Ambassador Cruise Line UK delayed the launch of its first ship, Ambience, due to the crisis in Ukraine taking its toll on the supply chain that was seeing problems.
The ship's maiden voyage to Hamburg (Germany), originally scheduled for April 6, was rescheduled to depart on April 20, and the first two sailings to the Norwegian fjords were canceled.
A travel trade event in London-Tilbury (England) on April 4-5 was also canceled.
According to Christian Verhounig (Owner and CEO of CVI Group Ltd), whilst they were able to mitigate several delays impacting the extensive program of works during the period Ambience was in drydock, everyone was aware that there was "extensive supply chain disruption and delays in many commercial areas".
“Most recently these have been worsened by the crisis in Ukraine.”
While drydocked in Croatia (at Viktor Lenac Shipyard in Rijeka), engineering works on the ship were affected by delays in supplies, which also led to a temporary lack of availability of marine gas oil in the country.
Passengers on the 3 affected sailings are being contacted by the company to discuss “highly attractive alternatives” or a full refund.
Verhounig said it was incredibly disappointing news to the passengers booked on those sailings and apologized for the disruption to their holiday plans that the news would cause.
“We are hopeful that most of them will be able to enjoy our ship and service on the revised dates and the alternatives we put together for them.
“The good news is that despite the delay, the ship has completed her refurbishment; she is now operating to a higher level of environmental responsibility, the captain and crew are on board, and she is looking wonderful.”