Ambition

[barney]

Just booked yet another cruise, this time giving Ambassador a chance.
We’ve booked Ambition for a ten night France and Northern Spain. It’s end of May into June.
A good price in my opinion at a grand each including the premium drinks package and parking at Bristol.
This is for a premium outside cabin.
We will find out how premium
It looks proper old fashioned cruising with set dining.
We’ve opted for 8.15 late sitting.
Given that the one after is Arvia, it’s going to be some contrast.

[Mervyn and Trish]

Be interesting to hear what you think. I'm very much put off by too many links to CMV whose demise cost many booked passengers dearly.

[barney]

I will let you know Merv.
I think it will be a throw back to the old Artemis and Oriana days.
Fixed dining and sharing a table?
Our last experience of this wasn’t good
One chap on our table was so objectionable that I pretended to be deaf.

[Mervyn and Trish]

We generally prefer fixed dining and have only rarely been disappointed with our dining companions.

(If we've ever met I didn't realise you couldn't hear me. )

[Ray B]

Barney, will be good to hear your impressions of Ambassador and their ship Ambition. We have an up and coming cruise with them, but later in the year to Italy, cruising on Ambassador,s ship, Ambience. Like you the price was good, and the feedback from those that have cruised with them looks promising.

[Onelife]

Looks fine to me Barney... despite some of the food reviews not reading to well...take a a few packets of crisp just in case.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkfzgOmlRIM

[CaroleF]

Be very interesting to hear your experience. We always had set or Club Dining on our over 30 cruises and only once did we ask to change and that was because my husband had the bright idea of choosing a table of 10, there did used to be a couple of large tables. This was on Azura. We ended up with a most peculiar set of people, obviously not us! They were mostly singles apart from a honeymoon couple who had booked very late and they also asked to move. Other than this occasion we met some really interesting people, some of whom we still hear from. Club dining now seems to have gone out of favour.

Carole

[david63]

We generally prefer fixed dining

I was always of the same opinion as P&O just don't seem able to handle Freedom dining in any way as well as other lines (even other Carnival brands) until we had Reserve dining on Princess last year where you can just walk up at any time and have a table. Also we have found that we now prefer a table for two.

[barney]

We generally prefer fixed dining

I was always of the same opinion as P&O just don't seem able to handle Freedom dining in any way as well as other lines (even other Carnival brands) until we had Reserve dining on Princess last year where you can just walk up at any time and have a table. Also we have found that we now prefer a table for two.

We’ve always just walked up on freedom dining and got a table for two.
Sometimes we were given a buzzer and went for a drink before dinner.
It suits us fine because our times of dining vary enormously.
I’ll be totally honest. I’m rarely hungry on a cruise so waiting a while isn’t an issue

[Stephen]

Freedom dining for us, although tables for two on P&O appear to be as rare as hens teeth unless you are at the front of the queue bang on six o’clock. Too early for even me.

We actually don’t mind a table for six, and even eight as it often isn’t filled to capacity and some interesting conversation can be struck up. What annoys me is when you say to check-in person at the entrance to the restaurant are there any tables for two or four and they say no yet when you walk in there are clearly tables available.

[Mervyn and Trish]

We generally prefer fixed dining

I was always of the same opinion as P&O just don't seem able to handle Freedom dining in any way as well as other lines (even other Carnival brands) until we had Reserve dining on Princess last year where you can just walk up at any time and have a table. Also we have found that we now prefer a table for two.

We had a similar experience on Princess, I think called Club Class. It came as part of a package for suites and top grade mini suites. We've also enjoyed Princess Grills on Cunard where you have your own table whenever you turn up. What I don't like is the so called Freedom Dining on P&O where you never know whether you're going to get straight in or be sent away for an unknown time with a pager. It was better on Iona where you could join the virtual queue and see on the app how it was progressing.

[Onelife]

I don’t know if this is the case, but could it be that the preferred dining venues has made it more difficult to cover these options with staff, thus making waiting times for some dining options more likely?

[Stephen]

If you don't mind what table size your put on you can pretty much walk straight in with freedom dining. You normally only get offered a pager if (A) all tables are occupied or (B) you want a specific table size or position in the restaurant.

[barney]

We always ask for a table for two.
Waiting a while ?
No problems.
As I mentioned earlier, we really don’t dine at a similar time any evening.
Sometimes we are quite early and sometimes really last knockings.
On holidays, we are not creatures of habit.
We just go with the flow.
I wonder if we find fixed time dining on Ambition a problem.
That’s why we’ve opted for 2nd sitting.
We’ve often still been up on deck in the sun when first sitting is sitting down.

[oldbluefox]

I will be interested in hearing what Ambition offers. Certainly there are some favourable reviews. We are interested mainly because they sail out of Newcastle and Liverpool thus saving the long trek down to Southampton and back.

[Mervyn and Trish]

When choosing set time dining we always go for second sitting.

[barney]

I will be interested in hearing what Ambition offers. Certainly there are some favourable reviews. We are interested mainly because they sail out of Newcastle and Liverpool thus saving the long trek down to Southampton and back.

That’s what sort of appealed on this one Foxy.
Going to Bristol is a doddle for us.
A361-M5 and you’re there.
Less than 2 hours.
Apparently it’s really easy boarding as well.
One bloke said that from pulling up to getting on the ship was 12 minutes
Every single port is new to us as well which appeals.
Falmouth
Cherbourg
Le Verdon for Bordeaux
Bilbao
Gijon
El Ferrol
Isles of Scilly
Back to Bristol
We’ve had to sacrifice the balcony on this cruise because they were sold out, so outside cabin will have to do.
Included in the price is the premium drinks package and gratuities, so just trips to pay for.
Even better was that Mrs Barney said she’d get this one as a Valentines present
Something different to look forward to.

[Stephen]

And I bet you brought her a pack of dishwasher tablets

[barney]

And I bet you brought her a pack of dishwasher tablets

Thorntons chocolates .
Seemed adequate at the time

[Stephen]

And I bet you brought her a pack of dishwasher tablets

Thorntons chocolates .
Seemed adequate at the time

Crawler

[barney]

Had an email from Ambassador today with the dress code news.
It transpires that they have the obvious formal and casual but also the old fashioned semi formal jacket required.
That’s nice.
I’ll take my Dinner suit plus my little used best blue suit and get some wear out of it
It sounds like proper old traditional cruising.

[Stephen]

Had an email from Ambassador today with the dress code news.
It transpires that they have the obvious formal and casual but also the old fashioned semi formal jacket required.
That’s nice.
I’ll take my Dinner suit plus my little used best blue suit and get some wear out of it
It sounds like proper old traditional cruising.

Don't forget to pack your Spats

[barney]

Had an email from Ambassador today with the dress code news.
It transpires that they have the obvious formal and casual but also the old fashioned semi formal jacket required.
That’s nice.
I’ll take my Dinner suit plus my little used best blue suit and get some wear out of it
It sounds like proper old traditional cruising.

Don't forget to pack your Spats

Smoking Jacket
Cravat. Cumberbund.
I’m going full monty

[Mervyn and Trish]

Full Monty? Does that mean no trousers?

[Ray B]

We did notice the dress code when booking, which is fine by me and we will see how it goes. I always like to see people in restaurants, etc, who take a bit of pride in their appearance and apparel.
If anyone is interested, I have a pair of old denim jeans with the knees out and lots of fade and paint splashes going cheap.