Ambassador Cruise Line reported its busiest month since the turn of the year in the Lates market, according to a press release.

The strong demand comes after the launch of no-fly departures earlier this year when the Ambition joined the fleet. As a result, the cruise line increased its number of regional ports from one (London Tilbury) to seven this year.

With 30 percent of bookings from guests who sailed in 2022, Ambassador attributes its success in the Lates Market to the growing popularity of no-fly holiday options, which indicates that guests prefer driving to a port and avoiding airport queues and related issues such as potential flight cancellations or exchange rate fluctuations. 

Due to strong demand, Ambassador is holding steady on cruise prices on several itineraries despite a general increase in prices as cruise demand continues to grow.

“Our guests see a holiday as a necessity and not a luxury, and with many of them aged 50-plus and retired, the cost-of-living crisis is not affecting our core customer base as much as the working population,” explained Phil Gardner, chief commercial officer at Ambassador Cruise Line.

“Whilst we continue to offer a number of fantastic deals in the market, we’re also seeing that prices can go up in the lates market now and this is a marked change from the beginning of the summer season,” he added.

The cruise line’s most popular cruise of the last two weeks is the 32-night Mediterranean Odyssey sailing out of London Tilbury on October 16. There is also a growing interest in itineraries such as Ambience’s Grand Round the World Cruise, sailing in January 2024.