Marella Cruises Single/Solo Cabins – Photo Guide and Review

If you are considering a cruise with Marella and would like to cruise solo you may be wondering about the solo cabins and solo events onboard.

In this post, we will look at the solo options available on each of Marella’s ships.

Do Marella Cruises have Solo/Single Cabins?

All five ships in the Marella fleet have some form of solo cabins.

On the Marella Explorer, Explorer 2, Discovery, and Discovery 2 the solo cabins weren’t built for this purpose and have been converted from standard cabins. 

Marella’s newest ship Marella Voyager also offers single rooms that have either a double bed or two twins – they don’t have purpose-built single cabins like some other cruise lines.

Marella also organizes solo events for solo cruisers and has a ‘cruise host’ who organizes all of the events on board.

If you do want to book a solo cabin on any of the ships make sure you book as far in advance as you can.

The solo cabins are very limited and as a result, they sell out fast.

Generally speaking, the price of a cruise is at its cheapest at the initial launch. To learn how to book at the cheapest time, check out this post:

Do Cruises Get Cheaper Closer To The Sailing Date?

Marella Discovery & Marella Discovery 2

Marella Discovery/ Marella Discovery 2 – Solo Inside Cabins

On both Marella Discovery and Marella Discovery 2 there are solo inside cabins. These are very similar to the design of the standard inside cabins and are actually the same size.

Both ships were bought from Royal Caribbean and were not fitted with solo cabins when they were built. Both ships were built in the mid-1990s when there were fewer solo cruisers.

Marella Discovery/ Marella Discovery 2 – Solo Outside Cabins

On both ships, there is also the option to have a solo outside cabin. These are even more limited than the inside cabins so if you do want one it’s extra important that you book as early as you can.

The outside cabins are almost identical to the inside cabins, the only real difference is the addition of a window.

Marella Explorer & Marella Explorer 2

Marella Explorer/Marella Explorer 2 – Inside Solo Cabins

On Marella Explorer, you will find some inside solo cabins. Both ships were built in the mid-90s and as a result, don’t have any solo-specific cabins built into them.

Marella has set aside some cabins as solo cabins though so that passengers don’t have to pay a huge solo supplement.

On a lot of cruise lines, the only option available to solo cruisers is to pay the cruise fare of two people and possibly even more!

Cruise lines do this not only to cover the revenue lost from the missing person but also from the lost revenue when it comes to things like drinks sold and lost money in gift shops, casinos, etc.

As a result, the solo cabins on Marella Explorer are the same as the usual inside/ocean-view cabins.

I stayed in an inside cabin on the Marella Explorer as part of the 90s cruise I took in September 2019. We had SO much fun.

The cabins are very spacious and come with either two twin beds or a queen bed. As a solo cruiser, you’d more than likely be given a queen-sized bed – but you could have twins if you prefer.

The cabin has a spacious if a little dated, bathroom and loads of storage. I counted a record-breaking 16 drawers in the cabin.

We were only cruising for 3 nights so didn’t need all of the space but even still I appreciated how well the cabin was designed.

Marella Explorer/Marella Explorer 2 – Outside Solo Cabins

Similar to the inside cabins the ocean-view cabins are also standard cabins but converted for the use of solo passengers.

These cabins are located on decks 4 and 5 and come with everything that you’d find in a standard ocean-view room.

Marella Voyager

Inside Solo Cabins

The cabins are spacious and come with either two twin beds or a queen bed. As a solo cruiser, you’d more than likely be given a queen-sized bed = but you could have twins if you prefer.

The cabin has a spacious if slightly dated, bathroom and lots of storage. The ship was renovated when it came into the Marella fleet in 2023.

Formerly this ship sailed as the “Mein Schiff Herz” for TUI Cruises.

These cabins can be found on decks 4 & 5.

Outside Solo Cabins

Similar to the inside cabins the ocean-view cabins are also standard cabins but converted for the use of solo passengers.

These cabins are also located on decks 4 and 5 and come with everything that you’d find in a standard ocean-view room.

Solo Events

Marella is one of my favourite cruise lines when it comes to things like onboard events.

All cruises have a cruise host who looks after things from day to day.

The “Cruise Host” shouldn’t be confused with the Cruise Director because the two jobs are very different.

The cruise director is there to introduce shows, look after the entertainment team and organize the daily schedule.

The cruise host is there to look after passengers – including solo cruisers – and to make sure that everybody on board has a good cruise.

There are solo events put on throughout the cruise. At the start, there will be events for guests to get to know one another and there will be plenty of opportunities to meet up again after the cruise.

Find out which cruise lines are best for solo passengers in the article below:

Best Cruise Lines For Solo Cruisers (Tried & Tested, Pros & Cons!)

Personally, I have found the guests on my Marella cruises to be some of the friendliest people that I’ve ever met at sea.

I constantly recommend Marella to families and young adults. They are one of my favourite cruise lines.

Before You Go

Find out which drinks are included when you cruise with Marella in the article below:

Marella Cruises All Inclusive Drinks List (and Menus)

Find my full review of food onboard – including photos – in the article below:

Marella Cruises Food – PHOTOS, Menus and Honest Review