Just back of Discovery 2 - First Marella Cruise - Review

[Dinglebert]

Just flown back from Palma.   This will be brief.  I had concerns about our Marella Cruise with a thought that perhaps it would be a down market cruise compared to our previous ones.  I could not have been more wrong. 

 

We had probably our best ever cruise (apart from our first which was Rhapsody so no surprise in liking the ship).  The port stops were excellent (and frankly far far cheaper for the official tours than any of the other lines but still to the same quality).  The food was good, the all inclusive drinks were quickly served.

 

Staff appeared far happier than on our RCI July cruise.  There also seemed to be the correct ratio of staff to cruisers.  The entertainment was OK apart from the final night where it was stunning.

 

We are definately fans of the "smaller" ships.  Having now done a couple of the RCI big ones they are not for us.  Just too many people.  I enjoyed the fact we saw the same people around the ship.  I enjoyed that everyone without exception were friendly and happy to chat about their day.   We tried for the first time the ballroom classes.   We started rubbish and ended just bad so an improvement.  We also provided entertainment for those watching and people would come up later of an evening to say we saw you.  We did meet a great group while doing the ballroom most nearly as good as us.   It was just plain enjoyable to enjoy a drink after and occasionally share a meal.

 

The other thing we did this time as we didn't  have the kids with us was join bigger tables.  Marella were good in that it was a different table each time.  All very friendly.

 

Missing the heat already.   Now looking to book another Marella for next year. 

[Pensioncruiser]

Thanks for your review, pleased you enjoyed your first cruise with Marella 😎

[Martha1974]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We are considering Marcella for a cruise with friends (we’ve cruised before but just the two of us, not in company) and had similar concerns - it sounds like they may be unfounded. 

[davecttr]

1 hour ago, Martha1974 said:

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We are considering Marcella for a cruise with friends (we’ve cruised before but just the two of us, not in company) and had similar concerns - it sounds like they may be unfounded. 

Marcella might not want to cruise 😉

 

Marella is a interesting name which surprised many when they changed from Thomson. Apparently it is a girls name in Ireland and is Star of the Sea or Shining Sea

[Alamo16584]

Hi, looking to book our 1st cruise & love your review, wondered if you could answer couple queries?

Dress code for dining & cost of off-ship excursions, we have watched couple youtube videos & food looks hotel all-inclusive standard, would you agree?

[davecttr]

The evening dress code is smart casual and they have one 'dress to impress' night per week. For this acceptable dress for men range from dinner jackets, suits or even just smart casual. I wear a fancy collared shirt, dark chinos and dark shoes. It is more relaxed than the formal nights on other cruise lines but lots of people will still make an effort. Off ship excursion prices can vary a lot. The problem is the prices are not obvious until you book the cruise. You can book them before you go or onboard. There are several free restaurants aboard plus some pay for ones. You won't starve. The basic drinks package is included in the fare and IMO and is pretty comprehensive. There is a premium package for £70 per week which gets you everything except bottles of wine. You can buy that onboard and even on the second day at a cheaper price so you don't have to decide before you go.

 

I will check out some excursion prices for my next cruise

[davecttr]

edit - the excursion prices for my Canaries Island cruise range from about £17 to £54 pp.

 

The 2 main evening pay for restaurants are Surf&Turf for £26 and Kora La pan Asian for £22. 

[jaxw17]

5 hours ago, Alamo16584 said:

Hi, looking to book our 1st cruise & love your review, wondered if you could answer couple queries?

Dress code for dining & cost of off-ship excursions, we have watched couple youtube videos & food looks hotel all-inclusive standard, would you agree?

Food not as good as other cruise lines especially in the buffet

 

[davecttr]

1 hour ago, jaxw17 said:

Food not as good as other cruise lines especially in the buffet

 

In your opinion. In my opinion just as good as P&O and the buffet in just fine with more varied choice and salad options are better than P&O

[Alamo16584]

8 hours ago, davecttr said:

edit - the excursion prices for my Canaries Island cruise range from about £17 to £54 pp.

 

The 2 main evening pay for restaurants are Surf&Turf for £26 and Kora La pan Asian for £22. 

Thanks, it's the med cruise that includes Rome etc that we are looking at for 1st one. I'm sure it will be a blast 

[Dinglebert]

12 hours ago, jaxw17 said:

Food not as good as other cruise lines especially in the buffet

 

Interesting.  We found the food to be far better than our Royal cruise in the summer.   In itself that says more about Royal than Marella as the standard on Royal was far poorer than our previous Royal cruises.  It may have related to having less crew onboard.

 

We had no issues with the food.  The excursions were a lot cheaper than both P+O and Royal.

[jaxw17]

On 10/29/2022 at 9:11 PM, davecttr said:

In your opinion. In my opinion just as good as P&O and the buffet in just fine with more varied choice and salad options are better than P&O

We had just come of Princess two weeks before and the buffet was far superior. I don't do P and O have twice in the past but not keen