Marella Christmas 24 Cruise : Caribbean v Asia

[coachman8]

Hi all, my wife and I are looking to book a cruise over this Christmas and New Year and have enjoyed multiple cruises with Marella and enjoy everything about them. We have been on all the current ships, so are happy with the ships but can’t decide if to head to the Caribbean or Asia and would love to hear your thoughts and experiences if you have travelled with Marella at Xmas to either destination.

We are in our early 50’s , but aren’t the most adventurous types. Port visits for us are normally a scheduled Marella excursion or a stroll around the port area to stretch our legs, look at the local area before getting back on board. Our holidays are about seeing new places but without a rucksack and map !

 

We cruised on Discovery last summer on the planned USA/Caribbean itinerary but had the ill fated engine issue and spent 5 days in Amber Cove before returning back to Florida.

 

So I’m asking for shared thoughts on the places you see, the culture and experiences positive and negative on both different areas. They both seem similarly priced and dates etc, so unsure which way to go.

 

Last question - We haven’t flown premium before and wonder if people think the extra cost is justified against normal/extra leg room seats and if you had to choose between a balcony and premium flights, which would you go for ?
 

Many thanks in advance, I know cruisers love to share their opinions and experiences and guide anyone new in certain areas so would welcome your thoughts.

 

Ian/Mandy.

[Manchester is blue]

Firstly, In my opinion, if it’s a choice between a balcony or premium flights, I’d take a balcony cabin, particularly given the cruise you are considering are in warm weather environments. Premium seats on the Dreamliner are very nice, although they last only for the duration of the flight, wheres

as a balcony that you can enjoy for two weeks, to me, is a better way to spend your cash.

You should understand that Far East ports are often very far away from the destinations you want to visit and can involve very lengthy coach transfers. This does allow for a spot of sightseeing from your bus windows, but it’s worthy of note as this May feed into your decision making. 
Just to throw a curve ball in, have you looked at Fred Olsens offerings over Xmas. Up into the arctic, sailing from UK ports? May be of interest??

Which ever you choose, hope you enjoy. 

Edited January 21 by Manchester is blue

[Pensioncruiser]

6 hours ago, coachman8 said:

Hi all, my wife and I are looking to book a cruise over this Christmas and New Year and have enjoyed multiple cruises with Marella and enjoy everything about them. We have been on all the current ships, so are happy with the ships but can’t decide if to head to the Caribbean or Asia and would love to hear your thoughts and experiences if you have travelled with Marella at Xmas to either destination.

We are in our early 50’s , but aren’t the most adventurous types. Port visits for us are normally a scheduled Marella excursion or a stroll around the port area to stretch our legs, look at the local area before getting back on board. Our holidays are about seeing new places but without a rucksack and map !

 

We cruised on Discovery last summer on the planned USA/Caribbean itinerary but had the ill fated engine issue and spent 5 days in Amber Cove before returning back to Florida.

 

So I’m asking for shared thoughts on the places you see, the culture and experiences positive and negative on both different areas. They both seem similarly priced and dates etc, so unsure which way to go.

 

Last question - We haven’t flown premium before and wonder if people think the extra cost is justified against normal/extra leg room seats and if you had to choose between a balcony and premium flights, which would you go for ?
 

Many thanks in advance, I know cruisers love to share their opinions and experiences and guide anyone new in certain areas so would welcome your thoughts.

 

Ian/Mandy.

Hi I&M can't help with the Christmas thing but what a great dilemma to have with flight/cabin issues, at your age cabin upgrade is favourite every time, we found later on that, fortunately we could afford both and I can certainly recommend premium flight and a JS at the stern on discovery and D2 hope you have a great cruise.👍

[insidecabin]

Caribbean cruises are relatively easy plentiful and often cheap.

 

Far East is more bucket list but is a very intense itinerary something to do while you can.

 

For us inside cabin and regular seats more budget for tours.

[pennib]

We are all different!! We have done multiple Caribbean Christmas cruises with P&O and Celebrity. Wouldn’t even consider a Christmas cruise in either east or west unless we had a balcony cabin and PE on the plane. Love both directions but if I had to choose, it would be east for preference. We have done the Caribbean to death!! Someone has suggested looking at Fred for Christmas in the arctic. Are they having a laugh? Surely you go away from the UK in the winter to get away from cold??? Anyway, if you want cold and the arctic, we would recommend Alaska for a week from Vancouver and they take you up to the northern territories. 
happy cruising!!

 

 

 

 

 

[suech1970]

Flying out on our 1st Far East cruise tomorrow. Here’s what I know so far…

Indonesian visa was absolute nightmare to get on line, took me 10 days of trying and a lot of stress. A lot of our roll call had probs.

Found excursions were definitely well over priced. We are sailing NCL so you might be Ok with Marella.

Getting info on certain ports of call  for transfer/ tours/ prices etc. hard.

Malaysian arrival card was also nightmare, still not got that sorted yet!

4 currencies to take. 
 

All negatives pre travel but I may forget  this when these places totally blow me away, here’s hoping.

Caribbean…book it, rock up with us$ in your pocket and your away. Never gets old or less beautiful 

[Manchester is blue]

Someone has suggested Alaska for Christmas. Are they having a laugh? Having done Alaska numerous times and become bored with its tiresome commercialisation, one would have though Christmas would be a time to escape all of that… I’m confident you’ll find Norway a far more relaxing and in fact prettier environment should you choose a cold weather escape.

Happy cruising 😁

 

[suech1970]

Back from our 1st Far East cruise and it was worth every bit of hassle pre cruise.

Every day was a pinch me moment! Every place we went was better than any photos! Except Jakarta.

Bumped into Marella cruisers in Singapore, they said they were having a blast too.

Definitely a more active cruise, sometimes to the point of collapse, with the heat and humidity compared to Caribbean. However we did feel like we should see and do everything as we may not return. Turns out now we probably will🙄.

Hard choice to make, 2 very different cruises IMO.

[cosytoes]

We have been Xmas with Marella to Caribbean 2019 and Marella Asia Dec 2023. Both great cruises but so different, if you want to chill out and potter around on your own then go for the Caribbean, if you want to see some fabulous parts of the world, different sights and cultures then go for Asia. 

I was worried about being ill in Asia but all went well, and there are plenty of sea days to chill and the cruise is not so many ports as Caribbean.      

Marella have two ships in Caribbean from Barbados both very similar itineraries. It looks like the cruise from Jamaica stop running March 2024. Shame as some great places. 

[Zeryx]

My daughter was on the ill fated cruise last year too.

 

We were on Discovery 2 for Christmas and New Year 2023/2024 in the Far East. 

 

It's a good cruise, but it's not a relaxing one and travelling to counties that do not celebrate Christmas. The first week was all go and we did some great trips. The second week involved more sea days which meant we only had 2 ports (apart from Singapore) that week. 

 

We did private tours with a local company in Langkawi and from Port Klang which were far better that any offered by Marella (the covered multiple Marella trips for less £). In Laem Chabang we also did our own thing and a group of us (who met via the ship's Facebook group) booked a private transfer to an elephant sanctuary. 

 

Would I do it again? Probably, but not at Christmas ... although there was Christmas on the ship we were in port on Christmas day and when off the ship it was just any other day off the year. 

 

I would recommend the Christmas and New Year cruise around the Canaries and Maderia though ... Christmas is amazing there and the new year fireworks in Funchal are amongst the best 5 in the world!