UK Cruise Ambience Cancels Havana Call After Updated FCDO Advisory

Ambassador Cruise Line confirmed Ambience would not proceed with its scheduled call to Havana on Monday 16 February 2026 after the United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office updated its Cuba travel advice on 11 February 2026. The line’s social‑media post, cited by Cruisehive, said: “We can confirm that Ambience will no longer proceed with its scheduled call to Havana, Cuba, on Monday 16 February 2026 during the 40‑night Jewels of the Caribbean Sea itinerary.” The post added: “The safety and wellbeing of our guests and crew is always our primary consideration.”

Ambience sailed from London‑Tilbury on 30 January 2026 on the 40‑night Jewels of the Caribbean Sea itinerary. Cruisemapper’s published schedule had shown a 13‑hour Havana call on 16 February from 07:00 to 20:00 and then Grand Cayman on 18 February from 08:00 to 17:00. Cruisehive and Travelandtourworld both reported that by the time the FCDO updated its guidance on 11 February the ship had already crossed the Atlantic and reached Caribbean waters.

Accounts diverge on how Ambassador handled the lost Havana port call. Cruisehive, citing the line’s social media, reported that Ambience spent 16 February and 17 February as sea days, with Grand Cayman remaining the next port visit on 18 February. By contrast, Cruise News and Wicnews reported the Havana visit was replaced by two alternative stops in the eastern Caribbean, Guadeloupe and St Kitts, and said Ambience made an impromptu Guadeloupe visit that coincided with sister ship Renaissance. Cruise News quoted the line on the meetup: “We will be trying to get the ships photographed together,” and “We love a ship meet up!”

Wicnews supplied passenger and local impact details for the region’s calls. Wicnews reported Ambience arrived in St Kitts with 1,340 passengers while Renaissance carried 1,108, producing “over 2,400 passengers” ashore on the same day and creating a “vibrant atmosphere at Port Zante.” The report named beneficiaries by type, local tour operators, taxi drivers, vendors, restaurants and duty‑free stores, and said the tourism authority of St Kitts gave the Ambience a warm welcome.

Operational context from industry outlets underscores why the change mattered. Cruiseindustrynews noted Ambience is a 1,578‑passenger ship that recently completed a three‑week, multi‑million‑dollar drydock in the United Kingdom, and Cruise News described the vessel as a 70,285‑gross‑ton ship. Travelandtourworld summarised the FCDO advice as recommending avoiding all but essential travel to Cuba because of concerns about infrastructure reliability and emergency response capability, and framed the itinerary shift as an example of how government travel advisories can alter maritime schedules mid‑voyage.

The competing post‑cancellation accounts remain on the record: Cruisehive’s social‑media–based sea‑day replacement, and Cruise News and Wicnews’ alternative‑port reports. Passengers and port authorities experienced the real‑time effects of the FCDO update, and Ambience continued her long repositioning voyage across the Caribbean toward subsequent scheduled calls such as Grand Cayman, Montego Bay and Ocho Rios while the line manages the operational fallout from the advisory.