Cruise ship used to host refugees fleeing war in Ukraine returns as 'luxury' floating hotel for Edinburgh Fringe visitors

The ship is being billed as a “luxury” floating hotel for the Fringe with a private theatre and two swimming pools

It was once a cruise ship used as an emergency measure to host refugees fleeing war in Ukraine.

Now the MS Ambition, which was docked in Glasgow’s King George V docks for six months until March last year after thousands of Ukrainians arrived in Scotland under the Scottish Government’s Super Sponsor scheme, is to return to Scotland as a “luxury” floating hotel for visitors to the Edinburgh Fringe.

Almost a year after the plans were revealed in The Scotsman, US magazine Playbill, which has chartered the vessel, confirmed the ship is to take anchor in Leith for a week in August.

MS Ambition, as it arrived in Glasgow to house Ukrainian refugees in 2022.

It was home to about 1,170 people from Ukraine, chartered by the Scottish Government with another cruise ship, MS Victoria, which was situated in Edinburgh.

The controversial 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 Ukrainians entering Scotland 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 £1,250 for seven nights in a cabin, or £179 for an overnight stay, with a suite starting at £3,550.

It features two swimming pools, as well as five restaurants and three bars.

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Meanwhile, 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 star 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 £2,000 for a ten-day run.

Critics 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 (STL) licensing scheme has led to a huge 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.

“Despite the addition of a cruise ship, there's a local solution already available - and that is to allow the remaining professional self-catering businesses to continue operating.”

Conservative MSP Miles Briggs said: “Festival-goers and performers provide such a boost to the economy and should not have to rely on accommodation like this ship to stay in the capital.

"Humza Yousaf needs to urgently address these issues, otherwise more visitors and performers will be forced to go to desperate measures to secure accommodation in the coming months.”