Marella Caribbean Cruise Reviews 2024 UPDATED: Ratings of Marella Cruises to Caribbean

Table Of Content

• month-old baby medevaced from Marella Explorer cruise ship
• Marella UK unveils summer 2025 itineraries, incorporating 10 cruise-and-stay packages
• Marella Cruises UK homeports ship Explorer 2 in Dominicana (winter 2024-2025 Caribbean season)
• How Elon Musk helped usher in the age of ‘working from cruise ship’
• Where does Marella Explorer sail to?

For those who want more time in Croatia, can book the cruise as part of TUI’s Cruise & Stay holiday package, the chance to add an extra week’s stay onto your trip. New itineraries offered by Marella Cruises include Colours of the Far East, which departs from Bangkok, and the Enchanting Far East, which leaves from Langkawi in Malaysia. Along the way, ships will port at destinations such as Vietnam, India, Cambodia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates and Oman. Mutterings of Marella Cruises have been in the pipeline for a while now, and the TUI Group is finally ready to share exactly what’s in store for the brand. Currently sailing to 120 destinations, Thomson Cruises is changing to Marella Cruises and will be undergoing major expansions in the process. Having been built in 1995, it joined what was then Thomson Cruises in 2015, ushering in a new era of more modern vessels for the line with an increased range of facilities and dining choices.

month-old baby medevaced from Marella Explorer cruise ship

Package holidays had already been very popular in the UK, and the company wanted the same for cruising. Despite the aging ships, Thomson Cruises attracted an ever-increasing number of first-time UK cruisers with affordable fares and presence of the company's travel agencies across Britain. In the 1990s, Thomson started operations as a budget cruise line and improved its product becoming more successful in the UK by improving amenities, ships and services, and introducing a wider range of itineraries. Marella Celebration (1984-built, former ms Noordam and Thomson Celebration) joined the fleet in 2005. During summer, the ship operated Adriatic Sea roundtrips out of Dubrovnik Croatia.

Marella UK unveils summer 2025 itineraries, incorporating 10 cruise-and-stay packages

Sofia's geographic location, in the foothills of the weekend retreat Vitosha mountain, further adds to the city's specific atmosphere. After the abolition of Communism in 1989, Sofia witnessed the construction of whole business districts and neighbourhoods, as well as modern skyscraper-like glass-fronted office buildings, but also top-class residential neighbourhoods. The 126-metre (413 ft) Capital Fort Business Centre is the first skyscraper in Bulgaria, with its 36 floors.

Marella Cruises UK homeports ship Explorer 2 in Dominicana (winter 2024-2025 Caribbean season)

Marella Discovery Resumes Service After Fire - Cruise Industry News

Marella Discovery Resumes Service After Fire.

Posted: Thu, 20 Jul 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

The city was destroyed in the 447 invasion of the Huns and laid in ruins for a century[77] It was rebuilt by Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. During the reign of Justinian it flourished, being surrounded with great fortress walls whose remnants can still be seen today. First timers shouldn’t find the manageable Marella Voyager deck plan too intimidating, and the all-inclusive-as-standard also helps keep it simple – as well as making for some lively evenings. Marella Voyager reviews are very positive about the ship’s nightlife upgrade, and we’re inclined to agree. The introduction of fleet-first Electric Rooms and The Exchange really take after-dark action to the next level.

Marella Cruises vs. P&O Cruises - Cruise Critic

Marella Cruises vs. P&O Cruises.

Posted: Thu, 18 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Marella Cruises (formerly Thomson Cruises) is a British cruise line operated by TUI UK, offering cruise holidays around Europe, the Caribbean, and Asia. Some of the biggest telecommunications companies, TV and radio stations, newspapers, magazines, and web portals are based in Sofia, including the Bulgarian National Television, bTV and Nova TV. During the Second World War, Bulgaria declared war on the US and UK on 13 December 1941 and in late 1943 and early 1944 the US and UK Air forces conducted bombings over Sofia. As a consequence of the bombings thousands of buildings were destroyed or damaged including the Capital Library and thousands of books. In 1944 Sofia and the rest of Bulgaria was occupied by the Soviet Red Army and within days of the Soviet invasion Bulgaria declared war on Nazi Germany.

How much does it cost to go on Marella Discovery 2?

In 1858 Nedelya Petkova created the first Bulgarian school for women in the city. In 1867 was inaugurated the first chitalishte in Sofia – a Bulgarian cultural institution. In 1870 the Bulgarian revolutionary Vasil Levski established a revolutionary committee in the city and in the neighbouring villages.

How Elon Musk helped usher in the age of ‘working from cruise ship’

In line with cruising traditions, there are dress codes for the restaurants and at least one gala (or “dress to impress”) evening per sailing. This winter has marked the return of the line’s Asia cruises, with Marella Discovery 2 based in Singapore and offering sailings to Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam. There are also departures from Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo and Oman’s Muscat, visiting ports in India and Indonesia among others.

Particularly when you order a drink (unless it's a premium brand), and you're not presented with a bill or added-on gratuity afterwards. While last summer's arrival of Marella Discovery marked a major step forward for the line; the addition of her new sister -- and new flagship -- in May 2017 is clearly propelling this tour operator cruise line to a new level. Thomson Majesty (1992-built) joined the fleet in 2012 and operated roundtrips to Madeira and Canary Islands with departures from Tenerife and Gran Canaria.

Where does Marella Explorer sail to?

For summer 2018, the ship was relocated to homeport Dubrovnik for an adults-only cruise program with full-day port stays in Bar, Korcula, Zadar, Venice, Trieste, Split. The ship also introduced 2 new 7-day itineraries, themed "Sail Three Seas" (Valletta Malta, Messina Sicily, Cephalonia Island, Igoumenitsa, Kotor) and "Greek Mystique" (Chania Crete, Piraeus-Athens, Kalamata, Corfu Island, Kotor). Some of the neighbourhoods constructed after 2000 are densely built up and lack green spaces. There are four principal parks – Borisova gradina in the city centre and the Southern, Western and Northern parks.

Explorer 2 debuted Nonna’s pizzeria and Flutes Champagne bar (replicated on Voyager), which has a button that guests can press to call for champagne. Onboard prices (all in Sterling), for speciality dining are lower than US counterparts, although the cost of spa treatments has risen in recent years and is now more on a par with American lines. In keeping with the drive for new hi-tech ways to aid customers is a new onboard app offering a variety of services.

In mid-October 2021, TUI announced that Mein Schiff Herz will be transferred in 2023 to Marella's fleet. Following a drydock refurbishment, the boat will be renamed Marella Voyager, starting operations for Marella on June 3, 2023. The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and National Travel Health Network and Centre have up-to-date advice on staying safe and healthy abroad.

The Marella change isn’t the only one happening over at Thomson headquarters – it’s actually part of a larger rebrand which will see travel giant Thomson re-brand to TUI towards the end of October. Sign up for FCDO travel advice email alerts, so you automatically receive the latest travel advice updates and travel requirements for the destinations you want to know about. A 14-night voyage from Singapore to Sri Lanka on Marella Discovery 2, including Phuket in Thailand and Penang in Malaysia, departs March 28. Discovery was the line’s first ship with a rock-climbing wall and open-air cinema screen overlooking the outdoor pool. The five-storey atrium with glass lifts and an on-deck rock climbing wall hints at Discovery’s pedigree as a former Royal Caribbean International ship. The former Celebrity Cruises ship, dating from 1995, joined Marella in 2019 as the line’s first adults-only ship.

You'd be hard pressed to find any other nationality, and certainly no concession is made for them. The average age is around mid-50s, with multigenerational groups during peak holiday periods. Expect a lot of children onboard from the beginning of July to the beginning of September and over the Christmas holidays. Marella Explorer was launched in May 2018 and debuted a number of new-to-the-fleet features, including a link-up with upmarket health spa Champneys (the first at sea), a raft of brand-new restaurants, a gin- and whisky-tasting bar and a large number of new shows. By not catering to families, the ship was allocated more space for adult-focused amenities; Explorer 2 has a heady mix of 18 bars and restaurants, including Asian speciality Kora La and steakhouse Surf & Turf, both available for a supplement. Not surprisingly, the line’s guests mostly hail from the UK, with more than half migrating from TUI’s package holidays, safe in the knowledge that Marella Cruises will contain the same reassuringly comforting features.

Passengers can also choose from 18 different hotels in Orlando or the eastern coast of Florida for those who are looking for a stay-cruise holiday. The fifth ship in the line's fleet, Marella Voyager will enter service on 3 June 2023. The 1997-built ship began life as Celebrity Cruises' Mercury, before joining the TUI fleet as Mein Schiff Herz. Sign up here to the Mirror's travel newsletter for more holiday ideas and other travel news sent direct to your inbox each week.

The venue was inaugurated on 30 July 2011, and the first event it hosted was a friendly volleyball match between Bulgaria and Serbia. There are more than fifteen swimming complexes in the city, most of them outdoor.[156] Nearly all of these were constructed as competition venues and therefore have seating facilities for several hundred people. Marella Explorer attracts an exclusively British clientele wherever it is based, whether in the Med during the summer or the Caribbean in the winter.

In March 2015, Royal Caribbean International (RCI) announced they had agreed to sell Splendour of the Seas to TUI in the second quarter of 2016. In May 2015, TUI Group announced plans for Mein Schiff 1/now Marella Explorer and Mein Schiff 2/Herz/now Marella Voyager to be transferred to Thomson UK over the next few years. In October 2015, Thomson's Island Cruises brand was discontinued after its only ship MS Island Escape (now Ocean Gala) completed its last voyage with Thomson.