Sailing to the majestic Norwegian fjords from Port of Tyne with Ambassador cruise line

And there’s no better vantage point to view this natural wonder of the world than from the water.

Cruising serenely through the steep undulating cliffs of the Aurlandsfjord carved by glaciers millennia ago, rainbows arching over the ship, was one of the real highlights of a Summertime Fjordland press trip with Ambassador Cruise Line.

I’d visited Ambition, the second vessel to join the relatively new cruise line’s fleet, back in May 2023 ahead of her maiden voyage from Port of Tyne, one of seven regional ports from which she sails, and was invited back to experience a trip.

They’re coming in at the middle range for cruising, which has seen a significant surge in popularity in recent years, with a premium value no-fly offering on board its small to mid-size ships.

You can see the appeal for holidaymakers who like to have everything at their fingertips on holiday; a floating all inclusive that gives you a door to door service to different destinations.

Ambassador is adult-focused and is primarily aimed at the over 50s market, but there were plenty of young adults with their parents on our trip, perhaps a testament to the rise in popularity for cruising.

Here’s what to expect:

Ports of Call

While the cruise itself is all part of the experience, the ports of call are, of course, a great way to stretch your sea legs and explore. There were four on this seven-night cruise.

Dundee

Dundee was not a Scottish city I’d ever thought to visit before - but what a delight!

In 2014 Dundee was named the UK's first (and remains to be the only) UNESCO City of Design and the city’s keen eye for creativity flows throughout, from underpasses emblazoned in bold pop art to the architecturally striking V&A which towers over the River Tay and the rejuvenated waterfront.

Scotland’s first design museum, and the first V&A outside of London, it’s a fascinating building to explore with its permanent exhibition on Scottish design, as well as galleries that on our visit included Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk, which tells the story of the Japanese dress, from its cultural to fashion significance.

Make sure to wander up into the city to look at its grand buildings, in styles such as Gothic Revival and Scots Baronial, which stand as testament to the city’s industrial wealth and heritage.

It’s also, famously, home to The Dandy and the landmark Desperate Dan statue, all 8ft of the grizzly strong man, makes for a great selfie.

Eidfjord

After a sea day, our first port of call in Norway was Eidfjord, a chocolate box village on the shores of the Eij Fjord.

There can be few finer ways to travel than sailing into this stunning corner of the world, the village of less than 1000 inhabitants flanked by dramatic valleys.

It’s not the most obvious of cruise stops - which means it’s, thankfully, not thronged with visitors - but it’s perfect for a day trip with its own tourist information office, some good quality cafes and shops and local buildings of note, such as a traditional 14th century whitewash stone church.

For walkers, grab a map and head up to the lookout point which gives a striking panoramic vista over the area and follow the path of the river, filled with salmon and trout, to Eidjford Lake, a magical spot with its own beach that wouldn’t like out of place in Lord of the Rings.

Flåm

Even smaller than Eidfjord, but just as big in charm is Flåm, which we sailed to overnight.

Thanks to its famous railway, it punches above its weight shops-wise with plenty of spots to pick up souvenirs, a small museum, food stalls and an atmospheric brewery and taproom.

We did the Norway in a Nutshell tour as part of the Destination Experience programme with Ambassador.

A short hop and a skip from the port is the start of the train journey, regarded as one of the most beautiful in the world.

Over the course of an hour, it takes you from the shore level of the Sognefjord in Flåm to the Myrdal mountain station winding your way through some of the most-spectacular scenery known to man, a myriad of waterfalls and unspoilt landscape.

The heritage train, with its original booths and wood panelled walls, stops briefly where you can take in the breathtaking Kjosfossen waterfall as it powers down the mountain side with an almighty Viking-esque roar.

Bergen

The second largest city in Norway, Bergen is a great city break in its own right, filled with wooden buildings that jostle for space in narrow alleyways, the sizzle and aroma of the famous fish market, super cool cafes and much to see and do.

It’s a tourist hot spot so expect to squeeze your way past others at the UNESCO-listed Bryggen houses on the wharf, immortalised in countless postcards and trinkets - and rightly so, they’re a fascinating echo of the past.

It rained intermittently on our visit, but that’s to be expected in Europe’s wettest city where it rains for an average of 240 days a year - it in no way dampens Bergen’s beauty and charm, however.

The Mount Floyen funicular (which you can book as part of Ambassador’s destination experiences), is also popular but well worth it, offering panoramic views over the historic city, mountains, fjords and beyond.

But there’s plenty of other spots that are less crowded.

The city is easy to navigate on foot, spotting statues to great Norwegian sons such as playwright Henrik Ibsen, violinist Ole Bull and composer Edvard Grieg along the way.

Visiting there via cruise is ideal as the port lies at the heart of this coastal city, and you’re never far away from spotting the Ambition’s distinctive purple funnel as a beacon to guide you back.

Onboard food

With five restaurants and seven bars, you need never eat off the ship on the cruise.

You’re assigned a set table and sitting (either 5.45pm or 8.15pm) at one of the main restaurants, either Buckingham or Holyrood, for the duration of your cruise, which is included in the price.

There’s also daily buffets included in Borough Market and the Al Fresco Grill on the sun deck, or, you can pay an additional £14.95 each to dine in the two speciality restaurants: Saffron Indian restaurant and Mediterranean restaurant, Lupino’s.

Special mention for the service across the board from the hospitality staff, which was faultless.

The was some real characters in our set restaurant, Buckingham, always happy to chat, who remembered our preferences despite serving hundreds of people a day.

The food standard was also of an impressively high quality, with a menu that changed daily with options such as grilled fillet of sea bream, rigatoni ala puttanesca, apricot-stuffed roast pork loin, Chinese ginger chicken and much more.

We also enjoyed the speciality restaurants, which offer a more intimate setting and really put your waistband to the test with their portions - excellent value for just under £15.

The bars also each have a character of their own themed around UK regional ports from which Ambassador sails, such as The Angel Bar which doffs its cap to the Angel of the North and The Cavern in honour of Liverpool, decorated with images of The Liver Building and other Scouse landmarks.

Drinks can be purchased on their own or as part of a drinks package, with the entry level Ambassador Experience package of unlimited soft drinks to the top level Ambassador Expedition package, which also includes all premium alcoholic drinks.

Prices are dependent on the duration of your cruise, but for a 5-29 night cruise would be £20.95 per person per night to £49.95 a night, including gratuities and service charges. However, the standard bar charges were reasonable enough and nothing out of the ordinary to a standard bar.

Accommodation

As someone who likes space, I struggled a bit with the standard cabin for a week. We stayed in an ocean view twin cabin, one above the entry level inside cabin.

On the plus side, they have a great amount of storage, more than enough for two, beds were comfortable, with the room well cleaned every day and tea and coffee stocks replenished. Ours was mid-ship and super quiet and smooth sailing. For the price, it’s good value.

However, there’s not masses of floor space and the shower room is a squeeze, even for me who’s only 5ft2.

We spoke to many seasoned cruisers who were more than happy with the size, however, it’s just a case of personal preference and budget.

I’ve been in one of the next cabins up, a twin with a balcony, and it offers much more space, a seating area and walk in wardrobe if you’re someone who wants to spend a fair bit of time in the cabin and wants to enjoy the views from a private balcony.

Ambassador isn’t marketed as a luxury liner, but for those after a real treat there’s also premium and de-luxe cabins with more space than most large hotel rooms and lots of added extras and personal touches from the hardworking housekeeping staff.

Entertainment

There’s touring productions on the theatre circuit that could learn a thing or two from the Ambition troupe.

In this line of work, I’ve seen many theatre shows, the good, the bad and the ugly, and was super impressed with the quality on board, which is provided by The Peel Entertainment Group for both ships in the Ambassador fleet.

There’s various shows, from Magic of the Musicals to The Chronicles of a Pirate King, but we particularly enjoyed murder mystery play, Double Trouble.

It was a really clever production, well paced and written, which broke the Fourth Wall for plenty of audience participation.

The cast were a whizz with the ad libs and had the packed crowd in stitches. The cast on a cruise go from a matinee like this to being bingo callers a couple of hours later, to circus performers at night - it’s got to be one of the most difficult performing arts gigs out there. Hats off to them.

There’s a daily programme of entertainment which is even more jam-packed on sea days, with options such as bingo (with a top prize of a mammoth £1,700 on our trip), craft sessions, quizzes, mindful walks, card games, live music, comedy and more.

We particularly enjoyed the talks on our voyage by a Viking expert, Susan Cohen, which helps to add to the Norwegian experience and was informative in a fun way.

For port days, head to the Destination Experiences desk to book trips (not included in the price of the cruise) at the various ports of call, which range from adventurous experiences in sea planes and kayaks to galleries and bus tours, with prices, depending on the experience, from around £40.

You get daily reminders through your cabin door every day, but the Ambassador App is also super easy to use and a handy way of tracking what’s happening when.

I also chose to book on to the Behind the Scenes tour, priced £89, which runs once a day on sea days.

At three hours, including afternoon tea, a glass of fizz and goody bag, it’s well worth the money as it gives you a fascinating insight into how the cruise is kept ship shape.

Behind the Crew Only doors, there’s a hive of 24/7 activity, from the five galleys which keep passengers well fed to the laundry room, a seamless operation of cleanliness with machines I never even knew existed, such as an automated towel dryer and folder.

From the engine room in the bowels of the ship to The Bridge where you get to shake hands with the Captain and learn about the finer points of navigation, it gives you a whole new appreciation of what goes into running these floating villages.

The Green Sea Spa is also an ideal way to while away a sea day.

It’s remarkably well equipped for a mid-size cruise ship, with a sauna and thermal rooms with wall to wall windows overlooking the ocean, gym, hair salon and treatment rooms.

Use of the spa and gym is included in the price of your fare, but treatments are an additional cost.

Ambition Facts & Figures

Weighing in at 48,000 tonnes with a length of 216metres, Ambition was built in 1999

She houses 680 cabins, 113 of those being suites with balconies, 12 balcony cabins, 443 standard cabins with an ocean view and 237 inside. Two are disabled cabins.

• The crew to guest ratio is 2.55
• 10 guest decks
• Five restaurants
• Seven bars
• Gym and Green Sea Spa
• Hair and beauty salon
• Two hot tubs
• Running and walking track*The Palladium show lounge
• One swimming pool and one active pool
• Brontë’s Library
• Shopping galleria

Future Cruises

The next Ambassador cruise from Newcastle to Norway is the Norwegian Fjord Expedition, departing August 7, 2025 for eight nights.

It has five ports of call including the coastal village of Olden, charming Flam and vibrant Bergen.

Fares start from £844 per person based on two people sharing an Inside Cabin. Ambassador Fares, which include the top Ambassador Expedition Drinks Package, start from £1164 per person.

A series of mini cruises also run from Newcastle with Ambassador to locations such as Amsterdam, London and Dundee.

:: For more on this and other Ambassador cruises see https://www.ambassadorcruiseline.com