Ambassador Cruise Line, the UK’s new premium cruise line, has revealed the dining experiences that will be available aboard Ambition, its second cruise ship. 

Ambition departs on her maiden voyage on May 12th, 2023, just one year after the launch of the cruise line’s first ship, Ambience, which will cruise via South Africa during the 2023/24 cruise season.

Ambience previously sailed as Pacific Dawn for P&O Australia, while Ambition is the former AIDAmira of AIDA Cruises. Both ships were acquired by the new Ambassador brand in 2022, which is itself a re-branding of sort of the former Cruise & Maritime Voyages.

Ambition of Ambassador Cruise Line

The dining experiences aboard Ambition include casual buffet options, an al fresco grill, a fine dining chef’s table, and even restaurants based around Mediterranean and Indian cuisine.

“Onboard Ambition, there are dining venues for every mood – from traditional afternoon teas to gala dinners alongside the ship’s Captain – providing ample opportunity for guests to be surprised and delighted throughout their journey,” said Bob McGowan, Head of Guest Experience for Ambassador.

“Carefully designed by our Executive Chef Team, the dining concepts and menus have been created with guest experience at the heart,” he added. “Following a strong food and beverage customer satisfaction score of 92% on board Ambience we have ensured that we’ve taken on valuable guest feedback and learnings when conceptualising the offerings on Ambition.”

Buckingham Restaurant & Holyrood Restaurant

Inspired by authentic cruising and quality dining, the Buckingham & Holyrood Restaurants (named after the official royal residences in London and Edinburgh) are designed to provide guests with buffet and a la carte dining experiences.

At Buckingham Restaurant, breakfast and lunch are buffet style (with a served main course for lunch), while dinner is five-course a la carte. Holyrood is open for dinner only and will be the ship’s more formal dining option.

Buckingham Restaurant

The restaurants will serve traditional British cuisine such as Sunday Roast, Shepherd’s Pie, and Oven-Roasted Turkey Breast, as well as more outgoing dishes such as Ballotine of Gressingham Duck Confit, Paella Valenciana and Wild Mushroom Velouté with Truffle Essence.

Breakfast and lunch are generally served on an open seating basis, giving guests flexibility on when to dine to suit them.  At dinner, Ambassador operates two sittings, which can be requested upon booking.

Borough Market – serving breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner

Borough Market takes inspiration from cuisines from all over the world and is a casual self-serve style eaterywith buffet stations that allow guests to craft their own unique dining experience.

Cuisine will include fresh Italian pastas, Asian stir-fries, colourful salads and much more. Guests are able to visit Borough Market when suits them best, with food served all day long.

Lupino’s

Lupino’s – Mediterranean speciality restaurant serving dinner

The Lupino’s restaurant pays homage to Michelle Lupino, who held senior roles in itinerary planning and shore excursions teams at Ambassador Cruise Line and passed away following a short illness in October 2022.

Working with renowned interior designer, Guri Blindheim, Lupino’s is a Mediterranean-style restaurant with a relaxed, al-fresco feel. Guests can expect sharing-style platters of Mediterranean salads, mezze and more.

Saffron – speciality Indian fine dining restaurant serving dinner

Indian fine dining a la carte restaurant Saffron provides a major hit aboard Ambiance and has been reprised aboard Ambition.

Set in a more intimate restaurant setting, the restaurant offers top-quality personalised service and flavourful Indian foods, such as Thali, curries, specialist breads, and unique desserts.

Saffron is one of the ship’s two specialty restaurants, the other being the exclusive Chef’s Table.

Chef’s Table

Chef’s Table – intimate, exclusive dinner experience hosted every other night

Positioned as the ultimate onboard culinary experience, featuring multi-course a la carte dining and the option for wine pairings, Chef’s Table will feature nine courses of carefully-curated dishes with five pairedwines.

The Executive Chef will talk guests through the makings and inspiration behind each course, in an intimate VIP dining area. A supplement of £89.00 applies to dine at Chef’s Table, and spaces are limited – guest can book onboard only.

Alfresco Grill – serving casual eats

For those wanting a casual meal and alternative from Borough Market, the Alfresco Grill serves burgers, hot dogs, pizzas and chips.

Ambassador happily caters to a range of dietary requirements and preferences – guests simply need to advise the Guest Services team of this ahead of their cruise. Dietary requirements including vegetarian, gluten-free, lactose-free, low cholesterol, low fat, low salt, vegan, Kosher & Halal can be catered for.

Ambition Lounge

Bars & Nightlife aboard Ambition 

The timeless Cavern is the ship’s live music venue, with cabarets, gameshows and quizzes for all to enjoy. Alternatively, the stylish cocktail bar, the Clifton Lounge, is perfect for those wanting a pre-dinner drink with classical music.

Meanwhile, the poolside Consulate Bar is great for those not wanting to stray too far from the pool deck. Additional bars include Angel Bar, the Purple Turtle Wine Bar and Pendennis Bar.

Ambitionis currently in dry dock in Germany where she is undergoing environmental upgrade works, furnishing upgrades and more. Ambassador will officially mark the ship’s launch and maiden voyage with an event at the Port of Tyne in Newcastle on May 11th, 2023.