Storms Keep Rewriting One Norway Cruise, and Guests Are Asking Why

Ambassador Cruise Line’s Ambition left Bristol on October 16 for a 17-night Northern Lights voyage, and the weather has been rewriting the plan ever since. Storms Austen and Boelo had already forced swaps at five Norwegian ports. This week brought another round: Alesund, due on Wednesday, October 28, has been cancelled because forecast southerly gusts of 28 knots would make berthing and leaving unsafe, and the captain made the call.

The ship will instead spend Tuesday night in Molde, departing on Wednesday, then sail directly to Bergen, where it is due around 6 p.m. on Thursday, October 29, and will stay overnight until Friday. Stavanger, scheduled for Friday, October 30, is also cancelled. The voyage is still due to return to Bristol on Monday, November 2, so passengers will see fewer ports than they booked, though the Bergen overnight gives them more time ashore in one of Norway’s most visited cities.

Ambassador apologised on Facebook late on October 26 and said it is monitoring conditions with local agents and port authorities. Guest reaction, as reported by Cruise Hive, is mixed. Some accept that weather is outside anyone’s control and praise a safety-first approach. Others are frustrated by the number of missed ports and argue the ship should have stayed in calmer northern waters rather than heading south into the storm.

Some passengers have also pointed to the line’s sister ship Ambience, which AIS tracking shows calling at Alta and Hammerfest, ports Ambition has dropped. The two ships differ, however. Ambition is smaller, at 48,123 gross tons and 1,200 guests, against Ambience’s 70,285 tons and 1,400 guests, and the ships may face different constraints in the fjords. Any link between size and the cancellations is speculation, and Ambassador has only cited weather and safety.

Sources: Cruise Hive, Cruise Hive (earlier itinerary changes)