FCSA News
Lunch aboard the Spirit of Discovery - August 2025
We had a very special treat this week when Saga’s Spirit of Discovery called into Falmouth Port – Saga Cruises kindly allowed the Falmouth Cruise Ship Ambassadors onboard.
Twenty ambassadors and one port team member donned visitor passes and enjoyed a leisurely buffet lunch at The Grill restaurant on Deck 12, overlooking the dockyard and Falmouth Week sailing races in the bay beyond.
We were then given permission to explore the ship, and spent an enjoyable time admiring the many facilities and finely decorated public spaces Spirit of Discovery has to offer.
Blessed with a beautiful sunny day, the view of Falmouth town from the starboard side of the Lido deck was quite spectacular.
A huge thank you to Guest Services Director, Ante Jambrović, for the kind hospitality, and to FCSA Phil Boddy for organising the visit.
Fizz and Chips on the Fal - August 2025
We couldn’t have asked for better weather for our summer social event– the sun was shining and the water was sparkling as 55 ambassadors, A&P port staff, and their family members (along with 6 unsuspecting members of the public) boarded Moyana for an evening Fizz and Chips cruise on the Fal River.
Highlights of the evening included generous portions of Harbour Lights fish and chips, which were picked up on route at Custom House Quay, as well as spotting a very relaxed seal lounging on one of the buoys along the river.
We also raised £160 for OTS banksman Jordan’s sponsored One Million Step Challenge for Diabetes UK.
Thank you to Roma for organising the event, and to FalRiver for a very enjoyable evening on the water.
The ambassadors look forward to their annual barbecue in a few weeks’ time, kindly hosted by Diana.
Mid-Season Visits - July 2025
The Falmouth Cruise Ship Ambassadors welcomed 7 ships into port in July on 8 calls, including two visits from AIDAsol, giving our German-speaking ambassadors a chance to practice their linguistic skills.
July 14th was a particularly busy cruise day, with the final turnaround of the season for Ambassador’s Ambition on County Wharf and passengers from AIDAsol tendering into Queen’s Wharf – a total of more than 3,500 passengers passing through Falmouth docks throughout the day. We were certainly kept on our toes!
With July drawing to a close, we look forward to the ambassadors’ social event of the summer – an evening Fizz and Chips cruise with Fal River on Saturday August 2nd.
SAGA sisters meet face to face - June 2025
Many of the ambassadors witnessed - or at least heard - a historic moment at the port on Friday, June 20th, when SAGA Cruises' Spirit of Adventure dropped by to visit sistership Spirit of Discovery in drydock.
Ship's master captain, Kim Tanner, took a coastal detour up the Carrick Roads and with Falmouth pilot Nick Gilbert onboard, the 58,000-ton vessel came all the way into the Docks Basin.
Crew on board both ships waved to each other, horns were blaring, and guests on the Spirit of Adventure - many of them seasoned SAGA passengers - enjoyed a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Spirit of Discovery will be in drydock for another week of planned maintenance, while Spirit of Adventure is currently enjoying an 18-day voyage around Portugal, Spain, and Italy. The ambassadors look forward to seeing Discovery again on her 5-day trip around the southwest coast in early July.
Photo credit: David Barnicoat
Turnarounds, testimonials, and terrific weather - May 2025
We’ve had an extremely busy May, with 11 cruise calls at Falmouth Port – that’s a grand total of 13,595 passengers! The sun has been shining for most visits so far, which always helps to set the holiday mood for passengers and ambassadors alike.
Our first of four turnarounds took place on May 31, and we welcomed 301 embarking passengers onto Ambassador Cruise Line’s Ambition (including some of our own friends and relatives!) They will return to Falmouth on June 14th, and we look forward to hearing all about their Icelandic voyage.
We’ve been delighted to welcome five new ambassadors this season. They are all enjoying themselves and already doing a great job for the passengers and settling in really well with the rest of team.
Despite the season still being relatively young, we’ve already received several very kind testimonials (read on our Testimonial page). Although we all enjoy what we do, to receive a testimonial is definitely “the icing on the cake.”
We look forward to another busy month ahead!
Regal Princess - April 2025
The Falmouth Cruise Ambassadors like a challenge, and with nearly 5,000 visitors arriving to port on our second cruise of the season, we definitely kept ourselves busy! The Regal Princess arrived bright and early on Saturday, April 19th, and we spent an enjoyable day meeting and greeting passengers, handing out maps, and giving local recommendations. Penryn town crier Jim Henderson was on hand with his bell to give guests that extra bit of British cultural heritage.
Nieuw Statendam - April 2025
Our 2025 season kicked off on April 16th with the arrival of Nieuw Statendam, who we welcomed on her inaugural visit to Falmouth. The first tender arrived bright and early to County Pontoon and the Ambassadors had a busy first day back as we greeted 2,355 passengers to our lovely town. Fortunately, the sun was shining, and we saw lots of smiling guests returning from their excursions. Many went to visit Land's End, St. Michael's Mount, and Polperro, but we were on hand to assist those who preferred to hop on the shuttle and explore the charms of historic Falmouth town.
We are expecting 50 more ships this season and all the Falmouth Cruise Ship Ambassadors are excited to welcome over 60,000 guests to our town.
End of Season - October 2024
This week, we celebrated the end of another fantastic cruise season with the arrival of MS Sirena!
In 2024, we proudly welcomed 49,618 passengers across 38-day calls and five turnaround calls, making Falmouth a top destination for cruise visitors. The new tourist information centre was a great success, and local residents even had the exciting opportunity to embark on a cruise with Ambassador's Ambition, bringing the experience right to their doorstep.
A huge thank you to our incredible team of Falmouth Cruise Ambassadors, who continue to give visitors a warm and memorable welcome.
We can’t wait to greet even more cruise guests in 2025! 🚢✨
Santa Maria Manuela - July 2024
We were thrilled to welcome Santa Maria Manuela to A&P Falmouth on its first port call this week! The ship’s Master invited us to an insightful Blue Meadows presentation on ocean conservation, followed by a special plaque exchange on deck. We presented a commemorative plaque, while the Santa Maria Manuela gifted a beautiful handmade Portuguese tile—a symbol of shared maritime heritage. We look forward to welcoming her back to Falmouth soon! ⚓
Armed forces Day - June 2023
It’s been a fantastic and busy day for us, the Falmouth Cruise Ship Ambassadors, as we welcomed the passengers of Silver Moon to our beautiful town! We loved assisting visitors with their shore excursions and sharing all the wonderful things Falmouth has to offer.
Today was extra special as we also took part in Armed Forces Day, proudly wearing our event t-shirts to show our support 🇬🇧.
A huge thank you to everyone who stopped to chat with us—we love making your visit memorable! See you next time in Falmouth! 🚢✨
February 2018
At our meeting on 10th February we were delighted to present our cheque for £200 to our local RNLI branch towards their current appeal for an extension to their lifeboat station. The money was raised from the raffle at our 2017 Christmas Dinner held at the Greenback Hotel, Falmouth
