Ambassador Cruise Line has confirmed none of its cruises will sail directly into Amsterdam for the remainder of this year due to the threat of climate-change protestors blockading the port.
Instead, its ships Ambience and Ambition will berth at Ijmuiden (pictured above), and guests will be taken by shuttle buses to Amsterdam, a 45-minute drive away.
“We will provide an update regarding 2025 ports of call in the Netherlands in due course,” said a spokesperson.
Several cruises have been blocked from entering Amsterdam in recent weeks as protestors have chained themselves to the locks at the entrance to the city, forcing ships to divert at the last minute to Ijmuiden instead.
Ambassador has now amended its itineraries to feature Ijmuiden instead of Amsterdam for the rest of 2024, including its German & Dutch Festive Sailing on Ambience on 8 December, its Festive & Wellbeing Getaway With Sporting Legends on Ambition on 12 December and its Festive Getaway on Ambience on 15 December.
Ambition’s most recent Amsterdam & Antwerp City Break three-day cruise, which was due to depart last Saturday evening, was unable to leave London Tilbury due to Storm Bert. Guests were given the option to disembark on Sunday morning, with an 80% refund, or remain onboard with a 50% refund and 50% off a future cruise, up to six nights.
“The health and safety of all those that travel with Ambassador Cruise Line is of paramount importance,” said a spokesperson. “After consulting both the Port of London Authority and the Port of Tilbury, we were advised that the weather conditions were too dangerous for Ambition to depart at any time over the weekend, with the winds only beginning to subside on the morning of Monday 25 November.
“It is never our intention to disappoint our guests; however the situation was beyond our control and the safety of our guests always comes first.
“While we understand this may have been disappointing for some of our guests, we remained committed to ensuring they received an exceptional experience onboard. Throughout this challenging time, the collaboration between our shipboard and shoreside teams has been exemplary.
“From delivering timely updates and managing guest expectations to maintaining our exceptional standards of service and hospitality, amazing entertainment and activities, the team helped turn this situation into a demonstration of what Ambassador’s signature ‘warmest welcome at sea’ truly means, even though we remained in port throughout the duration.”
Ambassador said ‘the majority’ of guests chose to remain onboard at Tilbury during the cruise to nowhere.
