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An in-depth assessment of the Marella Explorer cruise ship from TUI – together with cabin opinions.
Lazing in a hammock on my balcony, watching the silky blue sea glide by. Dinner with the right view of the solar setting over the ocean. Unwinding in a sauna with large home windows, watching volcanic islands slip by as we sailed away from Santorini…
Just some fleeting recollections from a wonderful week aboard the Marella Explorer – simply one of many most enjoyable holidays I’ve had in a very long time!
This was my first cruise with Marella Cruises. I’ve all the time been a fan of TUI so I used to be excited to see what their cruise firm is perhaps like – they usually didn’t disappoint.
Relaxed | Reasonably priced | Social
The vibe is simply what you’d anticipate from TUI: relaxed, enjoyable and social, with a giant deal with leisure. It’s additionally very reasonably priced – the cruise packages embrace flights and transfers and are all-inclusive as customary (together with drinks).
In contrast with extra luxurious cruise traces, the costs are fairly cheap – as are the non-compulsory add-ons like premium drinks, spa therapies and excursions. Marella Cruises gives wonderful worth for cash together with nice service and an excellent cruising expertise.
I did the Aegean Shores itinerary: eight days cruising round Greece and Turkey, stopping at Corfu, Crete, Santorini, Kusadasi, Athens and Kefalonia.
Assume sizzling, lazy days by the pool, hopping off the boat to discover picturesque Greek villages and Athens’ vibrant metropolis centre, coming again to chill off within the saltwater pool on the highest deck or to loosen up within the beautiful spa.
If that seems like your concept of a dream vacation, learn on for a full, detailed assessment of the Marella Explorer ship, with pictures and a balcony cabin assessment.
DISCLAIMER: My journey was supported by Marella Cruises, however all phrases, pictures, and opinions on this assessment are my very own and are unbiased.
Marella Explorer Evaluation
Earlier than I crack on with my full assessment, listed here are a number of details in regards to the Marella Explorer to introduce the ship:
- Visitor Capability: 1,924
- Variety of Crew: 909
- Size: 262.5m (861 ft)
- Beam (Width): 32.2m (105 ft)
- Tonnage: 76,998 GRT
- Variety of Decks: 13
The professionals of reserving a TUI package deal
The factor I favored finest about my Marella Cruise was that it was a package deal vacation. This meant every little thing was booked collectively: flights, transfers, port charges, the all-inclusive cruise – even ideas, that are included within the cruise charge. The value you see marketed is the whole you pay – SO EASY!
I flew with TUI from Bournemouth to Corfu, the place Marella Cruises workers had been ready proper exterior baggage declare and once more exterior the exit to direct me to the switch. A coach took us to the cruise port, the place we had been met by one other TUI rep who defined the boarding course of. In the meantime, I left my suitcase on the bus and it was taken on to my cabin for me.
The entire expertise was tremendous clean – and I significantly cherished the welcome letter ready on the switch coach, which outlined a number of key elements of what to anticipate. Good in your first time cruising.
High tip: be sure to add baggage tags or depart the airline baggage labels in your suitcases so they’re taken straight to your room for you onboard.
The package deal ingredient actually paid off on the best way dwelling. My flight dwelling was a kind of hit by the loopy CrowdStrike/Microsoft IT outage – however as a result of it was a TUI flight, the cruise coordinated with the airport and saved us all onboard the ship for a number of further hours till issues had been settled. A lot better ready within the ship’s A/C, having fun with a number of extra free drinks, than hanging round exterior the airport in 38-degree warmth. Thanks, Marella!
Marella Explorer Cabin Critiques
There are 962 cabins onboard the Marella Explorer, together with a number of put aside particularly for solo travellers. These are the completely different sorts of cabins accessible:
- Inside Cabin: 16m2. These are essentially the most reasonably priced cabins; they’re on the inside and don’t have any home windows.
- Exterior Cabin: 17m2. These include a porthole or image window.
- Household Inside Cabin: 19m2. These cabins sleep as much as 5 and have a sliding door partition.
- Balcony Cabin: 17m2. Features a queen mattress and a settee mattress – plus a furnished non-public balcony.
- Balcony Cabin (Massive Balcony): 16m2. Identical as above – with a barely greater balcony.
- Household Balcony Cabin with Suite Service*: 20m2. Features a double mattress, a settee mattress and a fold-down mattress (and some extra perks).
- Balcony Junior Suite Cabin with Suite Service*: 22m2. Sleeps three with a queen mattress and a settee mattress.
- Govt Suite Cabin with Suite Service*: 49m2. Sleeps 4, with a settee mattress and a set queen-size mattress – plus a furnished balcony.
- Single Exterior or Inside Cabin: these are precisely the identical because the common cabins, however have been put aside particularly for solo cruisers.
*Suite Service: cabins function a espresso machine, slippers, a dressing robe, upgraded toiletries and a pillow menu. You additionally get one continental breakfast in mattress per individual per week, and a free urgent service for as much as three objects.
Balcony Cabin (Massive Balcony)
I stayed in one of many Massive Balcony Cabins on Deck 9. It was a surprisingly massive room and was very well designed to maximise the area, with a great deal of storage – together with area below the mattress for my suitcase.
The primary spotlight of the room is, after all, the balcony. These bigger balconies are nice in order for you numerous quiet chill time. They arrive with a small desk and chairs, a solar lounger, and a hammock: the right spot for lazing about watching the world go by!
There was loads of storage, together with two wardrobes and a tall cabinet with cabinets, drawer area, and a small secure. There’s additionally a mini fridge, a desk with drawers, and two bedside tables with drawers. Above the fridge, you get a kettle with tea and occasional provides topped up every day.
The en-suite lavatory, whereas very compact, didn’t really feel too small. Ship bathe cubicles are often fairly slim and the Marella isn’t any exception, in order that’s the one draw back. There have been cabinets, storage space, and a big countertop across the sink – loads of room for the extreme quantities of toiletries I all the time appear to pack!
One factor to notice is that the mattress is extra like a foldaway mattress, so the mattress was fairly agency and wasn’t the comfiest on this planet. It wasn’t uncomfortable, both: simply OK.
The decor was easy and impartial: cream partitions, brown carpets, and plenty of light-coloured wooden. If I’m being sincere, it felt a teensy bit boring – however the view from the large balcony doorways greater than made up for it. The cabin was sensible, comfy and spacious – it didn’t must be fancy (particularly since I used to be hardly in it!).
VIDEO: Click on right here to look at my cabin tour on Instagram
Actions and Services
There are SO many actions and services to take pleasure in onboard the Marella Explorer. Plus, there’s leisure on all through many of the day and night time, so that you’ll by no means discover time to be bored!
Swimming pools & Sunbathing Areas
Deck 11 is the pool deck: a reasonably large area with a great deal of solar loungers over two ranges, surrounding a fairly sized pool on the centre.
Though it’s formally one swimming pool, it’s extra like two smaller swimming pools subsequent to one another. They’re each fairly deep and have a roomy, ankle-deep shallow space operating across the edge so you possibly can sit along with your legs within the water. They’re full of chilly saltwater – which was scrumptious within the 35°C+ Greek warmth!
Subsequent to the pool are three sizzling tubs. These are raised up somewhat so that you get some privateness whilst you’re in them. It was too sizzling for me to wish to use them most days, however could be nice in case you had been cruising in a cooler local weather.
Be warned, the primary pool space get fairly busy, particularly on days if you’re at sea and within the afternoons (when individuals begin coming back from their shore excursions). I discovered mornings and late afternoons (after 5pm) to be the very best instances for swimming.
There’s additionally loads of sunbathing area away from the pool – a number of of the decks had exterior area with sunloungers alongside the edges or rear (aft) of the ship. And up on the very prime deck, Deck 14, you have got The Veranda: a peaceable, adults-only Solar Deck with plush padded solar loungers… PERFECT if you wish to get away from the crowded chaos of the pool.
Gymnasium, Sports activities and Recreation Services
Sports activities and recreation services onboard are restricted (maybe as a result of the Marella Explorer is aimed in direction of adults quite than households). However there’s a superb health club, and some enjoyable sports activities choices (see the checklist beneath). Regardless of really packing my health club gear for a change, I solely made it into the health club lengthy sufficient to take the above picture – but it surely regarded good!
- Absolutely outfitted health club with floor-to-ceiling home windows for a exercise with a view.
- Jogging monitor – a circuit round Deck 12 (go early, earlier than they put the deck chairs out as these get in the best way). 11 laps = 1 mile.
- Sports activities Courtroom – for basketball or mini-football.
- Minigolf – a seven-hole placing course overlooking the ocean.
- Desk tennis – on the Household Deck on Deck 12.
Ocean Spa
Arms down my FAVOURITE a part of the Marella Explorer was the Ocean Spa. It is a large spa space with two saunas, three steam rooms, heated leisure beds, foot baths, an ice-bucket bathe, and extra.
The perfect half? The large sauna with floor-to-ceiling home windows looking to sea. This was particularly nice throughout the night, once we sailed away from port every day. There’s nothing fairly like enjoyable in a sauna while having fun with a front-row view of Greek islands gliding previous!
I assumed the worth of the spa was very cheap: I paid £99 for 7 days of limitless entry. The spa is open 8am-10pm so you will get a number of use out of that! And you will get an excellent higher deal when booked with a remedy.
There’s an ideal remedy menu with an enormous vary of magnificence and wellness choices. Once more, the costs had been surprisingly cheap, particularly in case you guide certainly one of their particular gives. I handled myself to a foot package deal which included a scrub, masks, foot therapeutic massage and scalp therapeutic massage for £59. I additionally had a 75-minute sizzling stone therapeutic massage which I HIGHLY suggest – excellent after a protracted day exploring.
Different Services
Indigo On line casino – a small on line casino with slot machines and card tables, tucked behind Indigo Bar. I’m not a gambler, so I steered clear, but it surely regarded prefer it had a enjoyable ambiance.
Broad Road retailers – There’s a surprisingly giant vary of outlets onboard the Marella Explorer the place you possibly can benefit from duty-free procuring at sea. Anticipate purses, sun shades, jewelry, watches, and fragrance – in addition to a number of high-street manufacturers. There’s additionally a small store promoting necessities like shampoo, excellent in case you’ve forgotten one thing.
Cinema – I by no means watched a film right here, as I all the time watched the reside leisure throughout the night. It was a decent-sized cinema and there have been often two showings a day, with a family-friendly possibility within the daytime (nice if it is advisable get the youngsters out of the solar for a few hours).
Photograph Studio & Kiosks – There have been photographers at varied spots all through the ship able to snap your pic in case you wished. However there’s additionally a studio on Deck 6 the place you will get an expert photoshoot. Not my cup of tea – however could be nice for a honeymoon. I did, nevertheless, pose for a photograph with Captain Alan – which ended up trying like an engagement picture! I cherished that TUI’s Navigate app used AI face recognition to robotically discover any pictures of me – making it straightforward to view them.
Marella Explorer Leisure Evaluation
Broadway Present Lounge: A full-sized theatre with a distinct manufacturing each night time – from musicals to comedians. The reveals and performers had been unimaginable – I used to be blown away by the 2 I watched. Be sure you catch Full Swing if it’s on throughout your cruise – pure Nineteen Thirties fabulousness.
Motion pictures by Moonlight: Alfresco movies on the pool deck after darkish, with sizzling chocolate and popcorn available. Good in order for you a extra chilled night.
Reside Music: There have been additionally reside musicians at a number of venues throughout the ship every night time. Once more, these performers are so proficient – and there’s a unbelievable combine to go well with all tastes. The Lounge and Indigo Bar are the very best locations to move for this.
Pub Enjoyable: After darkish, there have been additionally recreation reveals and pub quizzes on the onboard pub, the Squid and Anchor. These had been simply the suitable mix of difficult and holiday-park-cheesy enjoyable – I had a blast dropping spectacularly on the quiz night time!
Different Leisure: In the course of the day, there was common poolside leisure (suppose trivia video games, aqua aerobics and pool events). In actual fact, it was so frequent it was virtually somewhat annoying – however many of the different visitors appeared to adore it so it’s doable I’m only a grump!!
Marella Explorer Meals Evaluation
With regards to eating on the Marella Explorer, you’re spoilt for selection. There are tons of various choices and most of them are included in your all-inclusive package deal – together with some that you just may anticipate to pay further for.
All-Inclusive Eating places
Latitude 53: the primary eating room
That is the primary eating room on the Marella Explorer, unfold throughout two flooring on the again (aft) of the ship with wonderful ocean views from the floor-to-ceiling home windows. That is significantly particular round sundown!
The costume code is wise, however in contrast to different cruise traces, it’s not overly strict – suppose shirts, clothes, and no flip-flops.
Service was wonderful, and the home wines (these included with the all-inclusive) had been all nice. The meals was often fairly good, though I’ve to admit that among the mains had been a tiny bit bland – I believe they’re going for mass attraction quite than daring flavours. Nonetheless, I definitely by no means had a nasty meal on this restaurant and I cherished the vibe.
Vista: Italian delicacies
Vista is definitely a bit throughout the Latitude 53 eating room – so that you get the identical decor and beautiful sea views. However the menu focuses on Italian delicacies, so it’s nice in case you fancy one thing somewhat completely different.
I discovered the meals at Vista to be higher than in Latitude 53 – though which will merely be my private choice. Don’t miss the trio of mini tiramisus for dessert if it’s on the menu!
The Market Place: buffet restaurant
A reasonably bog-standard cruise ship buffet – open all day for breakfast, lunch, “afternoon tea” (muffins and snacks) and dinner. Splendid in case you want one thing fast & straightforward or don’t fancy dressing for dinner (the costume code is informal).
I wasn’t blown away by the meals right here, but it surely was respectable and there was an ideal choice, particularly at breakfast. I cherished the contemporary omelette station!
Snack Shack: poolside takeaway
Up on the pool deck, there’s a small takeaway joint serving up sizzling snacks like sizzling canines, burgers and hen wings. It’s nice for an informal lunch in case you don’t really feel like altering out of your swimwear – and the meals is all contemporary, sizzling, and really tasty!
The Mediterranean: Pizza, pasta and tapas
Behind the buffet restaurant, on the aft of the ship, is The Meditteranean – with seating each inside and outdoor. One half is Spanish tapas, the opposite half is Italian pizza and pasta.
Dinner is a la carte, with both tapas or Italian meals relying on which part you head to. You may as well pay an additional complement for “espetadas” (Portuguese-style meat skewers. In the course of the day, The Mediterranean additionally serves self-service lunches – and there’s a unbelievable bar with some distinctive cocktails.
Speciality Eating places (extra charge)
Along with all of the eating places talked about above, there are additionally 4 speciality eating places. These aren’t included within the all-inclusive package deal so it’s important to pay somewhat further to dine in a single – and it’s extremely beneficial to guide prematurely as they are often vastly in style.
I discovered these eating places to be extremely moderately priced contemplating how particular the meals is. For instance, Surf & Turf prices £31.95pp for 3 programs (and home wine by the glass remains to be all-inclusive) whereas Kora La is £26.95pp.
Surf & Turf Steakhouse: Steak and seafood. That is the one one of many speciality eating places I personally ate in, and it was undoubtedly the very best meal I had onboard so I’d extremely suggest it. Good for a special day, date night time, or simply an indulgent deal with.
Kora La: Pan-Asian delicacies spanning noodle dishes, curries, and extra.
Umi Sushi: An upscale sushi bar close to the again of the ship, serving conventional sushi and non-fish choices.
The Eating Membership: Tremendous high-end positive eating for one thing really particular.
Scoops – A small ice cream parlour on the pool deck – excellent on a sizzling day! One scoop prices £1.50 they usually’re beneficiant scoops, so once more, it’s very reasonably priced.
The Espresso Port – The onboard espresso store is included within the Premium Drinks Package deal or you possibly can pay as you go. You may get free tea and occasional within the eating places and buffet – however for speciality coffees (latte and so forth) you want the Espresso Port. Additionally they do some very tasty muffins and pastries.
Marella Explorer Bars
A fast run-down of all of the bars onboard the Marella Explorer – there are 9 to select from!
- The Lounge – a cool venue with every day reside music, a colour-changing bar, sizzling pink piano, and cool-looking ring seats.
- 53 – intimate bar space proper subsequent to Latitude 53. Splendid for pre-dinner drinks.
- Pool Bar – poolside drinks, together with frozen cocktails.
- The Shack – vibrant poolside bar proper above the Snack Shack.
- Bar @ The Mediterranean – wrapped across the Mediterranean restaurant with beautiful sea views from the out of doors terrace.
- Indigo Bar – the place to come back for fancy cocktails – together with margaritas served in a field of smoke. Chilled within the day, with panoramic sea views, and vibing after darkish with reside music and late-night discos on the membership (see beneath).
- Indigo Membership – a small nightclub behind Indigo Bar, with common silent discos!
- Aperitif – this fancy bar is correct exterior two of the preferred speciality eating places, so it’s nice for pre-dinner drinks.
- Squid & Anchor – Marella’s beloved pub at sea hosts quiz nights, gameshows and reside music.
Marella Explorer Shore Excursions Evaluation
Throughout my Aegean Shores cruise with Marella, I did two of their shore excursions: a wine-tasting and sightseeing tour in Crete, and a ship experience and volcano tour in Santorini (click on right here to look at a video of that one).
I discovered all of the excursions to be very moderately priced. Lots of the full-day actions had been across the £30-40 mark, and among the extra primary ones had been £12-20. I additionally favored that there was no pushy gross sales rhetoric attempting to persuade me to guide excursions – in case you want to remain on the ship, or discover by yourself, it’s fully as much as you.
Each the excursions I did had been very well organised. The day earlier than, I acquired a ticket in my cabin with the assembly place and time. On arrival, workers had been available to ship me to the related bus or boat.
We had skilled native guides for each who had been in a position to share a little bit of native historical past and – within the case of Santorini’s volcano – geography.
Particularly, I’d extremely suggest the Santorini Volcano tour. This concerned a ship experience in a wood tall ship throughout to the volcanic island, a brief hike up for a view of the caldera, and a fast pit cease to swim within the close by sizzling springs. It was a unbelievable time out and felt like a mini journey!
High tip: A bonus of reserving an tour is that the ship will await any delayed excursions. In case you’re exploring by yourself and also you’re late again for any purpose, the ship will sail with out you!
Marella Explorer Services for Households
Clearly, as a solo traveller, I didn’t want to make use of the Marella Explorer’s household services – however I took observe of what was accessible!
Though there have been plenty of households onboard, I’d say the Explorer was undoubtedly focused extra in direction of adults.
The Marella Discovery and Marella Discovery 2 have far more on provide for households – together with a climbing wall – in order that they is perhaps value a glance in case you’re travelling with children. That mentioned, there was nonetheless loads onboard the Explorer for households:
- Babytainment lessons – for teenagers below 3 (with parental supervision).
- M Membership – a children’ membership for ages 3-11 with a spread of acitivies.
- Cinema – there have been fairly a number of child’s movies exhibiting whereas I used to be on my cruise, often throughout the day. Plus Motion pictures by Moonlight on the pool deck, with popcorn and sizzling chocolate from the bar.
- Child’s Pool – there’s a small, shallow child’s pool with a mini slide on the rear (aft) of the ship. Every time I walked previous it was all the time a lot quieter than the primary pool and there are a number of solar loungers and tables on the close by deck.
- Household deck – the place you’ll discover the mini golf and sports activities courtroom.
Good to Know: The swimming pools on the Marella Explorer are fairly deep, however they do have ankle-deep shallow areas across the edges. In case you have small children I like to recommend bringing floatation units and supervising them within the pool.
Is the Marella Explorer Good for Solo Cruisers?
Though I’m a seasoned solo traveller, this was my first time taking a cruise by myself. I wasn’t certain what to anticipate – and I used to be somewhat apprehensive, particularly as I’d heard about travellers on different cruise traces being compelled to take a seat at a communal eating desk each night time whether or not they wished to or not.
However Marella Cruises does an ideal job at taking care of solo travellers. On arrival, I had a particular solo cruiser welcome letter in my cabin, inviting me to a particular lunch meet-up on the primary full day.
After that, there was a meetup each night earlier than dinner – and anybody who wished to might go for dinner collectively afterwards. So that you didn’t must dine alone (however you may in case you wished to). I ended up eating with the solo group each night time besides one, after I took myself for a solo “date night time” to the upgraded Surf & Turf restaurant.
After all, the group of solo travellers onboard will all the time be a combined bag. On my cruise, it was largely girls, and I used to be the youngest by about 20 years (everybody else was 60+). However we nonetheless had a good time and I cherished attending to know the group over the course of the week.
On prime of that, there have been a great deal of different methods to fulfill fellow cruisers via the every day actions and excursions. I’ll be doing a separate write-up of the entire expertise as a solo traveller, so keep tuned for that.
READ MORE: 7 Causes to Take a Cruise on Your Personal
Extra Information and FAQ
Is there WiFi on the Marella Explorer?
Sadly, there’s no free WiFi onboard the Marella Explorer. You should buy an web package deal when you get on board – these begin from £8 for an hour and go as much as £90 for 15 days. For a one-week cruise, the £49 8-day 1.6GB package deal might be essentially the most cost-effective.
In my expertise, the WiFi was fairly respectable. The sign wasn’t all the time tremendous sturdy, particularly at sea, but it surely was surprisingly good more often than not. I used to be in a position to put up Instagram Tales (together with movies) all through the journey, stream podcasts/music, and carry on prime of my emails – however I by no means tried it for streaming movies or downloading giant information.
High Tip: In case you want to not pay, you possibly can often discover free WiFi at bars and occasional retailers whilst you’re in port – helpful for saying in contact with individuals at dwelling.
What’s coated in Marella’s All-Inclusive package deal?
OK – that is the wonderful thing about Marella Cruises. All their ships are All-inclusive as customary, which incorporates all of the eating places I listed above.
Not like many cruise traces, which promote separate drinks packages (some costing £100 a day!!) the all-inclusive package deal covers an enormous variety of tender and alcoholic drinks as customary. This consists of wine, beer, some spirits, and a surprisingly respectable cocktail checklist (these differ from bar to bar). It’s all the time tremendous clear when a drink isn’t included and the waiter or bartender will inform you if one thing incurs an additional cost.
- Meals
- Drinks – fountain tender drinks (unbranded), mocktails, and primary teas and coffees.
- Alcoholic drinks
- All crew ideas
I’ve included some instance menus beneath to point out how lots of the cocktails are included within the all-inclusive. As you possibly can see, the premium drinks aren’t too dear both:
Is it value upgrading to the Premium All-Inclusive Package deal?
Actually, I’m not likely certain it’s. The Premium All-Inclusive package deal consists of virtually all of the drinks onboard (see beneath), together with speciality coffees on the Espresso Port. However I assumed the usual wines and beers had been nice, and there was an ideal vary of cocktails included. So you actually don’t have to improve until you need the additional freedom and selection.
- Most drinks from The Espresso Port
- Cans of soppy drinks (model title ones)
- Upgraded wine checklist
- Upgraded cocktails checklist
- Premium spirits like Bombay Sapphire, Jack Daniels and Absolut Vodka.
- Extra selection of whiskies, brandies and Cognacs.
Remaining Ideas
To sum up, I LOVED my week aboard the Marella Explorer. This ship is on the extra reasonably priced, much less luxurious, finish of the size – but it surely’s comfy, well-equipped, and full of services. These are, for my part, the primary promoting factors:
Relaxed
Pleasant however unfussy service, chilled-out vibes, a great deal of area for sunbathing, loads of bars, an AMAZING spa, and pretty relaxed costume codes within the eating areas (in contrast with among the high-end cruise traces).
Social
A great deal of actions all through the day, meet-ups for solo travellers, and loads of methods to fulfill individuals.
Reasonably priced
Good package deal offers, tons of drinks and eating choices coated within the all-inclusive package deal, cheap costs for the speciality eating places and the spa, and really moderately priced excursions. However all of the extras are non-compulsory and in no way essential to have a very good time – so you may simply spend per week aboard with out spending a penny greater than your cruise charge.
The factor I like finest about Marella Cruises is that they let you have got precisely the form of cruise you need. Not one of the actions felt “compelled” or obligatory. In case you wished to lounge by the pool all day consuming cocktails, that was completely allowed. However in case you wished to fill your days with aqua aerobics and trivia quizzes, there was all the time one thing occurring. There actually is one thing for everybody onboard.
So, there’s my assessment of the Marella Explorer. Hopefully, I’ve coated just about every little thing you may presumably wish to know in regards to the ship, however be at liberty to remark beneath when you have a query!