Abassador Ambition May 2026

[david63]

I bet you can’t wait to get home David. I know i would.

Not really - done enough cruising to know these things happen

[Ray B]

So now we know why the posts were so negative at the start of the cruise, I was wondering if you have warmed a bit to the ship offerings at all David ?
Ambition does get some extremely positive reviews and lots of returning passengers.
Still, have a good day in La Coruna.

[david63]

Day 8 = Saturday 16th May - El Ferrol La Coruna

After a "lumpy" night crossing the BoB woke to find a dull and wet day (nothing new as it always rains when we are in La Coruna). We were due to arrive at 10:00 which we did but it then took the authorities an hour and a half to clear the ship so we decided to have some lunch before going ashore.

By the time we had finished lunch the rain had stopped and the sun was trying its best to get out. We have been to la Coruna so many times that we were not exactly overjoyed at the prospect but we decided on a different route this time. Instead of turning left or right out of the port we went straight ahead and after a dog legs and 10 minutes of walking we arrived at the beach from where we had a good walk along the prom in the now full sun.

Today's exploits have totally changed our opinion of La Coruna but still don't want to come back for a while - three times in five years is more than enough.

One thing that I am impressed with on this ship is that of hand washing when entering restaurants - Pontious Pilate would struggle to get anywhere near!!.

More tomorrow

[david63]

So now we know why the posts were so negative at the start of the cruise, I was wondering if you have warmed a bit to the ship offerings at all David ?

I will summarise my opinion at the end of the cruise but suffice to say that I will not become a return customer of Ambassador. There are many good points but there are a couple of things that for us are not acceptable.

[oldbluefox]

Is that David going off to lunch

Not me so it must be Foxy

I’ve been on Ambition before without problems so it must be David
Pleased to say Mrs is better now and we have been released. Must say the care she received was excellent including injections and medication to counteract the virus. Unfortunately even though I didn’t have it both of us were quarantined . The doctor was telling us it came onboard in Liverpool. On the first night he was called out at 3.00 to his first case and may the curse of a thousand horse flies descend on the rear end of the one who started it if they knew they should not have boarded.
We got off in A Coruna in the afternoon. Most of the shops were closed and people were sat eating and drinking along the pavements but there was a group in the little square where all the drawings of well known people are. They were singing upbeat songs in Spanish, everyone was dancing and there was a group of men and women in local/national dress having a really good time, helped along by plenty of wine. What a lovely atmosphere it was. We had a gentle stroll around the harbour before getting back on ship.
That night we ate in the buffet where we could choose smaller portions of whatever we wanted which was ideal for Mrs Foxy who, until then had been existing on a diet of grilled chicken or fish, boiled potatoes and red jelly!!!

[oldbluefox]

I did think David would send his butler down with peeled grapes but suspect the butler refused in case he was mugged

[Ray B]

Good to hear lady Foxy on now recovering, enjoy the rest of your cruise.

[Stephen]

Ditto that Ray.

From experience, Mrs S and myself both know what it’s like to be unwell and quarantined to the cabin.

[oldbluefox]

Thank you both. Today we’re in Gijon. We arrived to drizzle and moored in an industrial dock. We decided to delay going ashore and sat talking to a couple of Irish ladies who had been ashore and reported everywhere pretty well shut for a Sunday and not much to see. So we have just had a roast beef lunch before going ashore and seeing for ourselves.

[Jan Rosser]

Glad to hear your wife is recovering Foxy. Gijon is a relatively new port for P&O and the terminal is dreadful - we visited last October and felt we were sat in the middle of a coal depot! The previous visit we were in a different dock and it was Palm Sunday - there was a parade and the locals were attending church. The city itself is okay but perhaps more interesting to me as my son’s wife’s family is from Gijon and they visit often (the in-laws have a holiday apartment there). Its very green - they have a lot of rain and has beautiful wild beaches - a day there doesn’t give you enough time to explore.

[Ray B]

Jan, the North of Spain is beautiful, lush green and must remind you of Wales when you visit.
We have spent a lot of time in the area when the children were young, and after arriving through Bilbao or Santander with a trailer tent back in the 80s/90s would have a few days up there before heading inland.
Exploring the villages in the Picos national park back then, not many tourists ventured that way, we found the people so welcoming and some place spoke no English at at, so my limited Spanish got us through.
After a short stay we would drop down to Burgos and either carry on south to Madrid or via Zaragoza to explore Spain.
Lovely memories of that time with the children.

[david63]

I did think David would send his butler down with peeled grapes but suspect the butler refused in case he was mugged

If I had a butler (Ambassador does not do butlers} I would personally have bought him/her a hazmat suit and sent them to tend your every need

[Ray B]

What a kind gesture from our esteemed and venerable leader to dear old Foxy and lady Foxy.
Brings a tear to your eyes.

[Stephen]

Don't be taken in Ray. He only wants to know if they’ve got a better cabin than him and to ask if they could put a few drinks behind the bar on tab for him.

[Mervyn and Trish]

Well Trish had a dodgy tum yesterday and we're not even on this cruise. Must have been transmitted via this forum. So Stephen can you please forward a Compo Form?

[david63]

Day 9 - 17th May - Gijon

Woke to another dreary, dull, wet day. We arrived at this "port" at 08:00 and I have to admit that it is fairly high on my list of worst ports to have docked it.

After breakfast we decided that if we did not make a move now then we would probably stay put for the rest of the day so, true to form, as soon as we put our coats on there was a shower. Anyway the shower did not last long and we set off for the shuttle bus. I have to say that so far Ambassador have been excellent with their free shuttle buses.

Now if you ever intend visiting Gijon then don't go on a wet Sunday morning - not sure a dry Sunday morning would be much better! The highlight of this Sunday appeared to be a junior beach volly ball competition taking place, obviously, on the beach and without any exaggeration there hundreds there - both playing and watching.

The other interesting feature overlooking the beach was several apartment/hotel blocks (not sure which they were) that had been built to resemble the stern of a cruise ship. After a short walk we returned to the shuttle bus for the 10 minute ridr back to the ship. Certainly at that time of day it appeared that most other passengers were doing the same.

After some lunch the big golden ball in the sky decided to put in an appearance enabaling us to get some rays sat on the balcony. Now the really annoying thing was that as we left port the sun was out full on!

Well tomorrow will be another new, to us, exciting port - Gexto and as it is Monday it should be a bit more alive than today!