Ambassador Cruise Line CEO Christian Verhounig confirmed he is starting to look at expanding the two-ship fleet with a third vessel.
He said the additional ship will be of a similar size to Ambience and Ambition, carrying a maximum of 1,400 passengers. “The size we are operating on, this is the ideal size,” he added.
“We are now operating with consistently over 90% capacity, which means the timing starts to become right to expand the business further.”
Speaking at the Advantage Latitude cruise conference, which took place onboard Ambience, Christian said he’d made it clear when launching second ship Ambition in 2023 that he didn’t want to remain a two-ship line.
“We are slowly but surely evaluating options to grow the business, which is an answer to the demand but also is part of our sustainability ethos, which is very close to my heart.”
Christian, who rose through the ranks from working on a ship to becoming CEO, said it was also important to add more capacity for the sake of Ambassador’s crew. “They need to know that they have options for promotion and development. They need to know that the options are limitless,” he said
“When I grew in the past I always took my team with me. We want to create more jobs to develop the team.”
When asked when he planned to start scouring the market for another second-hand ship, Christian said: “It could well be that I am looking already.”
He said there are a potential ‘20 or 30’ suitable ships about to be retired by other cruise lines that have new ships coming in. “It looks like the time [to expand] is starting to be right,” he added. “We have just launched 2026/27, six months earlier than before, and had record sales. Guests are coming back, repeat sales are 55% or more, so it looks like this is the right moment to start looking more closely.”
However, the third ship might not be based in London Tilbury alongside Ambience and Ambition. Instead, it could be located in the Caribbean, Australia or elsewhere, meaning Ambassador would offer fly-cruises for the first time.
“We have not taken a decision in this direction yet, at the moment we are concentrating on no-fly cruises, but we know that the model we are operating in Britain can work in different countries as well,” he added.
In the meantime, Christian said Ambassador has strengthened its ties with travel agents. It claims have the biggest trade team of any cruise line in the UK and it recently became a full member of the cruise body, CLIA.
“There was a time in our development when certain agencies and certain networks were holding off [booking Ambassador], saying let’s see how they do, but now agents are thinking if they don’t sell us they will lose out so they are getting behind us,” he added.
Trade sales for the ‘26/27 launch were up 88%, and Ambassador Chairman Gordon Wilson said Advantage bookings overall were up 35% year on year, and the number of Advantage agents booking Ambassador for the first time has risen 20%. The consortium is the cruise line’s fifth highest producing agency group.
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He said the additional ship will be of a similar size to Ambience and Ambition, carrying a maximum of 1,400 passengers. “The size we are operating on, this is the ideal size,” he added.
“We are now operating with consistently over 90% capacity, which means the timing starts to become right to expand the business further.”
Speaking at the Advantage Latitude cruise conference, which took place onboard Ambience, Christian said he’d made it clear when launching second ship Ambition in 2023 that he didn’t want to remain a two-ship line.
“We are slowly but surely evaluating options to grow the business, which is an answer to the demand but also is part of our sustainability ethos, which is very close to my heart.”
Christian, who rose through the ranks from working on a ship to becoming CEO, said it was also important to add more capacity for the sake of Ambassador’s crew. “They need to know that they have options for promotion and development. They need to know that the options are limitless,” he said
“When I grew in the past I always took my team with me. We want to create more jobs to develop the team.”
When asked when he planned to start scouring the market for another second-hand ship, Christian said: “It could well be that I am looking already.”
He said there are a potential ‘20 or 30’ suitable ships about to be retired by other cruise lines that have new ships coming in. “It looks like the time [to expand] is starting to be right,” he added. “We have just launched 2026/27, six months earlier than before, and had record sales. Guests are coming back, repeat sales are 55% or more, so it looks like this is the right moment to start looking more closely.”
However, the third ship might not be based in London Tilbury alongside Ambience and Ambition. Instead, it could be located in the Caribbean, Australia or elsewhere, meaning Ambassador would offer fly-cruises for the first time.
“We have not taken a decision in this direction yet, at the moment we are concentrating on no-fly cruises, but we know that the model we are operating in Britain can work in different countries as well,” he added.
In the meantime, Christian said Ambassador has strengthened its ties with travel agents. It claims have the biggest trade team of any cruise line in the UK and it recently became a full member of the cruise body, CLIA.
“There was a time in our development when certain agencies and certain networks were holding off [booking Ambassador], saying let’s see how they do, but now agents are thinking if they don’t sell us they will lose out so they are getting behind us,” he added.
Trade sales for the ‘26/27 launch were up 88%, and Ambassador Chairman Gordon Wilson said Advantage bookings overall were up 35% year on year, and the number of Advantage agents booking Ambassador for the first time has risen 20%. The consortium is the cruise line’s fifth highest producing agency group.
The post Ambassador CEO hints at third ship for cruise line appeared first on Travel Gossip.
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