Reports of ex-U.K. sailings finishing in Summer 2020

[Colbrit]

Reading on FB- there has been chatter that Marella has confirmed to people that they won’t be doing any ex-UK sailings in summer 2021. I’m not aware of the reasons why.

 

Should this be the case - can we play the guessing game of where the ships will be based that summer? Are we to expect new destinations/base or are we to interpret one of the ships being retired?

 

 

[campolady]

6 hours ago, Colbrit said:

Reading on FB- there has been chatter that Marella has confirmed to people that they won’t be doing any ex-UK sailings in summer 2021. I’m not aware of the reasons why.

 

Should this be the case - can we play the guessing game of where the ships will be based that summer? Are we to expect new destinations/base or are we to interpret one of the ships being retired?

 

 

Hope they bring back the Malaga departures.  Wouldn't be surprised to see either Celebration or Dream, leave the fleet.

 

[davecttr]

It is only chatter and they have done this before and reinstated them later. Six ships based in the med for the summer season is too many anyway. They currently have 5 and I think that is pushing it. I hope it does not happen because I love Norway etc.

 

IIRC the chatter I read came from a travel agent source

[so,ton saint]

8 hours ago, Colbrit said:

Reading on FB- there has been chatter that Marella has confirmed to people that they won’t be doing any ex-UK sailings in summer 2021. I’m not aware of the reasons why.

 

Should this be the case - can we play the guessing game of where the ships will be based that summer? Are we to expect new destinations/base or are we to interpret one of the ships being retired?

 

 

 

Hi colbrit

it,s confusing when the port of Tyne have had new facilities put in place for marella

baggage drop of  taking 1,000 cases drop and park for 380 cars,or would it be CMV looking for three more ship for the UK market,every other cruise from Southampton this year has been the baltics or north cape , and 2020  P&O IONA doing 17 cruises to the fjords, next year so who knows, i will stick my neck out Marella will put a ship into Valleta Malta.

[SausPud]

The port taxes on the UK is the reason these rumours occur in the first place.

It costs a cruise line more for a British Isle cruise than the med or Caribbean. So it looks cheaper to fly abroad than see Blighty.

Hence more Scotland and Ireland stops than England. 

 

So a UK cruise in 2020 could cost the same as a Med cruise that includes flights. All depends where you want to go on holiday.

[davecttr]

2 hours ago, so,ton saint said:

 

Hi colbrit

it,s confusing when the port of Tyne have had new facilities put in place for marella

baggage drop of  taking 1,000 cases drop and park for 380 cars,or would it be CMV looking for three more ship for the UK market,every other cruise from Southampton this year has been the baltics or north cape , and 2020  P&O IONA doing 17 cruises to the fjords, next year so who knows, i will stick my neck out Marella will put a ship into Valleta Malta.

Apparently P&O may be replacing Oceana with Ventura for Malta based cruises which is logical because Ventura is larger with more facilities and Oceana has the least facilities of any P&O ship. IMO the Marella Discoveries and Explorers outclass her.

 

IMO Marella have a problem with Naples as a home port, the airport just can't handle the flights.

 

If Marella pull the UK cruises I will have to use another cruise line as I like a Norway cruise each year and two in the med is too many.

[so,ton saint]

7 minutes ago, davecttr said:

Apparently P&O may be replacing Oceana with Ventura for Malta based cruises which is logical because Ventura is larger with more facilities and Oceana has the least facilities of any P&O ship. IMO the Marella Discoveries and Explorers outclass her.

 

IMO Marella have a problem with Naples as a home port, the airport just can't handle the flights.

 

If Marella pull the UK cruises I will have to use another cruise line as I like a Norway cruise each year and two in the med is too many.

 

 

 

Would a grand class cruise ship like Ventura be to big for Venice.

[Colbrit]

3 hours ago, so,ton saint said:

 

Hi colbrit

it,s confusing when the port of Tyne have had new facilities put in place for marella

baggage drop of  taking 1,000 cases drop and park for 380 cars,or would it be CMV looking for three more ship for the UK market,every other cruise from Southampton this year has been the baltics or north cape , and 2020  P&O IONA doing 17 cruises to the fjords, next year so who knows, i will stick my neck out Marella will put a ship into Valleta Malta.

Interesting Valleta - it ties in with the flying as TUI uses this for flying in the summer. How about Venice? TUI fly into this gateway in the summer. If they pull out of Naples.

There is obviously some sharing of knowledge with TUI Cruises and they had a Far East and Dubai programme before Marella did. They have a different model though as they base their ships in German ports for the summer to do North East Europe Fjords Baltic's. 

I was hoping a North American programme before the ship progresses to the Caribbean for the winter.

[nancyneptune]

12 hours ago, SausPud said:

The port taxes on the UK is the reason these rumours occur in the first place.

It costs a cruise line more for a British Isle cruise than the med or Caribbean. So it looks cheaper to fly abroad than see Blighty.

Hence more Scotland and Ireland stops than England. 

 

So a UK cruise in 2020 could cost the same as a Med cruise that includes flights. All depends where you want to go on holiday.

 

 

Hence more Scotland and Ireland stops than England ?

[SausPud]

6 minutes ago, nancyneptune said:

 

 

Hence more Scotland and Ireland stops than England ?

Cheaper than England ports.

[nancyneptune]

12 hours ago, SausPud said:

Cheaper than England ports.

 

 

If Scottish and Irish ports are cheaper it is not like Marella not to use them.

 

The Celebration and the Spirit used to dock at Leith, Edinburgh and Greenock.   On the Iceland cruise this year the Explorer is bypassing Edinburgh and going straight from Newcastle to Invergordon. 

The sail up the west coast of Scotland from Greenock is beautiful.  Jane McDonald in an interview on TV said it was her favourite out of all the itineraries on her show. Yet Marella have dropped it. Why ?

 

Quote from a newspaper June 28th 2019:

 

" Scotland's booming cruise passenger total is expected to reach 1 million next year, nearly a decade ahead of previous forecasts.

The prediction came as one of the world's newest cruise ships paid it's maiden visit to Edinburgh.

More than 900 passengers who arrived in Newhaven on board Viking Jupiter will help swell Scotland's total to at least 920,000 this year.

The industry body said the annual growth rate of over 15 % would see the total of 1 million in 2020, nine years ahead of past expectations "

 

Marella will lose a lot of loyal customers next year as CMV and FO increase their sailings from Scottish ports to the Baltic, Scandinavia, Iceland, the UK and Ireland.

 

Another bad decision from Marella if they discontinue their cruises from the UK. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 18, 2019 by nancyneptune

[davecttr]

3 hours ago, nancyneptune said:

 

 

If Scottish and Irish ports are cheaper it is not like Marella not to use them.

 

The Celebration and the Spirit used to dock at Leith, Edinburgh and Greenock.   On the Iceland cruise this year the Explorer is bypassing Edinburgh and going straight from Newcastle to Invergordon. 

The sail up the west coast of Scotland from Greenock is beautiful.  Jane McDonald in an interview on TV said it was her favourite out of all the itineraries on her show. Yet Marella have dropped it. Why ?

 

Quote from a newspaper June 28th 2019:

 

" Scotland's booming cruise passenger total is expected to reach 1 million next year, nearly a decade ahead of previous forecasts.

The prediction came as one of the world's newest cruise ships paid it's maiden visit to Edinburgh.

More than 900 passengers who arrived in Newhaven on board Viking Jupiter will help swell Scotland's total to at least 920,000 this year.

The industry body said the annual growth rate of over 15 % would see the total of 1 million in 2020, nine years ahead of past expectations "

 

Marella will lose a lot of loyal customers next year as CMV and FO increase their sailings from Scottish ports to the Baltic, Scandinavia, Iceland, the UK and Ireland.

 

Another bad decision from Marella if they discontinue their cruises from the UK. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

News to me. Explorer is going from Newcastle to Kirkwall and then on to Iceland

[nancyneptune]

2 hours ago, davecttr said:

News to me. Explorer is going from Newcastle to Kirkwall and then on to Iceland

 

 

Apologies Dave.  Explorer is indeed going from Newcastle, missing Edinburgh and on to Kirkwall before arriving in Iceland in 2019. 

 

Explorer 2 goes from Newcastle to Invergordon  in 2020.

 

Are you on this cruise Dave ?

[davecttr]

Yes, the Kirkwall one, hoping to do a lot of whale watching

[Eglesbrech]

10 hours ago, davecttr said:

Yes, the Kirkwall one, hoping to do a lot of whale watching

You are also likely to see whales on the sail into Akyurari.

 

 

[nancyneptune]

11 hours ago, davecttr said:

Yes, the Kirkwall one, hoping to do a lot of whale watching

 

Sounds great Dave. Enjoy !

[SummmerInKefalonia]

On 7/17/2019 at 1:46 PM, davecttr said:

Apparently P&O may be replacing Oceana with Ventura for Malta based cruises which is logical because Ventura is larger with more facilities and Oceana has the least facilities of any P&O ship. IMO the Marella Discoveries and Explorers outclass her.

 

IMO Marella have a problem with Naples as a home port, the airport just can't handle the flights.

 

If Marella pull the UK cruises I will have to use another cruise line as I like a Norway cruise each year and two in the med is too many.

Actually Oceana will be replaced with Azura in 2021.

Edited July 21, 2019 by SummmerInKefalonia