First time Marella, First time Caribbean.

Hi all, We fly from Newcastle on 3rd Feb joining Marella Explore on a B2B, in a cabin we have selected, and our flight seats are extra legroom.

Have been cruising with Pando from S/hamton for years now and not flown for some years.

Would like some info on the following:-

What can I expect of Marella compared to P&O?

Are there entry requirement for any of the Islands, is there any info on this on the TUI website?

What is worth doing on the Islands on your own and which excursions would you recommend?

Is the flight time approx 8.5 hours, is the food OK and do you get drinks with meals?

Is the hold luggage not seen again until it appears outside our cabin?

We like formal dressing up, but happy to be relaxed...do many dress up for the formal nights?

Is it worth upgrading to premium drinks?

What entertainment can we expect? In the past we have walked out on the "Headliners" on P&O as we thought they were dire.

Thanks in advance, sure I will think of other things.

hi all, we fly from newcastle on 3rd feb joining marella explore on a b2b, in a cabin we have selected, and our flight seats are extra legroom.

Have been cruising with pando from s/hamton for years now and not flown for some years.

Would like some info on the following:-

 

what can i expect of marella compared to p&o?

older ships, not up to p&o standards. But made up for by being very friendly ships. Food is at least as good, ditto entertainment.

 

are there entry requirement for any of the islands, is there any info on this on the tui website?

not on most itineraries, but you haven't named your ports.

 

what is worth doing on the islands on your own and which excursions would you recommend?

again, need your ports. But most ports there are minibuses (americans call them vans) which will replicate ships' tours at a fraction of ship's prices (but no food or drink included, nor any admission fees tho there are usually none). Agree an itinerary, approx. Timescale & the price before you book, pay when you get back (us dollars) - it's the norm. Drivers at the port are friendly, trustworthy & reliable, they know their island & they know the importance of back-on-board time. Get on the pier about 9am to 10 am for best choice. Take your beach gear - tours are usually half-day and drivers will offer to stop at a beach en-route or drop you at a beach near the ship.

research your ports, get an idea of what's to see or do from marella's excursion details and from cruise critic's caribbean ports-of-call forums https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=-1&f=587

 

 

is the flight time approx 8.5 hours, is the food ok and do you get drinks with meals?

more like 9 outbound, more like 8 back to the uk.

is any airplane food ok???? :d

 

 

is the hold luggage not seen again until it appears outside our cabin?

depends which embarkation port & whether the aircraft is all cruisers or a mix of cruisers & land-stay packages. You might have to collect from the carousel & take to the bus, you might have to identify your luggage on the pier but it's taken aboard & delivered to your cabin.

 

we like formal dressing up, but happy to be relaxed...do many dress up for the formal nights?

everyone makes an effort. Anywhere from 60% to 80% in tuxedos & the rest in dark suits, blazers, the occasional uniform or national dress.

those who don't do smart or formal use the buffet on formal nights.

 

is it worth upgrading to premium drinks?

on marella package prices and inclusions seem to vary, so you need opinions from those who know that ship on that cruise.

 

what entertainment can we expect? In the past we have walked out on the "headliners" on p&o as we thought they were dire.

a matter of personal preference. I rate the shows on a par or better than p&o, marella certainly have more live music bars.

 

 

thanks in advance, sure i will think of other things.

jb :)

Excuse the absence of caps, not my fault- that sometimes happens when replying in this format

Hi AMcH and welcome, cant help with P&O comparison but can with some of the other points, I assume you are flying into Barbados and as you are doing a B2B you will be first off the plane onto a coach, no passport control or luggage problems, taken directly to the ship for the normal photo checks and registration, cases sometimes arrive before you but my recommendations are, after eight Caribbean cruises, is that you take a change of clothes in your hand luggage so that if it is delayed you can get changed. We find the food ok and yes you do have drinks. Upgrade for drinks package, would suggest you try it first as you can always take it out later.

Lots of places to visit but you will have to get transport to the beaches, other little tip is that on changeover day you get off the ship its very busy we always go to Harbour lights its just a few dollars taxi and a nice beach with all the mod cons also its a good day to visit the speciality restaurant. Flight time is changeable we have actually done the return flight in just under seven yes seven hours this year. We go formal but as said not everyone will and that's fine, they do post a dress code at the MDR the only thing I have seen passengers stopped for are shorts and, strangely, men in sandals.

Just ask if you require any other info and have a good one.

Flying from Newcastle? How did you swing that? We were only given the choice of Gatwick Manchester or Birmingham, in fact, looking at the Marella website now, Newcastle is still greyed out.

You can't fly from Newcastle to the Caribbean only as Bill says Gatwick Manchester and Birmingham

Have you really booked?

You can't fly from Newcastle to the Caribbean only as Bill says Gatwick Manchester and Birmingham

Have you really booked?

..........looking at the Marella website now, Newcastle is still greyed out.

Greyed-out because that aircraft is already fully-booked? :confused:

Next Feb is a long way out, but I've seen the very occasional Bournemouth departure get fully booked early.

JB :)

We booked up in early march at our local TUI shop, only half realised we were paying £30 webmatch fee. Picked extra legroom seats at that time. was on my cruise personaliser today and some legroom seats looked to be still available. Also, we got a phone call a week later, would we like premium flight upgrade....think it was £700 each ( or total?) Approx £35 or £13 per hour each for both flights seems a heck of a lot. We do fly in to Barbados, have now been on gov/uk website and no visas needed for any of the islands on the itiniary. Thanks for all the info so far.

Looks a cracking cruise, we’ll be 4 days behind you on Celebration out of Barbados but we have to fly from Manchester.

A man called Hoss - are you on a Dreamliner?

Yes it's a dreamliner, will be first time for us. Its 4.30 am here, can't get at my holiday info at the moment, but will get flight No etc when I can.

Why does my last post have a time of 10.28 when it was actually 4.30am?

Another question, How does checking in on-line save time or any other advantage? We still have to drop our luggage off and show our passports etc at the check in desk?

Just been on the Marella website at 05.23, tried Manchester and it's available at £1866 pp then I tried Newcastle; it looks to be available at £1966 pp. Didn't do a dummy booking, just the search.

Another question, How does checking in on-line save time or any other advantage? We still have to drop our luggage off and show our passports etc at the check in desk?

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Another question, How does checking in on-line save time or any other advantage? We still have to drop our luggage off and show our passports etc at the check in desk?

At Newcastle you have to weigh your cases on a machine which then prints the airline tags, you put them on the belt and hey ho. You already have your boarding pass so straight upstairs to security

Our flights are TOM 834 from NCL and 835 returning from Barbados BGI.

It doesn't save time for us but they had indicated sometime ago that you could face a charge that did not materialise.

 

 

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The brochure still indicates in the A-Z that they reserve the right to charge for checking in at the airport:eek:

The brochure still indicates in the A-Z that they reserve the right to charge for checking in at the airport:eek:

18-8-18

I am also on same b2b cruise, same dates, same ship. First time in Caribbean so any info on what to do/see on any of these islands would be very appreciated. Thank you.

I am also on same b2b cruise, same dates, same ship. First time in Caribbean so any info on what to do/see on any of these islands would be very appreciated. Thank you.

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Another couple of questions......Are there fixed dining times in the MDR?

What cheeses are there for after dinner?

What steaks etc are there in Surf&Turf?

What extra charge dining options are good on the Explorer?

I am not a big beer or spirits drinker so I will be happy with the standard package, is it worth the extra though for the upgrade, for example is John Smiths extra smooth so much better than the normal?

On the flight:- Are there complimentary seat back tv films etc.

Is it one free drink with each meal, I presume there will be 2 meals?

My take on these questions

Marella ships are older than some P&O ones but the two Discoveries have the same or better facilities than the mid sized P&O ships. Explorer had a 50 million euro make over a few years ago when she joined TUI for the german market and it shows! She has better facilties than a mid range P&O ship.

There is a more relaxed atmosphere on Marella and they do not have formal nights but 'dress to impress' nights instead, one per week. You can wear a suit or dinner jacket if you wish or just dress to impress!. the normal evening casual nice shirt and trousers is perfectly acceptable for everywhere on the ship on those evenings.

Is the food OK, IMO yess, some things better than P&O and some not. On Explorer you will find a wide range of cuisines available. I think the main dining rooms are more international cuisine that the P&O 'British' offerings.

You get a drinks package included in your fare which is similar to the one I have experienced on discovery. It is very good with a wide range of branded drinks, for example Explorer has 10 different wines by the glass and 6 different branded whiskeys and 3 branded gins. Buy the premium package for £50 per person per week and you get almost everything except champagne including an additional 16 whiskeys and 11 gins! If you stick with the basic package you can buy individual drinks from the premium range. Spirits are 40ml measure and free mixers

IMO the entertainment teams on Marella have been better than P&O because they are more talented. The team on Explorer is provided by TED and the shows they provided are apparently impressive.

The main dining rooms on Marella all have freedom dining, turn up and request your table size, if one is not available they give you a pager.

Dining on Explorer, you are in for a treat!

Latitude 53 - the MDR free with waiter service, breakfast , lunch and dinner - free

Vista - co located with the MDR and has Italian menu waiter service in the evening -free

The Market Place - the buffet - free

The Mediterranean - Pizza, Tapas, Pasta - mix of free and pay with waiter service

Snack Shack - grab and go for breakfast and lunch plus snacks - free

Scoops - Ice cream - pay for or free in the market place at lunchtime

Surf and Turf steakhouse - cover charge reservation required

Kora La - eastern fusion cover charge reservation required

Umi Sushi - cover charge reservation

The Dining Club - high end cuisine - cover charge and reservations. the 8 course meal with matched drinks is popular!

Thanks Dave, good info.....We like a wide range of entertainment but I may have mentioned earlier.....We have walked out on the "Headliners" before on more than one P&O ship!