richard_london

Their website is now live https://www.ambassadorcruiseline.com/

And they have an entry on Google Maps, which takes you to the old CMV offices in Purfleet.

Well that's where the customer database with all our personal details is!

It wasn't surprising to see the CMV management team behind this.  I see the articles all refer to Chair of the Board and his experience in the cruise industry.  Given what happened with CMV, perhaps his name isn't as contentious as any of those ex-CMV people fronting this company?  I was lucky to get my money back and I know others haven't. Seeing the CMV names involved, it could harm any goodwill towards this new cruise line.

I had my first two cruises with them booked before the pandemic, so now with all their older classic ships gone I never got to experience them and I'm not sure this ship holds much appeal for me. 

I wonder if they will buy up some of the ex_HAL vessels that Seajets bought, or even the ex-PO Oceana?  Presumably she'd be quite popular with the UK market now that P&O has the likes of the Britannia and Iona?

I've stayed here a number of times and it is always okay.  Rooms are decent size and clean.

https://www.premierinn.com/gb/en/hotels/england/hampshire/southampton/southampton-city-centre-west-quay.html

You can't see the ships from its rooms as other buildings are in the way, but as soon as you get outside you can see any that are alongside.

If you are staying the previous night then it is very convenient for nearby restaurants and the shopping centre.

There is phone in reception for taxis to take you to the terminal.

Haven't stayed their since the pandemic though.

I did a couple of cruises on the Balmoral both times on 4 deck, an outside single in the new midships section (2012 and 2015).  On one of the cruises I could hear the person in the next cabin when he was on the phone.  It was quite audible as I remember going to knock to tell him. The other cruise was okay, i don't recall any specific noise issues.  So perhaps this makes sense with what you say. The rooms do "squeak" a bit in rough seas which kept me awake at night more than the seas.  I think the bathrooms on these cabins are better than the older cabins.  

Does anybody know how integrated Azamara is with the rest of RCCL's brands?  I've only mainly used Carnival brands and I know they share a lot of systems and sales teams, etc.  It's clear Sycamore have bought the three ships, but what about all the back office stuff, IT, supply chain, finance, marketing, HR department, stevedoring, etc etc.  If all that was part of the wider RCCL group and "shared" by all the brands, will RCCL carve out a portion of that for Sycamore?  If not, replicating that would be quite hard (I imagine) for a company with no track record as suggested in previous posts.  So it would be interesting to know what the sale encompasses.  I've always liked the look of their ships, especially since they were repainted.  Hope it is not a bad sign for the future.

I recently stayed in Cabin L201 aboard the Britannia.

Plus points

• Balcony! (overhanging deck 17 gives shade which is good)
  
• Wide single bed
  
• Lots of storage
  
• Nice decor
  

Negative points

• Bathroom is fine if a little tight on space, the shower door opens outwards so you almost have to step out of the bathroom to get in
  
• If bed is so be used like a sofa (which I tried to do) then then the viewing angle is wrong for the television.
  
• Late night/early morning through flow of passengers to and from the Crow's Nest; more heavy footed guests really caused the deck to vibrate; also you get vibration from people dragging sun loungers on the deck above. Also as the Crow's Nest is open until late a crew member vacuumed the corridor outside the Crow's Nest right outside my cabin every night between 11:30pm and midnight!
  
• Cabins closer to the forward stairwell will get noise to from people going out onto the Lido Deck and also during sailaway it was very loud.
  

I've added a couple of photos.

Pack your toiletries in a plastic lunch box. Then if anything breaks open when they are chucking your suitcase around the spillage is contained. (I learnt this from a flight years ago when they really go hurl your luggage around).

Ear plugs in case your cabin has noise (machinery or other passengers) or vibration.

Flip flops or slippers for your cabin; I asked for some and got some but they are not a given sadly

First aid kit - I tripped, fell and cut my elbow aboard the Britannia. On the phone to the medical staff they told me to go to the shop and I was left to fend for myself. Treated very poorly. So antiseptic wipes and plasters as a minimum.

Sun cream - everything in the shop is so expensive.

I tried the perfect pasta on a recent Britannia cruise. I like to holiday in Italy and the pasta recipes we did were nothing like i've eaten in Italy for all the wrong reasons. The tortellini wasn't the right shape and the sauces weren't nice - the crab with tagliatelle had far too much lemon juice. I guess they prepare dishes in the same way as they do in the main kitchens, but it wasn't authentic Italian food. At £45 it was a lot less than some of the onshore excursions so was fun to do, but a little disappointed with the recipes we tried. If they taught a proper ragu recipe that would be ideal.

My experience of noise on the QM2 is slightly different. I stayed in Cabin 3012 on the QM2 last year on the Norwegian Fjords cruise. I don't stay up to the early hours but trying to sleep was difficult. Because of the tween deck and the location of the Britannia Restaurant across the full breadth of the ship guests going to or leave the Queens Room and G32 either walk through the Britannia Restaurant the only way to go forward is through the corridor by the 3 deck single cabins or Art Gallery. So late in the evening and into the small hours I found the noise from loud conversations and heavy footsteps kept me awake or woke me. It wouldn't take too much to close off access at night from the aft staircase on 3 deck to the corridor as this issue disturbed me sleep every night. There was also a fair bit of vibration, I guess from being low and fairly aft on the ship. It's disappointing to here that the cabins on 2 deck are affected by noise there. I had hoped they would be quieter as guests leaving the Britannia restaurant can exit down the main corridor directly to the Grand Lobby. The cabin was lovely but the noise and vibration would discourage me again in the future.