Cruise ship for Ukraine refugees becomes floating hotel for Fringe
It was once a cruise ship used as an emergency measure to host refugees fleeing war in Ukraine.
Now the MS Ambition – which was in Glasgow’s King George V docks for six months until March last year after thousands of Ukrainians arrived under the Scottish Government’s Super Sponsor scheme – is to become a “luxury floating hotel” for visitors to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
US theatre magazine Playbill, which has chartered the vessel, confirmed the ship is to take anchor in Leith for a week in August.
It was home to about 1170 people from Ukraine, chartered by the Scottish Government along with another cruise ship, MS Victoria, which was docked in Leith.
The vessels were used alongside thousands of hotel rooms as “welcome accommodation” for new arrivals from Ukraine, before being decommissioned last year as the flow of people arriving slowed.
Advertising for the “Playbill Fringeship” said: “Playbill is thrilled to charter Ambassador Cruise Line’s Ambition, a sustainable and modern cruise ship, as our inaugural Playbill FringeShip and floating hotel for the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.”
The ship, which will be docked at Leith from August 8 to 15, costs £1250 for seven nights in a cabin, or £179 for an overnight stay, with a suite starting at £3550.
It features two swimming pools, as well as five restaurants and three bars. The on-board Palladium Theatre, which seats 500 people, will host a series of “larger-scale special events” exclusively for guests staying on the ship.
Accommodation is at a premium for this year’s Fringe, with visitors and actors complaining that they are unable to secure a place to stay – or are being forced to pay over the odds for a room or flat.
Earlier this month, TV presenter Gail Porter revealed she had pulled out of a planned run of shows due to the cost of staying in her home city during the event. Ms Porter said she had been unable to find any suitable accommodation in the city centre under £2000 for a ten-day run.
Critics have pointed to the lack of short-term let accommodation for both spectators and performers travelling to the Fringe, and said cruise ships should not be necessary to house extra visitors.
The new Short Term Lets licensing scheme has led to a reduction in the number of properties on offer for visitors. Fiona Campbell, chief executive of the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers, said: “Edinburgh is facing an all too predictable accommodation crisis for this festival, and perhaps beyond, unless action is taken.
“There’s a local solution already available – and that is to allow the remaining professional self-catering businesses to continue operating.”
Playbill is thrilled to charter Ambition as our inaugural Playbill FringeShip and floating hotel