Marella Explorer Review

4.0 / 5.0
249 reviews

EXCELLENT CRUISE BUT CHECK YOUR STATEMENT AND BANK ACCOUNT

Review for the Mediterranean Cruise on Marella Explorer
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swatty07
2-5 Cruises • Age 70s

Rating by category

Cabin
Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
Fitness & Recreation
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Additional details

Sail Date: Oct 2018

We had a fantastic time on this cruise. Our balcony cabin on deck 9 was spacious and had plenty of wardrobe and drawer space. We upgraded to the premium drinks package which was an extra £50 and although not necessary you can then have special cocktails, gins etc and your soft drinks are cans also 1.5 litres of water in your cabin every day. You can also have a lovely coffee in the Coffee Port which would be an additional cost otherwise. Vista was our favourite restaurant due to the food choices and also we found the waiter service there was even better if that's possible. As it was a special occasion we paid £35 each to eat in the Dining Club which was a great experience as the food and service were exceptional. We also paid an extra £27 for Surf and Turf restaurant and the food was first class. It's not necessary to do this, you could easily have a wonderful time on board without any upgrades. The waiters work so hard and are so friendly and helpful. Many of them are away from home for 8 months at a time but still managed to make us laugh. Entertainment in the fantastic show lounge was OK and we also had a choice of other singers in the various lounges. The one negative experience happened when we got home and I believe has nothing to do with the staff on the ship. Our bill was paid in full and the money deducted from our Bank account however we still have a "pending" amount of £335 which is restricting access to our funds. I've emailed Marella but it's still to be resolved. I don't have a lot of faith in Tui's customer service due to previous experience and feel this may drag on. I hope I'm wrong as apart from this we had a wonderful time.

Cabin Review

Port Reviews

Palermo (Sicily)

Easy to walk from the port to the city centre. Not my favourite Italian city and if you haven't been to Sicily before I'd recommend joining an excursion.

Naples

If you haven't been to this part of Italy before I'd really recommend a trip to Sorrento or the Amalfi coast rather than stay in Naples. You can easily get to Sorrento from the Hydrofoils which leave from the same port and it is beautiful.

Florence (Livorno)

Ma\rella charge £44 for the return journey to Florence which takes around 1 hr 20 mins. Florence is amazing and not as busy and congested as Palermo and Naples.

Villefranche

Beautiful little town with easy access by train to Monte Carlo, Nice etc . It's not necessary to book an excursion from this port and you could easily spend a lovely and relaxing morning here without going further afield.

Palamos

Very pleasantly surprised by this lovely little seaside town. Great bars, restaurants and shops and a very laid back and relaxing atmosphere.

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