Ambassador’s whale appeal is more credible because of what it won’t offer passengers

Ambassador Cruise Line excludes destination experiences associated with whaling, dolphinariums or captive marine mammals from its itineraries. That is a useful boundary for a company asking passengers to support whale conservation.

I give that policy more weight than a fundraising appeal alone. Supporting a charity is worthwhile. Applying its conservation aims to what passengers can book gives the partnership substance beyond the donation.

Ambassador has worked with marine conservation charity ORCA since 2021, with the exclusions forming part of the partnership’s Anti-Whaling Campaign. Its second AmbassadorForWhales fundraising campaign has now raised £22,533 for the charity, exceeding its target.

The appeal ran from October 1 to 31. The result was more than 22% above the £18,426 collected during the inaugural campaign in 2025.

A total of 156 donors contributed £10,277. Gift Aid and Ambassador’s own contribution brought the proceeds to the final amount.

Ambassador chief executive Christian Verhounig said the result “demonstrates the generosity of everyone who has supported this campaign.” He thanked contributors and said the company intended to continue its collaboration with ORCA.

Putting ships to work as research platforms

The money will support monitoring of vulnerable whale and dolphin populations and scientific observations, along with work to inform marine wildlife protection policies.

Through ORCA’s Marine Mammal Surveyor programme, trained volunteers conduct surveys aboard cruise ships and ferries, gathering standardized sightings data in ocean areas that would otherwise be difficult and costly to monitor.

During distance-sampling surveys, observers record species, the distance and angle of sightings, and environmental conditions. Scientists use those observations to produce more reliable estimates of whale, dolphin and porpoise abundance and distribution, helping identify important habitats.

That is a sensible use of cruise ships’ reach. Access to the water is valuable, but structured observations make that access useful to researchers.

ORCA also works with shipping companies on ship-strike prevention, including bridge-crew training, identifying whale hotspots and improving route planning. Onboard observations contribute to that work alongside the charity’s wider monitoring and public education programmes.

ORCA chief operating officer Steve Jones said the Ambassador partnership was “allowing us to extend our research and education programmes and engage with thousands of guests each year.”

For the 2027/28 season, Ambassador plans 20 dedicated ORCA sailings for UK passengers and a further three serving the French market.

The excursion exclusions deserve to remain part of the story, rather than disappearing beneath the fundraising total. The £22,533 will help ORCA do its work. Deciding which experiences not to offer is work the cruise line has to do itself.