did the ships of Ambassador Cruise Line come from?
There are two ships in the fleet of Ambassador Cruise Line at the moment. Ambience, the first, was bought from Ocean Builders, where plans to turn her into a floating hotel had been discussed.
The ship had made her debut as Regal Princess for Princess Cruises back in 2001. Before that, she had sailed for P&O Cruises Australia as Pacific Dawn.
Who owns MSC Cruises? The History behind the foundation
Ambition, the fleet’s second ship, was acquired from AIDA Cruises, the company where she had previously operated as AIDAmira. Prior to that, she had made her debut as Mistral for Festival Cruises in 1999, and she had previously sailed for Costa Cruises as the Costa neoRiviera and for Ibero cruises as Grand Mistral.
Is Ambassador Cruise Line registered with the ABTA?
Since September 2022, Ambassador Cruise Line has maintained an ABTA registration. Although the cruise line wasn’t an ABTA member at first, the program now covers all guests.
The Association of British Travel Agents, or ABTA, provides a safety net for customers. If a business is registered with ABTA and is forced to close or fail for any reason, customers are entitled to a refund of their reservation, even if the business is unable to pay.
It also implies that you will be returned home if a firm fails while you are on vacation with them overseas.
On the cruise line’s website, you can find out more information about Ambassador Cruise Line’s Financial Failure Insurance plans and ABTA registration.
Although Ambassador Cruise Line is a new company with a different fleet of ships and a new management team (with the exception of CEO Christian Verhounig), it has some historical ties to Cruise & Maritime Voyages.
