Ambience had been due to debut on 6 April and sail to Hamburg. However, the ship will now depart on 20 April, forcing the cancellation of two Norwegian fjords sailings.

"The ship has undergone extensive engineering and other works while in dry-dock in Croatia," said the line in a statement issued on Friday afternoon (25 March).

"The process has been subjected to some significant recent supply-side delays, which also led to a temporary lack of availability of marine gas oil in Croatia.

"While these have now been resolved, her maiden voyage to Hamburg – originally planned for 6 April 2022 – has been rescheduled to now depart on 20 April, and her first two sailings to the Norwegian fjords have subsequently been cancelled."

Guests booked on the three impacted sailings are being contacted by the line to discuss their options, including a full refund.

Ambassador chief executive Christian Verhounig said it wasn’t a decision made in haste, stressing it was one the line had been "working tirelessly to try to avoid".

"While we were able to mitigate several delays impacting our extensive programme of works during the period Ambience was in dry dock, everyone is aware there is, at present, extensive supply chain disruption and delays in many commercial areas. Most recently, these have been worsened by the crisis in Ukraine.

"It has therefore not been possible to depart for London Tilbury on the original date we had planned. This has had a knock-on effect to our inaugural sailing programme which we have managed to limit to the three initial sailings."

‘Peace of mind’

Verhounig described the situation as "incredibly disappointing" and apologised to affected guests. "We are hopeful most of them will be able to enjoy our ship and service on the revised dates and the alternatives we put together for them," he said.

"The good news is that despite the delay, the ship has completed her refurbishment. She is now operating to a higher level of environmental responsibility. The captain and crew are onboard, and the ship is looking wonderful."

Verhounig added Ambassador’s team were keenly anticipating the moment they can finally welcome guests onboard.

The line, said Verhounig, is making additional staff available on Friday (25 March) and will open its phone lines on Saturday (26 March) to answer any queries from guests beyond its initial communication "to offer peace of mind and help with booking alternative sailings".