I was fortunate enough to be invited to look around Ambassador Ambition at Bristol Portbury docks. We arrived at the docks and were shown through security which was quick and smooth. We then boarded a bus to take us to Ambition. We were greeted by Ambassador staff. After a quick photo opportunity outside the ship, we boarded Ambition, which again was a smooth process. We were given our visitor badges and the day had begun!
Our first stop was the Palladium Theatre where we were treated to a glimpse of one of the theatre shows. The singers were impressive, and it was good to see a snapshot of what the entertainment would be like in the evening show. The Theatre was large and had comfortable seating areas. I was surprised to see how big the theatre was. After watching and listening to a small amount of the entertainment we were given tea, coffee and cakes. The itinerary was explained, and we started our full ship tour.
We started off in the communal areas that guests could enjoy, we walked through the Bronte Library area which I have to say was well equipped with a range of books, the room had a lovely small reading nook which was very cosy. This area led onto the Ace and Eight cards room which had lovely views outside.
After spending some time in this area of the ship, we moved to Grafton Street this was used for crafts. You can pay £6 per session to take part in the art and craft lessons on board. Next came the cabin tours. We visited all cabin types from inside cabins, ocean view cabins, accessible cabin and a range of suites. I was pleasantly surprised how spacious they were and how many different types of suites they had. One of my favourites was situated at the aft of the ship where the suite had a large balcony as you were on the corner of the ship. There was so much storage in each cabin, large wardrobe containing beach towels, drawers and coat hooks as you entered the rooms. Whilst visiting the cabins, we browsed through the room service menu on the desk, I was pleasantly surprised with the choice and prices of the food available.
During our tour of the ship, we walked through Borough Market, which was the buffet style restaurant, this was large and had a range of different foods available. I like the way it was decorated with large lemon trees around the room with a mixture of size tables from tables of 2 up to larger round tables. At the back of this area led to the outside sitting area which you could enjoy when the weather is good.
Whilst touring the ship we visited Lupinos - a Mediterranean style restaurant, this had a relaxed al fresco feel with lovely décor. After spending time finding out about the origins of the restaurant we headed outside to the seating area on the sun deck, here there was a range of seats from loungers to comfy chairs where you could relax and enjoy a drink from the pool bar. In this area, there is a fountain area next to the pool and hot tub for all to enjoy.
My favourite location came next, the spa. The Green Sea Spa is located on deck 11 and is huge for the size of the ship. I was blown away by the facilities in the spa. There are a range of treatment rooms, hairdressing area, nail area, relaxation room, Finnish sauna and Aroma Sauna. Again, the prices are very good, and they often have different offers available. Next to the spa is the gym which again is very big for the size of the ship. I can imagine it to be a pleasant area to exercise in as it has great views.
On our tour we visited the Cavern, this offers live cabarets, gameshows and light entertainment. The stylish Clifton lounge served all the favourite cocktails you could ever want to try!! Some of the other bar areas were the Pendennis bar which is open late and for your pre and post theatre drinks you could pop to the Purple Turtle Wine Bar. Before lunch we visited the Buckingham restaurant, which was spacious, light and airy. From this restaurant we could see the chefs table, very exclusive dining area. This had a 10-course menu that had a supplement of £89, a very reasonable amount for so many courses. After passing through Buckingham Restaurant, we arrived at the shopping area there were shops selling duty free, clothes, jewellery, sunglasses and souvenirs.
Next was our opportunity to sample the food on board Ambition. We walked through the speciality restaurant called Saffron which offers Indian fusion cuisine, this restaurant led through to the Holyrood restaurant. We were treated to a five-course lunch which had starters, soup, salad, main course and desert. The food was delicious and well presented. The service we experienced was first class, very attentive. The Grilled beef tenderloin with asparagus and potato cake melted in my mouth. I was very impressed with the quality of the food.
After our delicious lunch we had time to explore areas of the ship ourselves and take more photos. My overall impression of the ship Ambition was it may be a smaller ship but it has so many areas for sitting, eating and relaxing. The staff we met were so friendly and helpful, nothing was too much trouble.
After our tour of Ambition, the first two words that came to my head here ‘stylish and spacious’. I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about this ship and would love to share my experiences with customers. If you have any questions about my visit, then please contact [email protected], call me on 01285 343 054 or come in and see me in our Cirencester store.
