'Special moment' as gorgeous luxury cruise ship MS Ambition visits Portsmouth amid promise to 'come back'
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Millions of pounds is being generated for the city as luxury cruise ships are becoming regular visitors
The luxury cruise market in Portsmouth is booming as new company looks to be cementing its future in the city.
Gordon Nardini, chief marketing officer for the Ambassador Cruise Line, believes the company has found a new long-term home on the south coast. This comes as MS Ambition visited Portsmouth International Port last Wednesday (April 22) in the bright spring sunshine, with 1,200 passengers leaving and coming aboard the vessel ahead of a four-day Irish minibreak.
The Spinnaker Tower was lit up purple to celebrate the visit. It marked the end of the Ambassador’s inaugural season in the city, with voyages from Portsmouth heading to Belgium, France, Portugal, Spain, and Northern Ireland. Mr Nardini said there was strong demand in the port, with the season welcoming more than 3,500 guests from Hampshire and elsewhere.
He told The News: “ it was a special moment seeing Ambition sail past on her final cruise from the city. The city is now a departure gateway rather than a port of call. That shows what we’ve achieved. Ambition sailing from the south coast is not something that came overnight. It took a number of years to bring this programme to life, and it’s hugely rewarding to see its success.”
When asked why the firm choose the city for its itinerary, he added: “It has taken off. Whether it’s the naval blood in the community or its history, we’ve tried other ports and they haven’t grown as fast. They have out the gate and it’s just taken off.”
MS Ambition was launched in 1999 under the name Mistral by Festival Cruises. She has previously been known as Grand Mistral, Costa neoRiviera, and AIDAmira throughout her extensive career. She underwent an extensive refit in 2023, with improvements made to her propulsion system, rudders, and stabilisers, alongside a fresh coat of paint. The vessel promises a carefree experience with a vast array of amenities for passengers - primarily aimed at over 50s.
This includes a palladium, wine bar, swimming pool, hot tub, sun deck and terrace, spa, sauna, and various restaurants with a range of cuisines: Mediterranean, Indian-fusion, and even a specialty chef’s table.
“We’ll definitely be coming back”
“It’s about underpromising and overdelivering,” Mr Nardini said. When asked if he considers Portsmouth the business’ new home on the south coast, he added: “If it keeps growing, we’ll go from four calls to six, and keep building our partnership with the port. If we add an extra ship to the fleet down the line, there’s chances of it visiting Portsmouth. If we can continue to grow it, bring other tonnage on, and Portsmouth is successful, we’ll definitely be coming back here.”
Chief operating officer Nick Hughes, a Horndean native who previously served in the Royal Navy for 12 years and reached the rank of Lieutenant, said Ambassador is looking ahead at expansion. He added: “We’re building markets in ports that are outside the main cruise terminals. Ultimately, we’d like to establish a full-time bases throughout the UK. That includes expanding the fleet. It’ll be dictated by demand and how the operations work.”
Portsmouth International Port has been targeting the cruise market for a number of years, focusing on small-medium sized vessels in the boutique market. The number of calls this year has fallen from 94 last year to 77 this year, but the projections for 2027 are healthy. Household names including Virgin Voyages and Viking are set to make a return, alongside maiden calls from Polar Latitudes’ Seaventure, Ponant’s Le Champlain, and other luxury vessels. Portsmouth’s appetite for cruise holidays continues to grow.
Ambassador’s head of distribution, Nicola Harper, said targeted two-12 night trips were organised from Portsmouth to encourage newcomers. “MS Ambition moves from port to port,” she added. “We’ve seen the initial demand here and want to continue to build that. There is nothing stronger than word of mouth. The guests who sailed from Portsmouth had a seamless journey - car to bar in 20 minutes - and had a fantastic experience on board.
“When they experience our ships for the first time in an inaugural season, the bookings spike straight away. We’ll naturally see a flood of bookings because people have experienced it and felt it. Our new itineraries are governed by that.”
The future of travel
Holidaymakers may be looking for alternative trips in the future given recent global events. The Iran War, sparked by a US-Israeli bombing raid on Tehran and resulting in retaliatory attacks, sent not only the Middle East region into chaos, but also global pricing.
The price of oil and associated costs have soared following the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and mines being laid in the area. Threats of fuel shortages have loomed large. Airlines including KLM, Air Canada, Asiana, Delta, Lufthansa, and SAS, all confirmed they’ll be operating fewer flights. Customers have been met with cancelled bookings, and have effectively been forced to rebook at higher prices. This has also impacted maritime companies.
Brittany Ferries confirmed last week that it would be freezing its prices. Mr Hughes said strong relationships in the supply chain means Ambassador can do the same. “We make arrangements and book ahead for the whole season anyway, as we want to ensure stability of pricing for our guests,” he added.
“We want to know our costs are as fixed as possible. We’re in a good situation by securing our pricing four-months-ago. We planned ahead and it worked out well. Never say never, as the market could be a disaster, but at the moment, we’re able to support that. We’re an unusual industry. We sell our product two years in advance of knowing what our costs are going to be, but that’s how holidays work. We need to work as hard as we can to know our costs to provide good prices.”
Portsmouth International Port has become more than just a departure destination for holidays. Its one of Portsmouth City Council’s most valuable assets, with port fees and other revenue directly funding local services.
A recently published economic impact report showed more than 131,000 passed through the port in 2025, with £10.8m being contributed to the local authority’s budget. Port director Mike Sellers he would love for Ambassador to call Portsmouth its south coast home. Each cruise call generates roughly £1.5m in port fees and spending from visitors.
He added: “We’re really encouraged by the fact they’ve moved from tourist calls to turnaround calls, and it’s been a successful season. That can only get better and grow. We’ve got four booked next year, and four the year after that.”
Mr Sellers said the transition from transit calls to turnaround calls is a benefit for the city and the port. Tourist calls see passengers come into the city to enjoys its attractions and leave again on the same day, but turnaround calls see passengers travel the night before, benefitting short term tourism and the hotel market. Despite a dip this year, Mr Sellers only sees growth on the horizon.
“Next year, we will break 100 cruise calls,” he added. “We’ve got more than that booked already, and that was our initial target. I have no doubt in the next few years, we’ll move to our overall business plan target of 150. We’ve got a good reputation now. We can serve that boutique high-end market, and it’s unrivalled now. Having ships sail from our harbour with all that history, I don’t think there is anywhere better
“We will see more than 200,000 people travel through the port in the next couple of years. We’re ready for that. We have more capacity than we’re serving, alongside the facilities, we can deal with that spike.”