Read so many negative comments about the boat. Don't believe everything you read. Crew and staff 10/10 could not fault anyone Food 10/10 there was always something you could choose from. There was plenty of other restaurants you could easily have eaten in but we chose to eat in the minstrel restaurant or the lido buffet. Ship and decor 9)10 Yes it's old but such a lovely boat kept spotless clean and in good order. Entertainment . Broadway Theatre So professionally put together.The shows easily compared to any London stage show. Transfer excellent with no problems. Always giving excellent advise prior to landing. My one and only quibble would be. There's no espresso coffee available unless you wanted to pay a small charge. Which was still cheaper than Costa. Overall my wife and myself really enjoyed the cruise. In no way were we disappointed with anything. I can only reiterate. Don't believe anything negative until you have cruised on the Marella Dream Read Less

My first ever cruise, people telling me once I’d been on one I’d be hooked for life, I was there to be wowed and impressed. I did realise this was at the cheaper end of the cruise market, but as a long time TUI sensimar customer I still had high hopes and ignored comments about it being Butlins on sea. The boarding and transfer process all went well, and we found the overwhelming members of staff excellent. Yes the ship is dated, but our outside picture window cabin was surprisingly spacious, and cleaned twice a day. Most of the common areas were fine though the pools are not at all inviting. The meals were a mixed bag, breakfasts weren’t too bad, and the Orion Restaurant was of a reasonable quality. However the buffet meals in the Lido/Sirens restaurants were not so good. Everything looked appealing but most dishes were bland and tasteless, devoid of any seasoning or even salt n pepper. I recall what was described as Beef Vindaloo, yet it tasted like a casserole and could not even be described as a mild curry. Pasta dishes and many of the soups were also bereft of flavour. The entertainment was also a mixed bag, the 10 young people who form the Broadway team are highly professional as was the stand up comedian, however it’s a different story in the Medusa lounge where the Butlins reference emerges. Third rate Kareoke, childish quizzes, and worse of all encouraging people to do the Okey Cokey, having said that there were many stereotypical heavily tattooed lager swilling people who seemed to be enjoying it. Call me a snob, but this is far to Chavy for me Andy the reason I wouldn’t book again with Marella. Read Less

This was out 3rd time on the Dream and again we had a thoroughly great time. The captain and crew are extremely friendly and helpful.....nothing is to much trouble from having our cabin changed from double to twin beds,to 2 incidents with poorly passengers dealt with within minutes and bar staff remembering your special tipple.The ship maybe one of the older in the fleet but is one of one most friendliest I have been on. Food options in the Orion and both buffets restaurants offered appetizing and varied menus.Entertainment in the Broadway theatre was superb with great singers dancers and colourful costumes. Other bars had different entertainment according to your tastes. Our outside cabin on deck 7 was kept spotless and had plenty of space. Ports of call around the canaries is great at this time of year especially the island of la gomera which was a new destination for us....a gorgeous tiny island with traditional dancers in the town centre to greet us Would I do a repeat? Yes Read Less

Boarding the ship was fast & easy as we were nearly the last to arrive, having flown with tui from gatwick. the ship itself is ok, but is an old ship now & has seen better days (shall we say). The cabin was good & have no complaints about that & as usual the cabin stewardess was very good. however one very disappointing feature about the cabin was the tv, it should have had 4 or 5 news type channels, none worked at all the whole week. this was not just our cabin the whole ship had no satellite connection at all. The food was ok but at times was not that hot although using the orion waiter service dinning room every evening. no problems in getting wine refills on the all inclusive at the table. the gala night was a little disappointing not too many in formal dress & nothing different on the menu!! The entertainment, singers & dancers were as good as we have seen & this was out 27th cruise. the ports of call were ok except do not expect too much if you walk into arricife town in formentera. all in all just ok. Read Less

We chose this cruise as we wanted to go to the Canaries and could fly their direct from our local airport. The Marella Dream had just spent 10 days in dry dock and has just had a big refurbishment, including the bars and dining areas which had new carpets and chairs. It was still obvious it was an old ship with some rust around windows in particular showing. Generally the service was efficient and friendly. The standard of meals served in Orion (the waiter service restaurant) was of a high quality and well-presented with the no fixed time to dine which gave us flexibility to eat when it suited us. The standard of entertainment with the production shows was to a very high standard in the theatre. There was some live music in the evening, a duo a trio and party band. We paid extra to upgrade our all –inclusive drinks package and the choice of wine was very limited on the standard all-inclusive package (just a somewhat inferior house wine). The standard of meals in the buffet restaurants (Sirens and Lido) was quite acceptable although not outstanding and there were long queues at busy times which is often a problem with buffet restaurants. There was a shortage of drinks menus and no maps of the ship available at all. The staff were generally very friendly and helpful. We had a reasonable amount of time in the ports (although it was the Canaries and most of the islands are not very far from each other). We went with low expectations as I had understood the ship was quite run down but I saw little evidence of this now (apart from in a few places where it was showing its age). Read Less

This was our first cruise and picked a smaller ship to start with to see if we liked it Firstly the staff on board were amazing and couldn’t do enough for you , nothing was too much trouble. We had a inside cabin on deck 7 right at the back of the ship it was small but adequate as we weren’t going to be spending much time in it. The housekeeping staff were brilliant and cleaned the room twice a day x Food x plenty of choice lots of different areas to eat buffet style or an amazing sit down served restaurant which was excellent we ate there every evening The shows were excellent too I loved them we went every night and then we went to the waterfront late bar which had great singers on too All in all there was something for everyone on board and the people we met were so friendly x plenty of off ship excursions too we went to see pisa which was amazing x yes the ship is an older ship but was clean an comfortable x I read some reviews before we sailed and glad I didn’t listen as some people I think want to pay less money and expect all singing and dancing x if you expect 5 star you will have to pay more x Read Less

The Dream is a mid sized cruise ship about (1500 passengers and 642 crew), a little dated now but still very comfortable. This is the 5th Tomson/Marella cruise we have done and was the best cabin we have had on any of them. We chose the slightly more expensive 'extra with window' grade of cabin. It was quite roomy, had a decent sized bathroom and even had a small bath. The food in the Orion restaurant was excellent. This is the sit down and be served restaurant. We went there for most breakfast and evening meals. We went to the canteen restaurants for lunch and one evening meal. We were not overly impressed, although no shortage of choice, there was 'something' that didn't make it as good as other Marella ships we had been on??? The entertainment was quite excellent. We especially liked the Blue Brother tribute that the on board troupe performed. There was also a guest comic who did several turns and he was very good as well. We also went out on one of the bike tours that is run by a concession firm who operates from the ship. We chose the easiest one which was a 18 mile ride along the coast of Corsica We had a great time. There were bike rides in every port and some people did several. Service was excellent from all members of staff. It was also nice to not be badgered at all times of the day by staff trying to sell us more drink. We chose this cruise because it stopped at several places we had yet to visit. Highlights for us were, Herculaneum, Corsica and an unscheduled stop at Barcelona. Other ports visited were Rome, Sicily and Sorento. Lots of excursions at every port, fairly priced. Read Less

A little apprehensive having read some of the reviews about Marella Dream we went with realistic expectations as it is a well travelled ship and not new, just out of the shipyard. We were very very pleasantly surprised at what we experienced. Everything was squeaky clean, the crew and staff were there to make you feel valued and they did without exception. The food in the two buffet restaurants was ok, not brilliant, but in the Orion was very good with excellent choice. We even paid the little amount extra to eat in the 3 speciality restaurants and they were absolutely fabulous and well worth it. The standard all inclusive drinks package is also excellent, we couldn’t see why anyone would upgrade at huge cost as there were branded drinks in the standard one including in excess of 20 cocktails. Did a few excursions which if a little pricey we’re well organised and hassle free. We booked them before we went and one of them was not available on the day and we didn’t go to one port where we had one booked so I am hoping that the process for getting refunds is a smooth one. Entertainment was of a high standard with great variety and we loved listening to the resident New Generations band. We had one of the ten balcony cabins and honestly the price to upgrade to this was not worth it as the outside (and inside) looked absolutely fine. We were at the back of the ship which was close to the engines so if you can get a cabin further forward would suggest this. All in all an brilliant week and when compared to our previous cruise on P&O Ventura, we much preferred the smaller friendlier more personal service aspect of Marella Dream and would do another Marella cruise next time. Read Less

This was our 4th cruise. Our previous 3 cruises were with Royal Caribbean, and although we were reasonably happy with RC, we decided to give Marella cruises a try, because the price was good, and because they were going to ports we wanted to visit. We were a group of 6 people from 3 generations, all with inside cabins. We had the full board package rather than all inclusive, because we don’t drink very much and, at over £28pp per day, you would have to go some to get your money’s worth! Also, every person on the booking must buy the package, which is hardly fair when there are under 18s in the group. We flew from Edinburgh to Palma on Tuesday 9th Oct. Check in, flight, and transfers were seamless. No problems at all. Very well organised, with Marella staff on hand at every point to direct customers. Check in at the cruise terminal was relatively quick and again, very easy. We arrived at the ship around lunch-time and our cabins were ready. We went to have a look at the cabins then went for lunch. All staff on the ship were friendly and happy. They seem much more relaxed that RC staff, who seem to have supervisors on their back the whole time. We were very happy with the ship itself. There was of a good standard of cleanliness. I’ve read some reviews saying that the ship is old and tired and needs to be retired, but I wouldn’t agree. There were a few issues – especially leaks here and there when it rained, but generally it was pretty good. There seemed to be fewer blocked toilets than our other cruises with RC. We didn’t really use the lifts, but they did seem quite slow. One thing I thought was strange was that at night, there were no lights at the front of the promenade deck, which meant it was pitch dark at night, preventing everyone except the bravest from walking round the ship after dark. I’m not sure of the reason, but I’m assuming it’s because the bridge might find it more difficult to see if there are lights directly below them, but you’d think there could be some muted, low level lighting to allow people to have a stroll round the deck at night. There are lots of lounges and places to sit, so you never struggle to find somewhere to relax. There are the usual issues with sunbeds of people putting towels or belongings on them then disappearing for hours on end. This needs to be better managed The ship is apparently going into dry dock on 30th Oct for a week for repairs and deep cleaning. Dining: We ate mostly at Sirens for breakfast and afternoon tea, and the Lido or dining room for dinner. Dining positives:- In the main dining room, there are no set times for dinner. You can decide whether to share with others or have a table to yourself. You are seated immediately you arrive at the dining room -we did not ever have to wait in a queue to be seated. Afternoon tea in Sirens is fantastic, and was always very busy. Food was of good quality mainly and there was always plenty. Desserts in particular are much better than RC, who’s desserts are all very similar in consistency. Tables were kept clean and tidy by staff. Plates were cleared quickly and efficiently. Dining negatives:- Queues!!! British people become quite fierce if anyone tries to nip into a gap in the queue. The layout of the self service areas mean that if you only want something at the far end, you pretty much have to queue from the start. This was probably one of the only things that RC trumps Marella, as they have different stations for different food types. That said, the queues move quite quickly, so it’s not a major issue We didn’t try any of the a la carte restaurants as the food in the included restaurants was more than enough for us. Entertainment and activities:- We didn’t go to many shows in the theatre. We saw Stan John, the comedian, who was fine. Otherwise, we heard from others that the ships entertainment staff were decent for the first few nights but after that, it seemed to be too much of the same thing. There was a trio singing in the Waters Edge lounge, called Acoustic Soul, who were very good, but otherwise, we didn’t do many of the offered activities – although there was plenty to do. Service was good throughout the ship. Although I’d advise everyone to check their onboard account as we were double charged for use of the safe. Marella are much less pushy regarding selling extras than RC. Photo opportunities are there, but you are not bombarded every time you get on and off the ship etc. One major negative was that one of our cases was badly damaged being transferred from the ship to the cruise terminal at the end of the cruise, and the response to this was less than impressive. They tried to stick it back together with 2 small pieces of duct tape. We had to pay 10 euros at the airport to have it wrapped. I emailed Tui when I got home, but so far have had no response. Ports and excursions:- This is where Marella beats RC hands down, for me. The hours we were in port were much longer than RC. I suppose, in fairness, the ports we visited were relatively close together, but we were usually able to disembark around 9ish and didn’t have to be back on until 6 or 7pm. The ports we visited only twice had shuttle buses, which were £7pp (Portimao and Valencia) The shuttle bus in Valencia is unnecessary. Our teenagers wanted to go to the aquarium, so we didn’t get the shuttle bus. We left the port and got a local bus (number 95) to the aquarium. There are frequent buses numbers 95 and 4, which go to city centre from the port. They cost 1.50 each way. All in all, a great cruise. I would not hesitate to use Marella again, and would definitely choose them before Royal Caribbean next time Read Less

there are some great positives, but many negatives. The staff are amazing and couldnt be more polite, friendly and helpful. They were the making of our trip. The food was excellent, and plenty of choice. The shows at night in the broadway lounge were amazing. Our cabin boy was fantastic and every member of staff we passed on the corridors always welcomed you. The staff are a credit to this ship. .So much hard work and effort went into these positives. Negatives..... The ship is old and should be laid to rest. We had awful weather which obviously was not the cruise ships fault, but when it rained, it rained inside and outside the ship. Some carpets in the siren restaurant were soaked through and there were buckets catching drips of water on numerous points of the ship. Lifts were very slow, small and some out of order for the whole week we were there. The entertainment team during the day, did their best to keep us occupied, during 5/7 days of bad weather, but im not sure the games played were to everyones taste, and the evening ones were very long drawn out. The bands that were on everynight, became a little tiresome when you had heard them during the day also. The places we visited were not that exciting. We should have been on the cruise a week earlier, but due to a sudden bereavement int he family, we had to change dates. Thomsons were very obliging in letting us do so, and i am very grateful for their excellent customer services for this. Read Less