Festive cruise cancelled with 1,400 on board at Tilbury

Ambassador Cruise Line, which operates the ship, said it was too early to know if other cruises would be affected

About 1,400 people have had a Christmas market cruise cancelled after they boarded when issues were found with the lifeboat station onboard.

Guests were due to set sail on the ship Ambience on Sunday from Tilbury in Essex to Zeebrugge in Belgium.

Ambassador Cruise Lines, which operates the vessel, said an issue was found during maintenance checks resulting in the late cancellation.

The company apologised and offered people refunds or the chance to rebook.

On social media some passengers reported being onboard and eating dinner when the announcement was made.

The cruises usually visit traditional Christmas street markets on the continent.

Never 'easy decision'

Ambassador Cruise Line said the firm chose to "immediately address this issue as a precautionary measure".

They said it was "too early to say whether any future itineraries will be impacted" as a result of the work needing to be done.

In a statement the company said: "It is never an easy decision to cancel any itinerary, particularly at this time of year, and we would like to apologise to all those guests that were due to sail with us.

"Guests have been invited to remain on Ambience overnight to enjoy dinner and our evening entertainment before disembarking in the morning, after which time works will continue.

"We have communicated transfer and compensation options to our guests, and any additional concerns they might have will be dealt with by Ambassador on a case-by-case basis in the days to come."