Where Do Marella Cruises Sail? (2024 and Beyond)

Marella is a British cruise line that offers good value all-inclusive cruise packages, with flights, transfers, and drinks included as standard.

I’ve cruised with them 5x!

As Marella is a British cruise line, daily service charges and gratuities are not added to your onboard account. Gratuities are included within the cruise fare.

If you sail with an American cruise line, you can end up with a large onboard account to pay at the end of your holiday.

Once you have paid your fare on a Marella cruise, you won’t have to spend any more money – unless you choose to.

Marella are part of TUI, the world’s biggest travel group. This means they are also able to offer a range of “cruise and stay options” to extend your holiday.

They can combine your cruise holiday with a hotel stay at the beginning or end of the cruise, giving you the flexibility to plan the perfect trip for you and your family.

You could be forgiven for thinking that as a British Cruise Line, they would offer sailings from the UK. At the moment, they are offering no UK sailings in 2024 – but they have sailed from the UK in the past.

The advantage for UK residents is that flights are available from a range of regional UK airports. When you book your holiday, you are usually only offered flight from the largest airports – such as Heathrow, Gatwick, Edinburgh or Manchester.

Flying from a regional airport means you will spend less time travelling. As flights and transfers are included in the fare, a Marella cruise is a very easy, stressless option.

Marella offers flights from these smaller regional airports;

• Aberdeen
• Belfast
• Birmingham
• Bournemouth
• Bristol
• Cardiff
• Edinburgh
• East Midlands
• Humberside
• Leeds Bradford
• London City
• Liverpool John Lennon
• London Luton
• Newcastle
• Norwich
• Southend

In the past, Marella cruises have only been available to book by UK residents, but recent changes mean that customers from other countries can now book them too.

Hopefully, a whole new range of customers will enjoy Marellas’ good value and fun cruises!

How Many Ships Do Marella Have?

Marella has five cruise ships. All of Marella’s ships were bought from other mainstream cruise lines, like Celebrity or Royal Caribbean. These ships have been refurbished to a high standard.

Find out about the history and the size of Marella’s ships in the article below:

Marella Cruises, Ships by Size – Photo Guide and Reviews

The five ships in the Marella fleet are:

• Marella Discovery – built in 1996 as Splendour of the Seas for Royal Caribbean
• Marella Discovery 2 – built in 1995 as Legend of the Seas for Royal Caribbean
• Marella Explorer – built in 1996 as Celebrity Galaxy for Celebrity Cruises
• Marella Explorer 2 – built in 1995 as Celebrity Century for Celebrity Cruises
• Marella Voyager – built in 1997 for Celebrity Cruises as “MV Mercury” but later renamed “Celebrity Mercury” in 2008.

Where Do Marella Sail To?

The below link will take you to the Marella website, I recommend opening this in another tab while you read the rest of this post!

Canary Islands and the Atlantic

Through the winter months, November to April, Marella offers voyages around the Canary Islands.

The Canary Islands are the perfect destination for those searching for some winter warmth and sunshine.

These cruises are usually seven nights long. Some also visit the Atlantic Island of Madeira, a wonderful place with a temperate climate.

From November to April, we sail to sunny spots like Gran Canaria, home to golden beaches and cute coastal towns, as well as Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and the biggest Canary Island of them all – Tenerife. 
Some of our Atlantic cruises also take you to Madeira’s capital city, Funchal, where you’ll find black-sand beaches and botanical gardens in full bloom.

Marella

As well as Fly-Cruises, Marella also offer a range of “Cruise and Stay” options. You can add on a hotel stay for a week before or after your cruise.

The Caribbean

A range of Caribbean cruises are available. Durations vary from between 7 and 14 nights, with 25-night Caribbean fly cruises also available, which means you will visit many destinations twice.

These cruises sail through the winter months, November to April.

Popular ports include:

• Bridgetown, Barbados
• St John’s, Antigua
• Road Town, British Virgin Islands
• St George’s, Grenada
• Castries, St Lucia
• Basseterre, St Kitts
• Roseau, Dominica
• Philipsburg, St Maarten
• Scarborough, Tobago

… and many more places besides. It is easy to search for the itinerary that suits you best.

Escape the cold weather on one of our Caribbean and Central America cruises. You’ve got sugary beaches and clear waters in hotspots like St Kitts, St Lucia and Aruba. Jamaica offers feel-good vibes, sugar plantations and hidden waterfalls, while rum distilleries and flavoursome Bajan cuisine await in Barbados

Marella

As with all Marella cruises, Caribbean cruises include flights and transfers in the fare, as well as a range of drinks. Service Charges or Gratuities are also included!

“Cruise and Stay” options are available if you want to combine your cruise with a week’s stay in a hotel on land.

Central America and Mexico

Marella offers cruises to Central America, popular port stops in Costa Rica and Panama.

Some of their itineraries also include stops in Costa Maya and Cozumel in Mexico.

Moving down to Central America, you can visit Costa Rica, home to tropical rainforests and nature reserves, as well as pastel-painted Havana and Cartagena in Columbia. Plus, some of our itineraries also include stops in Costa Maya and Cozumel in Mexico, both home to white-sand beaches and ancient Mayan sites. 

Western Mediterranean

Cruises around the western Mediterranean set sail from Palma in Majorca in the summer months, April to October.

From there, you can sail to Mainland Spain, Italy, France and islands such as Sicily and Corsica.

The best bit? Our Mediterranean sailings often don’t include any days at sea, so you can tick off six destinations on a seven-night cruise.  

Marella

Seven or fourteen night itineraries are available, as are a range of “stay and cruise” options for those wishing to extend their holiday with a week in a hotel before or after the cruise.

Eastern Mediterranean

A range of cruises are available from between seven and fourteen nights.

You are bound to find an itinerary that suits you, whether you would like to visit the Adriatic, the Greek Islands or Turkey.

Marella cruises gives you a great opportunity to really explore the local area, as they visit smaller ports that the mainstream cruise lines don’t.

Set sail on an Eastern Mediterranean cruise and drop anchor in places like Greece, Croatia, Cyprus and Turkey. You can also set sail around the Adriatic Sea to tick off some of Croatia’s top spots, including Split and Zadar, or choose a cruise around the Aegean to visit Greek islands like Santorini, Rhodes and Mykonos.

Marella cruises

Repositioning Cruises

As Marella moves their ships in the spring and autumn, you can often find great deals on repositioning cruises.

You can sail from Mainland Spain or the Canary Islands to the Caribbean, for example.

These repositioning cruises have multiple sea days, so they don’t suit everyone.

If you are someone who enjoys life onboard a ship and are happy to sit back and relax onboard rather than visiting multiple different ports, a repositioning cruise could suit you.

Flights and transfers are included, so there is no stress about finding yourself suitable flights before and after the cruise.

Find out why repositioning cruises shouldn’t be overlooked here:

You Need To Take a Repositioning Cruise – Here’s Some Huge Reasons Why

Short Cruises and Themed Cruises

Marella also sometimes offers, long weekend cruises. I recently took a cruise on Marella Explorer 2 over an Easter Bank Holiday weekend (a public holiday in the UK).

I was a little concerned that it might turn into a “Booze Cruise”, but that really wasn’t the case. Although the ship was busy, I saw no drunkenness or bad behaviour onboard. We had a fantastic time!

Find out about that cruise here:

I have also been on two “themed cruises” with Marella. These music-filled cruises tend to be an annual event, so book up quickly if you would like to go! These cruises are normally short, three or four-day cruises.

Who doesn’t love a throwback? Whether you’re an Eighties or Nineties kid, you’ll want to jump onboard our latest themed cruise. Just like its name suggests, Electric Sunsets: 80s vs 90s Cruise brings you the ultimate musical showdown.
Big-name acts and DJs from both decades will go head to head onboard Marella Voyager. On top of this, you can look forward to retro film screenings, parties and fancy dress nights – so don’t forget your best shell suits, tutu’s and platforms.

Marella

I have been on two Marella themed cruises – they are quite different from your standard Marella cruise. Book early if you want to try one. They are great fun!

Find out how I got on in the video below:

Plans For The Future

Although Marella aren’t currently sailing out of the UK at the moment, they have done in the past.

I took a wonderful Baltic cruise from Southampton a few years back, and I would love it if Marella began sailing from the UK again.

Marella also had plans for Asia and Middle Eastern sailings, but due to political unrest in the area, scrapped these plans.

When it comes to Marella cruises, it is definitely a case of “watch this space” for new exciting Itineraries!

Before You Go

Find out all about the drinks that Marella includes as standard within their cruise fares here:

Marella Cruises All Inclusive Drinks List (and Menus)

Find out about the five things I love about Marella here:

5 Things I Love About Marella Cruises (Inclusions, Entertainment, Drinks and More)