Ambition

The 1999-built MV Ambition cruise ship is currently owned and operated by the UK-based Ambassador Cruise Line. Her fleetmates include Ambience (1991-built, formerly Regal Princess) and CFC Renaissance.

Previously known as "Costa neoRiviera" (until December 2019) and "AIDAmira" (until January 2022), the vessel was originally built as "MS Mistral" for Festival Cruises (1999-2002, now defunct). Following the company's collapse in 2004, she was sold to Ibero Cruises (Spain) and renamed "Grand Mistral." In November 2013, after a EUR 10 million drydock refurbishment, she joined Costa Cruises as "Costa neoRiviera." In 2019, she joined AIDA Cruises as "AIDAmira" (fleet’s 14th vessel), embarking on her maiden AIDA voyage on December 4, 2019, from Palma de Mallorca.

As Costa neoRiviera, the vessel (IMO number 9172777) was Italy-flagged (MMSI 247325300) and registered in Genova. She is currently Bahamas-flagged (MMSI 311001141) and registered in Nassau as Ambassador Ambition.

In January 2025, Ambassador Cruise Line merged with the French company Compagnie Francaise de Croisieres (CFC), forming the Ambassador Group (shipowner). As a result, Ambassador’s fleet joined CFC Renaissance.

History and ownership

On January 26, 2022, AIDA Cruises announced the departure of AIDAmira from the fleet.

• A total of 66 AIDAmira cruises scheduled between April 15, 2022, and March 13, 2023, were canceled.
• Most canceled voyages were 7-day "Agais Israel," 14-day "Agais und Israel," and 7-day "Griechenland, Zypern und Israel" itineraries (roundtrips from Heraklion, Crete, Greece, scheduled through October 7). The remainder of the canceled program was homeported in Cape Town (South Africa) for 14-day "Sudafrika und Namibia" cruises.
• At the time of the announcement, the ship was docked at Port Pula (Croatia).

On January 27, it was announced that Carnival Corporation (via Costa Crociere SpA) had sold AIDAmira to Ambassador Cruise Line. Renamed "Ambition," the ship began service with the UK-based company in 2023, joining fleetmate Ambience (1991-built as Regal Princess).

Before entering service for Ambassador, Ambition underwent an extensive drydock refurbishment, which included upgrades to staterooms and machinery, as well as the installation of ballast water and sewage treatment systems and exhaust scrubbers to reduce emissions.

In May 2021, it was announced that the new brand "Ambassador Cruise Line" (UK-based, headquartered in Purfleet-on-Thames, Essex, England) would operate the former "Crypto Cruise Ship" Satoshi/now Ambience. Ambassador targets the UK source market, specifically travelers aged 50+, aiming to fill the void left by CMV-Cruise & Maritime Voyages (2009–2020, defunct).

AIDAmira, AIDA’s 14th vessel, joined the "AIDA Selection" fleet alongside AIDAcara, AIDAvita, and AIDAaura—the fleet’s smallest ships, operating longer and less conventional itineraries. Before her AIDA service, Costa neoRiviera was drydock refurbished, reducing swimming pools from three to two (larger), and adding two large whirlpools on the sundeck. Of the 624 staterooms, 96 were Suites (80 with balconies). The refitted vessel featured six restaurants and six bars. AIDAmira’s maiden voyage began on December 4, 2019, sailing from Palma de Mallorca to South Africa.

The 1600-passenger MS Mistral had her maiden voyage on July 17, 1999, departing roundtrip from Venice to the Greek Islands. During winter, she offered Caribbean cruises. In 2004, Festival Cruises filed for bankruptcy and the vessel was sold to Ibero Cruises (Iberojet), renamed "Grand Mistral." In 2013, she was transferred to Costa Cruises as "Costa neoRiviera," joining the "neoCollection" alongside Costa neoRomantica.

Ambassador Ambition’s maximum passenger capacity (1500) is limited to 1200, giving her a space ratio comparable to many luxury cruise ships.

Decks and Cabins

Most AIDAmira staterooms (624 total) are 13 m² (140 ft²) Oceanview cabins (287). The largest accommodations are Sundeck Deluxe Suites (450–510 ft² / 42–47 m², with terraces of 115–150 ft² / 11–14 m²). The ship features 96 Suites (all with balconies), 12 Balcony staterooms, 287 Oceanviews, and 231 Inside cabins, including two wheelchair-accessible units.

The vessel has 13 decks, 10 of which are passenger-accessible, and 4 include cabins.

Following refurbishment, Ambassador Ambition has 714 staterooms. Her maximum passenger capacity was reduced from 1498 to 1428. The updated cabin count includes 125 with balconies and 113 Suites (approximately 670 ft² / 62 m² including balcony).

Shipboard dining options - Food and Drinks

Ambassador Ambition offers two main dining rooms (complimentary), specialty dining venues, a bistro-style Lido Cafe, four lounges and bars, a British Pub Restaurant, Theater Lounge (with tiered seating), Casino, Card Room, Library, Craft Studio, a wellness complex (Spa, Massage Rooms, Gym), two swimming pools, and retail shops.

The Galleria Shops (managed by Harding UK) are duty-free and tax-free, selling luxury watches, fashion and costume jewelry, perfumes, cosmetics, clothing, sportswear, Ambassador-branded merchandise, souvenirs, tobacco, liquor, and convenience items. Featured brands include Pandora, Swarovski (jewelry, watches, crystal decor), and Radley (women’s accessories, bags, shoes).

In March 2023, Ambassador introduced Lupino’s Restaurant in honor of Michelle Lupino, the late Head of Destination Management. The Mediterranean-style venue seats up to 70 guests.

In April 2023, more dining options were revealed:

• Buckingham Restaurant and Holyrood Restaurant: À la carte menus featuring British classics like Sunday Roast and Shepherd’s Pie.
• Borough Market: Self-serve buffet with international cuisine, including homemade Italian pasta and Asian stir-fries.
• Saffron Restaurant: Indian cuisine served in traditional Thali/Bhojanam platters, with fresh-baked breads and desserts.
• Chef’s Table: Reservation-only, exclusive 9-course dinner with wine pairing.
• Alfresco Grill: Poolside venue offering complimentary fast food such as pizza, burgers, hot dogs, and chips.

In July 2024, Ambassador launched "Exploring Ambition" and "Exploring Ambience" ship tours. These guided experiences include visits to the galleys, Engine Control Room, Navigation Bridge/Wheelhouse, and Theater Lounge. The package includes branded merchandise (lanyard, souvenir mug, paper, and pen), a Visitor Pass, photo with the Captain, a Q&A with the Hotel Director, plus snacks and beverages. Tours are limited to 10 guests per group and priced at GBP 89 per person.

Costa neoRiviera ship review (facilities and amenities)

Most onboard dining is included in the cruise fare. Aside from Lido Deck pizza, the main dining room is preferred for meals. The ship promotes flexible, casual dining with no assigned seating or reservations required. The Deck 11 buffet has seven stations and is smaller than those on many other ships. Decor resembles a casual cafeteria. The buffet is particularly popular in summer when there are more families onboard.

Costa neoRiviera's restaurants and food bars included:

• Ristorante Cetara (forward dining room; complimentary, featuring round-shaped windows and an extensive dinner wine list, with two fixed dinner seatings at 6:30 and 9:00 pm; open seating for breakfast and lunch)
• Ristorante Saint Tropez (complimentary aft dining room with two fixed dinner seatings)
• Ristorante Buffet Vernazza (self-service buffet, complimentary; offers breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea from 4:00 to 5:00 pm, and dinner; in the evening it transforms into a complimentary waiter-served pizzeria)
• Grill Manarola (fast-food station, complimentary)
• Pizzeria Monterosso (complimentary pizza restaurant, open for lunch and dinner)

Costa neoRiviera featured three restaurants (including the buffet, grill, and pizzeria), six bars, a show lounge, a disco nightclub, two shopping arcades, and a spacious wellness complex with a Spa & Beauty Salon, a modern Fitness Center, hydrotherapy pool, spa pools/hot tubs, and treatment rooms for massages.

The ship had three swimming pools and a splash pool for children.

Below is a complete list of Costa neoRiviera’s lounges, clubs, and entertainment venues for kids, teens, and adults.

• Teatro Ravello (2-level main show lounge for grand musical productions, ballets, classical concerts, and circus shows)
• Bar Anacapri (foyer bar)
• Atrio Riviera (2-deck-high atrium and central gathering area with live entertainment, served by Positano Bar)
• Amalfi Lounge (Cigar Lounge & Bar, also offering cigars and premium liquors)
• Cafe Positano (wine bar)
• Sala Carte (card room)
• Casino Saint Maxime (served by Porquerolles Bar)
• Biblioteca & Internet Point (combined library "Biblioteca Conca dei Marini" and Internet lounge)
• Galleria Shops Sorrento & Gallery Shops Grasse (duty- and tax-free stores selling brand watches, jewelry, perfumes, fashion, Costa-logo merchandise, sportswear, gifts, tobacco, and liquor)
• Cafe Eze (patisserie and specialty coffee bar)
• Saint Paul de Vence Lounge & Bar (venue for live shows and evening band music)
• Bar Corniglia (serving smoothies and ice cream)
• Photo Gallery Cannes
• Video Games Arcade
• Discoteca Portofino (disco and nightclub)
• Squok Club (kids’ area with Mini Club (ages 3-6) and Maxi Club (ages 7-11); complimentary supervised activities and babysitting)
• Teen Zone (teen lounge with Teen Junior (ages 12-14) and Teen Club (ages 15-17); offers supervised activities, themed parties, and sports contests)
• Centro Benessere Portovenere (Spa & Wellness Center with gym, Spinning/Aerobics room, Salone di Bellezza Framura beauty salon, massage and treatment rooms, Japanese Tea Room, relaxation room, thermal suites, solarium, laconium, aroma steam baths, thalassotherapy pool, and sauna)
• Lido Via dell'Amore pool area (with two small pools, two whirlpools, foosball and ping pong tables; served by Bar Riomaggiore)
• Outdoor play area for children (with paddling pool)
• Multi-sports court (for volleyball, basketball, mini-football, and golf putting)
• Solarium (open-air relaxation area)

Ambassador Ambition itineraries

Details of Ambassador Ambition’s itinerary program for the inaugural summer 2023 season were released in May 2022, featuring UK homeports such as London-Tilbury, Newcastle Port Tyne, Liverpool, Avonmouth-Bristol, Falmouth, Dundee, Scotland, and Belfast.

Ambition also offers roundtrip Transatlantic crossings from the UK to Caribbean destinations including Barbados, Grenada, the Grenadines, Curacao, Aruba, St Lucia, St Kitts, St Maarten, and Antigua.

The ship’s inaugural season was originally scheduled to begin on March 4, 2023, with a 6-night London-Tilbury roundtrip to Kristiansand, Copenhagen, and Gothenburg. However, due to a 6-month charter (September 2022 to March 2023) as temporary housing for Ukrainian refugees in Glasgow, and subsequent drydocking, Ambition’s launch was postponed to May 12, 2023, with a 14-day "Hidden Gems of France and Spain" voyage. The roundtrip from Newcastle visited ports in France (Cherbourg, Brest, Saint-Nazaire, Le Verdon), Spain (Bilbao, Gijon, La Coruna), and returned via Le Havre (Paris).

AIDAmira itineraries

The AIDAmira program was based on winter deployments in South Africa (roundtrip from Cape Town) and summer deployments in the Mediterranean with homeporting in Palma de Mallorca (Balearic Spain).

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, AIDA planned to homeport AIDAmira in Heraklion, Crete, Greece, followed by a South Africa program in 2023 based out of Cape Town. However, these plans were canceled in January 2022 after the announcement that the vessel would leave the fleet by March. For details on the canceled voyages, see the ship’s Wiki page.

Costa neoRiviera itineraries

Costa neoRiviera’s itinerary program featured exotic global routes with unique ports and extended overnight stays.

• From December 2018 through March 2019, she offered India-based cruises from Mumbai with calls in Mangalore, Cochin, Mormugao-Goa (India), Colombo (Sri Lanka), and the Maldives (Male, Kaafu Atoll).
• For the remainder of 2019, she was scheduled for Western Mediterranean itineraries departing roundtrip from Savona (Italy) and Toulon (France).
• Both programs were eventually canceled following the decision to transfer the ship to AIDA.

In mid-September 2019, AIDA announced the name of AIDAmira's godmother – Franziska Knuppe (born 1974), a German fashion model and actress. The ship’s christening ceremony was held on November 30, 2019, in Port Palma (Mallorca-Majorca Island, Balearic Spain).

AIDAmira's naming ceremony was a charity event, with all proceeds donated to "AIDA Cruise & Help" – a partnership with the Reiner Meutsch Foundation FLY & HELP (since 2018) aimed at raising funds to build schools in newly industrializing and developing countries. The event featured a 20-minute fireworks show, live performances by German singer-songwriter Johannes Oerding, more than 1,000 cruise passengers on board, and was hosted by Mary Amiri.

A fun fact: Franziska Knuppe is also the godmother of fleetmate AIDAluna (2009). AIDAmira's last Master was Captain Manuel Pannzek, who has served as captain on AIDA Selection ships since 2017.

In January 2023, Ambassador Cruise Line announced that MS Ambition’s godmother would be Shirley Ann Robertson (born 1968), a Scottish sailor and Olympic gold medalist (Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004).

The christening ceremony took place on May 11, 2023, in Port Tyne/Newcastle. The following day (May 12) marked the start of the Maiden Voyage – a 14-day "Hidden Gems of France and Spain" roundtrip from Newcastle.

The vessel (hull/yard number J31) was built in France by Chantiers de l’Atlantique Shipyard in Saint-Nazaire. She has a volume of 48,123 GT, deadweight of 4,923 tons, and a maximum draft of 6.9 m (23 ft). The powerplant comprises two Wartsila marine diesel engines (models 8L46B and 12V38) with a total output of 18 MW.

Ambassador Ambition refurbishment 2023

On April 4, 2023, Ambassador's ship Ambition arrived in Bremerhaven (Germany) to enter drydock at Lloyd Werft Shipyard.

The drydocking (April 4 to May 7) involved an extensive refit, regular maintenance and technical upgrades, machinery enhancements (including ballast water and wastewater/greywater treatment systems), rebranding, and venue renovations with new furniture and carpets.

The project also included hull cleaning and repainting in Ambassador's new livery.

Ambassador Ambition inaugural cruise 2023 review

MS Ambition's inaugural season was initially scheduled to begin with a Maiden Voyage on March 4, 2023 (a 6-night Tilbury-London roundtrip visiting Kristiansand, Copenhagen, and Gothenburg).

However, due to a six-month charter (September 2022 to March 2023) for housing Ukrainian refugees in Glasgow and the subsequent drydock period, Ambition’s inauguration was postponed to May 12, 2023.

The following table shows the Maiden Voyage itinerary – a 14-day "Hidden Gems of France and Spain" cruise.

The next scheduled voyage was the 8-day "Majestic Fjordland" (departing May 26), a roundtrip from Newcastle visiting Norway's Eidfjord, Bergen, Flam, and Olden.

Godspeed!

Costa neoRiviera-AIDAmira refurbishment 2019 review

From September to November 2019, Costa neoRiviera was drydocked in Port Genoa (at San Giorgio del Porto Shipyard) for a major (EUR 50 million / USD 55 million) refurbishment project. The one-month drydocking (October 30 to November 28) transformed Costa neoRiviera into AIDAmira.

The project involved approximately 1,000 workers, including 150 shipyard employees. Work included technical maintenance, hull and superstructure repainting (featuring AIDA's livery), renovations to public areas, and the addition of new cabins – 19 balcony and 3 interior staterooms (in the area of the former Discoteca Portofino nightclub), as well as several more cabins on Deck 7.

The following table shows neoRiviera’s final voyage for Costa – a 10-day Mediterranean itinerary priced from USD 980 per person.

On October 30, the vessel arrived in Port Genoa for refurbishment (October 30 to November 28). The renovated ship arrived in her new homeport, Palma (Balearic Spain), on November 29 for the christening ceremony where she was officially renamed AIDAmira.

Costa neoRiviera was registered in Madeira (flagged with MMSI 255803860), while AIDAmira is Italy-flagged (MMSI 247325300).

AIDAmira itineraries 2022-2023 (canceled)

The following tables present the canceled (as of January 2022) voyages from AIDAmira's 2022-23 program, which was originally scheduled with homeports in Heraklion, Crete and Cape Town.

14-day "Agais und Israel" itinerary

7-day "Agais" itinerary

7-day "Griechenland, Zypern und Israel" itinerary

(Repositioning from Europe to South Africa) 28-day from Mallorca to Cape Town

14-day "Sudafrika und Namibia" itinerary

AIDAmira inaugural itineraries 2019-2020

The following tables show AIDAmira's inaugural itineraries (maiden voyages by destination/homeport).

(2019) 19-day repositioning from Europe-Mediterranean to South Africa

(2019) 14-day inaugural itinerary "Sudafrika und Namibia 2"

(2020) 14-day inaugural itinerary "Sudafrika und Namibia 1"

(2020) 19-day relocation from South Africa to Europe-Mediterranean

(2020) 7-day inaugural Eastern Mediterranean itinerary "Griechenland Ab Korfu"

(2020) 7-day inaugural Eastern Mediterranean itinerary "Mittelmeerinseln Ab Korfu"

(2020) 14-day inaugural B2B (back-to-back cruise) itinerary "Griechenland und Mittelmeerinseln 1"

(2020) 14-day inaugural B2B itinerary "Griechenland und Mittelmeerinseln 2"

Costa neoRiviera itineraries 2016 changes

Costa neoRiviera's itinerary program for 2016 (March 28 through November 8) was changed. All originally scheduled calls to Istanbul, Turkey were replaced with Rhodes, Greece. Passengers booked with embarkation in Istanbul boarded the ship in Rhodes instead.

Listed below are Costa neoRiviera's scheduled Savona roundtrips for 2019 that were later canceled.

11-day "Italy, Spain, Balearic Islands, Malta" – prices from USD 1100 pp

13-day "India, Maldives, Sri Lanka" – prices from USD 1900 pp