We've cruised numerous times with many cruise lines however this was the first with Ambassador and the reason we chose this line was purely because it was sailing from Dundee so there was no flying and only an hours drive from Fife.
What I will say about Dundee Cruise Terminal is that it's not very well sign posted and depending on which direction you come from the signage doesn't always allow you to turn onto the road you need but we got there in the end.
A marquee is the check-in area so it's not a permanant feature due to the limited number of cruisesleaving from Dundee. You have to navigate some less than smooth surfaces however the porters were very efficient and friendly helping anyone who needed assistance.
Unlike Southampton your luggage is with you when you complete the check-in then taken from you to be scanned allowing you to then board.
The check-in at Dundee was very quick, from arrival to embarking took about 15 minutes and we were on board by 12:30, we went straight to our cabin to drop off our hand luggage.
Our main luggage arrived not long after and we were unpacked and organised well before the boat drill at 15:30, this was a proper muster drill where all passengers go to their muster stationon deck and listening to the safety briefing and watching the crew put on their life jackets.
We had a window cabin on deck 8 for 2 passengers, it was set up as a double but clearly space was limited so we asked the cabin steward to set then up as singles which allowed us more space, the bed was very comfortable.
The cabin itself, there were quite a few marks on the carpet so in my opinion it hadn't undergone a deep clean, the edges of the furniture were quite damaged as well. There was plenty of wardrobe space with about 30 good wooden hangers, lots of drawer space, and a flat screen TV, hairdryer which wasn't fixed was in the dressing table cupboard and was actually quite powerful, the safe was in a cupboard above the TV.
There is plenty of room under the bed for storing cases, we had 2 large hard shell cases which we put under unopened and 2 smaller cases with space to spare.
The bathroom; very compact and could be a tight space for anyone who is of larger proportions especially between the toilet and the shower, on the plus side it was a shower screen rather than a curtain, plenty of hot water and there was sufficient space for toiletries on both sides of the wash-hand basin.
There is no turn down service but Adie left us 4 bath towels every day, he was very pleasant and did a good job, not that we were high maintenance.
The ship isn't large and is easy to navigate if you are looking for entertainment or bars. The Clifton, Angel, Pendennis, Purple Turtle and The Cavern bars were always popular and the entertainment in each venue was very good and seats filled up very quickly, there was always plenty of staff serving and we were usually served very quickly especially when the staff got to know you and your drink of choice. A lot of people like having a few nuts or crisps when having a drink and if I was being critical there were no nuts or crisps on offer in any of the bars.
The Paladium Theatre is nice and well laid out. The cruise director was very good and The Paladium Theatre group were excellent, they put on several shows and these were very popular, some guests leaving the restaurant and sitting in the theatre for over an hour.
Martin Daniels put on two shows but to be honest the content was the same as the shows he did about 10 years ago on P&O but he entertained the audience.
There was also an acting group on board who did some small plays, again very entertaining and something different to watch in the afternoon or evening.
The guest speaker was very informative, the lectures were about Stevie Wonder and the history of Motown.
There was also the Captain and Officers question and answers however this was clearly staged and only certain generic questions were asked, there was no roving mike as is usual at these events, keeping the Captain from answering awkward questions I think.
Food and dining is always subjective what one person enjoys another dislikes.
The Borough Market buffet, always busy sometimes manic but we always found a seat. This area had obviously not had any alterations done in it, it is badly laid out and is very congested, people walking in all directions, not paying attention to where they are going or who was behind them, especially at the hot drinks dispenser, which was more like a corridor far too narrow with guests trying to pour hot drinks while people struggled to get passed including the buffet staff with trolleys.
Don't expect the selection or variety of food you get on larger ships, we didn't think there wasn't a massive choice but we always managed to find something to eat, the alfresco grill offered 2 types of pizza everyday, hot dogs and sometimes burgers.
Although there are sinks and hand gel at the entrance to the buffet a lot of passengers didn't feel hand washing applied to them and there were no staff on duty to encourage people to do this, although you shouldn't have to remind people to do this and considering how important personal hygiene is but particularly on a cruise ship I feel this should be taken more seriously
Our dining time was 1st sitting at 17:30, and we requested a table for 2 when booking which we got and we were allocated The Holyrood Restuarant, table number 100, we had 2 attentive waiters who made sure our wine glasses were topped up, the food wasn't the best we've experienced but certainly not the worst, we always found something we liked.
One big complaint for us and many others we spoke to is that 17:30 is far too early for dinner, most people were finished by 19:00 and I can see no reason why 1st sitting can't be at 18:15 this still gives the waiters ample time to re set the tables for 2nd sitting at 20:15. During our cruise the restaurant was never at any time running at full capacity, there were a lot of empty seats, tables for 6 with only 2 people at it for the full cruise.
As this was a more traditional ship it was nice to see some passengers made an effort on the formal nights with gents in dinner jackets and bow ties and the ladies in lovely dresses however it's disappointing that some thought jeans and a T shirt was appropriate it certainly doesn't add to the ambience on the ship but that's just my opinion.
We did not like some areas of the pool deck, old and stained sun beds and the round wooden seating areas were in need to maintance, it certainly wouldn't entice me sit there however at the side of the pool deck there was a nicer area with decent seating and tables on both sides.
Even though we've been to the Fjords several times the scenery is always different and Fjords are quite spectacular, the weather was reasonable we had some rain, sun and cold.
The less positive experience was our cabin thermostat even at high was cold, it was like this the day we embarked and on the sea day which we reported to Adie our cabin steward and reported it at reception, the public areas were cold and it was particularly cold in the theatre, it improved after it was reported so I'm not sure what the issue was.
It doesn't matter how many times there were anouncements over the tannoy and in the daily paper about the vacumn system on the ship and not to put anything other than toilet paper in the toilets.
We had an issue with the toilets not flushing on deck 8, we've no idea when the problem started as they weren't working when we got up at 7am and we reported it straight away to reception and it was about lunch time before they were working again, it's very inconvenient having to go down 2 decks to use a toilet.
We also know Deck 9 had no toilets or water for over 2 days as we overhead passengers complaining at reception which is totally unacceptable.
I know in other reviews some people had problems with waiting for drinks however we didn't experience this at any time in fact new staff came on in Newcastle and again in Dundee as we watched them boarding.
The pros:
Leaving from Dundee
Adult only
Reasonable priced drinks although we did have the Expedition Drinks Package and made good use of it.
The staff were first class, very friendly and helpful
Good entertainment
Traditional cruising
The cons:
It's an old ship so in constant need of maintenance and not having toilets and water is unacceptable
Tired bathrooms
1st sitting for dinner is far too early
Overall we had a good time and we would book on Ambition again but only if its sailing from a port near us Dundee or Leith, we wouldn't make the effort to get to Tilbury for example.
