Don't book with Marella - unless you have very low standards

We board the dream tonight first marella cruise , looking forward to it even after all the bad reviews I say you get what you pay for , here's hoping

The Marella fan club is nothing compared to the P&O one. I am a Marella fan and a P&O fan and know they both have strengths and weaknesses. Those theatre shows with abysmal singers IMO applies to P&O too. If I see a bad comment I check out the posters posting history, For example the original poster of this topic posting history shows a lot of Cunard comments so maybe the Dream came as a bit of a shock because it is old and needs replacing.

 

My worst (and most expensive) was with P&O, if that had been my first experience with the company I would have never cruised with them again. :mad:

 

Noisiest cabin? a tie between Thomson Spirit and P&O Ventura, I could go on a long time on this.

 

The title of the thread irritates me somewhat because it should really have been posted on the Cunard forum and implies that the OP knowns more about Marella than me.

 

Here is my cruising history, 18 Marella, 21 P&O, 1 NCL. My next cruise is P&O followed by 3 Marella and one of those is on Dream. :eek:

 

I like a good rant first thing ;p

I agree with you completely about the P&O fan club, in fact I'm sure I've read your posts regarding them and. agreeing with you especially one user in particular ( I think you'll know who I mean). Mind you being honest I thought the Dream was such a let down. It was scruffy and well worn and I thought the evening shows were awful and I'm not that picky or hard to please. It's certainly put me off Marella. Pity though as they sail from my local port (North Shields, Newcastle) which is why I went on board really wanting to like it but no joy.

 

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The problem you'll face though is the Marella fan club having a go at you for not thinking like them (and it'll happen) you know the ones who have only ever sailed with one company and as such can't make comparisons.

 

We've sailed three times with Princess who are a highly rated line, and Fred Olsen once. No significant complaints with either.

 

Ten times (assuming my arithmetic is sound) with Thomsons cruises, as was, a few issues, however nothing so damning that we wouldn't consider returning.

 

You've obviously had a bad experience with Marella, but don't assume that the so called "Marella Fan Club" are not sufficiently savvy as to not being able to make a reasoned judgement call.

You've obviously had a bad experience with Marella, but don't assume that the so called "Marella Fan Club" are not sufficiently savvy as to not being able to make a reasoned judgement call.

 

Couldn't have put it better myself WeeCountyMan!

 

In 10 weeks time we will be boarding our 12th Marella cruise. Living in Southern Spain we love being able to board from our local ports - which the better known lines don't sail from - so have never sailed with any other cruise line BUT that does not mean that we cannot assess whether we are getting good value for money or not. Yes, we have had the odd niggle with Marella - like losing a days sailing in October when we stayed in port for 24 hours whilst they repainted the ships name from TUI Discovery 2 to Marella Discovery 2 - but, for what we pay, we have always had a very enjoyable cruise and have met many really interesting people. Food may not be what we get when we stay in 5 star hotels but is equally as good as we get in most 4 star establishments and we are not paying West End prices so how can we expect first class shows (having said that, on the whole we have enjoyed the entertainment on all our cruises). I think a lot of your enjoyment on any cruise (or land based holiday for that matter) is what attitude you go on board with - if you are constantly going to compare it with previous cruises on other lines you may be a bit disappointed but, if you make the most of your days away and mix with the great passengers Marella attract, you can have a wonderful week or two at a very acceptable price and with an above average port intensive itinerary.

We've sailed three times with Princess who are a highly rated line, and Fred Olsen once. No significant complaints with either.

 

Ten times (assuming my arithmetic is sound) with Thomsons cruises, as was, a few issues, however nothing so damning that we wouldn't consider returning.

 

You've obviously had a bad experience with Marella, but don't assume that the so called "Marella Fan Club" are not sufficiently savvy as to not being able to make a reasoned judgement call.

Unfortunately there will be indeed some biased members of the fan club, I'm not assuming everyone is part of it and if course you couldn't speak for everyone.

 

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Couldn't agree more Campolady

People don't need any previous involvement in cruising to be aware when they experienced a bad time.

 

It could be their first cruise, or their thirty first, and the spectrum of different lines they've sailed with, or not, as the case may be, is irrelevant - a bad time is a bad time, regardless of any other considerations.

2018 cruise awards have now been published on the boards

You can select each award to see who the best 5 are

Please ensure that you click on mid-size ships for each category

Marella feature in nearly all categories

Who’s Marella?

 

 

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Who’s Marella?

 

 

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Marella (star of the sea or shining sea) is a cruise line owned by the TUI group, a German company which is the largest tour and holiday company in the world. They also own other cruise lines, hotels and airlines.

 

Marella caters for the UK/Irish market with mostly fly cruises from the UK/Ireland to the Mediterranean, Caribbean and from next winter Thailand. They also have one ship based in the UK for the summer season.

 

For this summer Marella will have 6 ships in service, all older vessels but some with extensive refurbishments. The latest additions were formally Splendour of the Seas and Legend of the Seas. The former Celebrity Galaxy is arriving this summer and next year the former Celebrity Mercury is joining the fleet, both have already had extensive refurbishments for TUI and will have more remodelling before joining Marella.

 

There is a relaxed atmosphere aboard and gratuities are included in the fare, plus for the latest ships an extensive included drinks package.

Couldn't have put it better myself WeeCountyMan!

 

In 10 weeks time we will be boarding our 12th Marella cruise. Living in Southern Spain we love being able to board from our local ports - which the better known lines don't sail from - so have never sailed with any other cruise line BUT that does not mean that we cannot assess whether we are getting good value for money or not. Yes, we have had the odd niggle with Marella - like losing a days sailing in October when we stayed in port for 24 hours whilst they repainted the ships name from TUI Discovery 2 to Marella Discovery 2 - but, for what we pay, we have always had a very enjoyable cruise and have met many really interesting people. Food may not be what we get when we stay in 5 star hotels but is equally as good as we get in most 4 star establishments and we are not paying West End prices so how can we expect first class shows (having said that, on the whole we have enjoyed the entertainment on all our cruises). I think a lot of your enjoyment on any cruise (or land based holiday for that matter) is what attitude you go on board with - if you are constantly going to compare it with previous cruises on other lines you may be a bit disappointed but, if you make the most of your days away and mix with the great passengers Marella attract, you can have a wonderful week or two at a very acceptable price and with an above average port intensive itinerary.

 

Campolady

 

I had just come to research Marella cruises after seeing one leave Gibraltar today.

 

You made me look them up. We loved a couple of cruises when the Adventure of the Seas left from Malaga and I did not know that any other line started there. I won't be going this year because we are all paid up for a trip to Alaska ($$$$:eek::eek::eek:ouch). For us cruising is a convenient nice way of getting around - and this would be one way of going to some different ports. I think we might give it a go. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Ollienbertsmum - a bit puzzled as to which TUI Marella ship you saw leaving Gib today? There arent any Marella ships in the area currently

Mein Schiff 2 left Gibraltar this afternoon bound for Barcelona

Yes I saw that Dave but it's not a Marella ship and won't be until 2019

Yes I saw that Dave but it's not a Marella ship and won't be until 2019

 

Mein Schiff and Thomson / Marella are all part of the TUI group, and (all ?) their ships carry the distinctive TUI logo on their funnels, so with a view obstructed by port buildings it's easy to presume if seeing little more than the funnel.

 

JB :)

On board Dream as I write this.

We have had a mixed week with a couple of ports missed due to bad weather, the sea has tossed us around more than a couple of times as well.

If I am honest, we have noticed a change in the last couple of years, we both love Dream, it was the 1st ship we sailed on so it holds happy memories.

The staff in the restaurant used to be really good fun, it was part of the magic, sadly that's not the case, they are still very nice, but it's a cold atmosphere these days.

I have just about managed to get one glass of wine with my meal, I have had to go hunting the wine waiter for a top up.

Entertainment around the ship is ok, Acoustic Soul in Waters edge are my favourite group and venue. Sound Nation in the medusa are quite good too, unfortunately the duo in Tides are woeful in my opinion.

The show team try there best but there isn't much going on there I'm afraid, much too young and haven't got a clue what to do with clients over the age of 25.

Marella need to up there game and quickly, carving fruit and veg and folding towels isn't going to cut it for much longer, most of the people sailing these days want something to stimulate the brain, I just feel that the show team talk down to us 60 somethings, I'm not in my coffin yet.

I'll put a review up when I get back home, for anyone coming out, please don't let me put you off, we have had a good week on board but not a great one.

Tony1878

 

After 6 consecutive cruises with the company, sadly I have to echo your sentiments regarding the changes you experienced on-board. It's very similar to my own experiences and feel Marella may be alienating long term loyal customers by charging premium prices while offering an increasingly second rate product.

Tony1878

 

After 6 consecutive cruises with the company, sadly I have to echo your sentiments regarding the changes you experienced on-board. It's very similar to my own experiences and feel Marella may be alienating long term loyal customers by charging premium prices while offering an increasingly second rate product.

 

 

We feel the same and probably won't sail with Marella again....

Braximusic - Max and Brandy used to be part of the show team a few years ago and after failing to get through on X Factor have obviously formed a duo They are good but IMO not as good as they think they are

 

 

BrandiMax seperated from the show team some years ago now (?2015) & went onboard the ships as a duo in their own right. I also believe they went on to perform on other cruise lines & also in various hotels in the Caribbean. They did one (or 2) shows in a theatre in the U.K. then went back to Amsterdam for a while & have only fairly recently returned to the Marella ships....I do agree with your last sentence 😉😉

Funny how people's opinions differ.

 

Two excellent reviews of Dream from Rach1987 and Shearwood under the thread "First time cruisers review".

 

 

 

 

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Funny how people's opinions differ.

 

Two excellent reviews of Dream from Rach1987 and Shearwood under the thread "First time cruisers review".

 

 

 

 

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Yes, funny how peoples opinions differ. In my opinion the reduction in 'standards', actually what you get for your money, and complaints about it seems to be universal amongst cruise lines. It is probably down to cost reductions in an attempt to avoid increasing the price. this is especially true for UK based companies who also have the fall in the value of the pound to contend with.

 

Anyway the brits are Olympic standard at moaning and not doing anything about it by taking their money elsewhere.

Funny how people's opinions differ.

 

Two excellent reviews of Dream from Rach1987 and Shearwood under the thread "First time cruisers review".

 

 

 

 

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I think anyone going on a cruise for a first time no matter which line, unless it’s really awful will enjoy it. It’s the ones who have cruised lots in the past that will notice when things change & standards drop....

Totally agree and ready to assess Discovery 2 in 4 weeks time and check whether Dreams standards have dropped end of May

 

Thomson Spirit ​Oct 2005 Repo Palma to Sharm el Sheikh

Thomson Celebration ​Jan 2007 Red Sea Magic

Ocean Village​Feb 2008 Western Caribbean & Central America

Ocean Village​Aug 2008 Eastern Med

Ocean Village 2 ​Feb 2009 Eastern Caribbean

Ocean Village​Mar 2010 Eastern Caribbean

Thomson Dream ​Feb 2011 Eastern Caribbean & Cuba

Thomson Celebration ​Aug 2011 Eastern Med

Thomson Celebration ​Apr 2012 Red Sea Magic

Thomson Celebration​Apr/May 2012 Repo Sharm el Sheikh to Marmaris

Thomson Dream ​Feb 2013 EasternCaribbean

Thomson Majesty​​Nov/Dec 2014 Colourful Coasts Canaries

Thomson Dream ​Jan/Feb 2015 Western Caribbean Panama & Cuba

Thomson Dream ​Apr 2015 Transatlantic Sunset

Thomson Majesty​​June 2015 Hellenic Classics

Thomson Celebration ​Sept 2015 Adriatic Affair

Thomson Dream​​Jan 2016 Mayan Treasures/Cuban Revolution

Thomson Dream​​April 2016 Atlantic Adventure

Thomson Dream​​June 2016 Iconic Islands/Adriatic Explorer

Thomson Celebration​Jan 2017 Cities of Gold

Thomson Dream​​April2017 Atlantic Daydream

Thomson Spirit​​June 2017 Classical Greece

Thomson Majesty​ Sept2017 Med Medley/Treasures of Med

MarellaCelebration​Jan 2018 Caribbean Gems/Coral Islands​

Marella Discovery 2 April 2018 Cuban Fusion

MarellaDiscovery 2 April 2018 Atlantic Discoveries

Marella Dream May 2018 Spanish Delights

Marella Discovery 2​June 2018 Aegean Meze

MarellaDream​​Sept 2018 Mediterranean Medley

Luckily I have very low standards then

 

We havent been on many cruises , but every cruise we have been on has had some very bad reviews , and to be they have been fine. This will be the first time with Thompson , we picked it because of ports , and the price seems ok .

 

Its only a holiday at the end of the day , and unless the boat sinks its not going to ruin my life ..............I think the problem is people expecting a 5 star experience on the cheap ...its just not going to happen

I have sailed with them 5 times before solo and been on the celebration twice , discovery 2 and going on the expoloer in April 19 ta to Newcastle had no complaints at all