Jump to content

Marella newbie, how does it compare?


Recommended Posts

Hi all! To set the scene ... my cruising experience is 2x p&o (Oceana & Azura) & 2x Royal (Independence) all out of Southampton as hubby hates flying.

So I'm now planning my first Marella cruise, Discovery, Newcastle to Fjords. First trip to Fjords. We live in Yorkshire & just don't see the point in travelling all the way to s'ton just to sail back up the north coast then repeat. [emoji848]. So fancy the Marella northerner's option.

 

So knowing what we're used to, how will I find it?!

I'm quite ok with it being a more informal setting than p&o, as that's why we like Indy. The ship itself I'm fine with too I think. But there's not much info in their websites faq's section.

It's things like - do they have unlimited luggage like the others? (No flights remember) We usually take an extra small case. Or do they charge for port transfers? (Maybe not an issue in fjords?) Do they provide toiletries? Is there room service? You get the picture.

Anything at all to introduce me to Discovery/Marella/Fjords I'd really appreciate it. Sell it to me [emoji4] Thank you

 

Caroline

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Caroline,

 

I have not yet cruised with Thomson but will do in January! I did a lot of research and found the 2018 brochure quite helpful. From that, I can say that baggage is unlimited for UK departures, with a 23kg limit for any one case and - of course- you have to be able to fit it all in your cabin.

 

I am pretty sure I read somewhere that a combined body/hair wash is in the shower and you also get soap. Book a posh cabin and you get posh toiletries to match :D.

 

I believe you pay extra for port shuttles but the majority of Fjord ports are small enough not to need a shuttle but the odd larger ones like Bergen could require one.

 

You can get room service to the cabins but everything is chargeable.

 

If I am wrong on any of these things, I am sure someone who already has experience of Thomson will come along soon. I would recommend picking up a brochure from your local TUI Travel Agent as I found it really useful (although sadly they charge extra to book through them).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's great, thanks a lot. I'll try to get a brochure, the websites a bit lacking & I did read all the online faq's. I expect things to be chargeable as the cruise £ is really reasonable, just that you know what to expect from your normal lines, so want a feeling for the 'Marella' way [emoji4]

 

Mine's not til June so I'll be looking forward to hearing what you think!

 

Thanks again

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's great, thanks a lot. I'll try to get a brochure, the websites a bit lacking & I did read all the online faq's. I expect things to be chargeable as the cruise £ is really reasonable, just that you know what to expect from your normal lines, so want a feeling for the 'Marella' way [emoji4]

 

Mine's not til June so I'll be looking forward to hearing what you think!

 

Thanks again

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Hi,we booked online for a 2 week b2b on the Discovery 2 in Sept.We got a £400 discount off brochure price.We live in Italy so no brochures were available at the time,but the info seemed ok online.The newer ships seem to be AI as standard and we were impressed with the spec of everything.As Princess and P&O cruisers I think Marella may be a big rival in the future,cheers,Brian.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

....As Princess and P&O cruisers I think Marella may be a big rival in the future,cheers,Brian.

 

I agree, they may well be for some cruisers Brian. P&O do however have some USPs for some cruisers - Formality, lots of UK departures & set dining times. I know these do not appeal to everyone but some of us still enjoy those aspects of 'traditional' cruising :).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have done a few Thomson cruises and enjoyed them but not yet done P and O setting off very soon on that one though. We found Thompson's very relaxed they had one formal night for which about 50% of people dressed for these days I think it may be dress to impress. The dining is all freedom and you can usually find a table for 2 if you don't mind waiting although we tended to share and met a few characters along the way. We did find the shows very good in the evening and there was a band on deck most days. other entertainment tended to be quizzes and bingo we didn't find any cooking demos or visits to the galley on our cruises if the itinerary was right we would definately use Thomson again.we had a balcony cabin and had Clarins toiletries which were replenished once during our 7 night cruise in our outside it was standard shower gel shampoo form the same bottle of the wall. Hope this helps.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree, they may well be for some cruisers Brian. P&O do however have some USPs for some cruisers - Formality, lots of UK departures & set dining times. I know these do not appeal to everyone but some of us still enjoy those aspects of 'traditional' cruising :).
Hi,we will find out in Sept,just going by improved reviews so far.We sail purely for itineraries and Princess has met all our bucket list criteria with the exception of an Aurora cruise early this year.We are sailing Cunard in April so that will be an experience as they seem to be getting more negative reviews lately.See you at the end of Sept and chat again maybe,cheers,Brian.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Discovery is a lovely ship but is a lot less formal than P&O. You may find sailing from the UK on the Northern itineraries that you get less 'bucket & spade' passengers (for want of a better phrase!) & people are less casual.

 

They usually have a 'Dress to Impress' night once a week which is basically a meeting in the Atrium with the Officers if you wish to attend. There is no 'special meal' that night - just the same as any other. Some people go all out & dress up, some don't - more may on the ex-UK cruises as the luggage allowance won't be as restricted.

 

Dining is 'anytime' - we were onboard at the end of October this year & had to wait 40-60 minutes every night for a table - you get given a buzzer & then when that goes off you get a ticket & you queue to get into the dining room which can take up to 10 minutes.

 

Dining in the MDR for breakfast is good however with evening meals, the food is quite 'mass produced' & not on a par with P&O standards. Just 3 courses on the menu.

 

Islands buffet restaurant is pretty chaotic & difficult to get a seat - the afternoon teas in there are good; we had those instead of lunches.

 

The deck 4 area is lovely to sit out & watch the world go by if you don't have a balcony - will be a good view of the Fjords from there.

 

In the standard cabin you get hand soap & a liquid shower gel - wouldn't use it to wash hair though!

 

We are just back from Arcadia having done a lot of Thomson & Fred Olsen Cruises & we wouldn't return to Tui again in all fairness - for us, standards & food has declined however we did enjoy our Discovery cruise & it's what you make it at the end of the day!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As a PS, there are 'pay for' restaurants which you need to book as soon as you board as they book up very quickly. Surf & Turf & Kora La. There is also a small sushi bar in Kora La which they prepare for you while you wait - we enjoyed that one.

 

We ate in the Glasshouse a couple of times to save the long waits for dinner & the food & service in there was good. The Hot Stones had an additional supplement but pizza & Tapas are included as standard.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree, they may well be for some cruisers Brian. P&O do however have some USPs for some cruisers - Formality, lots of UK departures & set dining times. I know these do not appeal to everyone but some of us still enjoy those aspects of 'traditional' cruising :).

 

 

I don't think Tui can rival P&O - very different experience altogether!!! We much prefer the P&O style - Tui have changed quite a lot since we started cruising with them!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have completed almost 40 cruises with P&O and Thomson now Marella and for me there are more similarities than differences. Marella is less formal with a single dress to impress night per week and with their 2 Discovery ships and the upcoming Explorer have ships which IMO are better than the P&O mid range ships.

 

On the discoveries

 

Food this is subjective but I found the food to be similar. They run anytime dining which of course means you may have to wait with a pager. The problem with this is a lot of passengers want to eat at the same time - 7.45! My pager experiences have been 5 to 15 minutes. The buffet like all buffets can be a bun fight at busy times. the key to relaxed buffet dining is to avoid those times. The discoveries have two cover charge restaurants. Kora-La and Steak and Surf. they are very popular. There is also the glasshouse ( it has a glass roof) which serves light lunches and in the evenings waiter served free tapas/pizza and paid for steak etc on hot lava rock, there is also a small bar. There is also a snack shack which serves burgers, pizza, fish and chips etc, very popular. In the evenings there is a waiter served Italian restaurant. TIn addition the Explorer will have a separate sushi restaurant and a dining club with Heston Blumenthal style cuisine.

 

Entertainment - the usual range of shows comedians and musicians around the ship. The shows don't normally have live music which suits me because I think the music on P&O is too loud. I think the show teams provided by Peel, the same as Fred Olsen, are more talented than the P&O ones, they can sing better!. The dreaded Butlinesque stuff - Yes they do have it but so do P&O. The difference is Marella tend to concentrate it in the same venue, actually the Venue on the Discoveries. P&O tend to scatter it all round the ship!.

 

Booze - A extensive drinks package is included in the fare with a lot of branded drinks. IMO good value for money but of course you don't know how much it costs!

 

Tips - included in the fare so none of that worrying ( and endless arguments on these forums)

 

Itineries - Extensive with the exception of the Pacific and Australia/New Zealand. They are basing a ship in Thailand for winter 2019/20. Fly cruising is useful if you are time limited as there is no long drag around spain.

 

Solos - good 'single supplements' of about 40% and the current social programme for solos knocks spots of the meagre P&O offering.

 

I am happy cruising on both lines. My next two cruises are with P&O and the following three with Marella.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow some brilliant info there! Thanks for that.

 

I rang tui/Marella whatever they are yesterday, & to be perfectly honest if that's an indication of the standards I can expect I'll maybe not book anyway, she was appalling, not a clue about anything & it was quite simple deck plan stuff [emoji849]. I'd only asked about aft wake-facing cabins, I'd lost her at that point [emoji23]

 

Well despite that, we will book as we've managed to both get time off now and I like the look of both the ship & ports. [emoji4]

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow some brilliant info there! Thanks for that.

 

I rang tui/Marella whatever they are yesterday, & to be perfectly honest if that's an indication of the standards I can expect I'll maybe not book anyway, she was appalling, not a clue about anything & it was quite simple deck plan stuff [emoji849]. I'd only asked about aft wake-facing cabins, I'd lost her at that point [emoji23]

 

Well despite that, we will book as we've managed to both get time off now and I like the look of both the ship & ports. [emoji4]

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

 

Thomson / Tui / Marella are notoriously bad for their customer service. If you have a problem with your booking it will be a nightmare to sort out.

 

We have cruised with this line for several years and I am sorry to say it has changed considerably over the years, unfortunately not for the better.

 

First time cruisers seem to be happy with the experience but long time passengers are seriously thinking of moving to other lines as food, entertainment, staff cuts, behaviour of some passengers are all having a negative impact .

 

I also think making the newer ships AI is a big mistake as some passengers drink to excess spoiling things for others with rude behaviour and bad language.

 

Tui are no longer competative price wise. Becoming more expensive for what you get. Now have to pay for so many things that were included previously.

 

Sorry to sound so negative but it's my honest opinion.

 

If you do decide to go ahead I really hope you have a great time as the itinerary is lovely.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thomson / Tui / Marella are notoriously bad for their customer service. If you have a problem with your booking it will be a nightmare to sort out.

 

We have cruised with this line for several years and I am sorry to say it has changed considerably over the years, unfortunately not for the better.

 

First time cruisers seem to be happy with the experience but long time passengers are seriously thinking of moving to other lines as food, entertainment, staff cuts, behaviour of some passengers are all having a negative impact .

 

I also think making the newer ships AI is a big mistake as some passengers drink to excess spoiling things for others with rude behaviour and bad language.

 

Tui are no longer competative price wise. Becoming more expensive for what you get. Now have to pay for so many things that were included previously.

 

Sorry to sound so negative but it's my honest opinion.

 

If you do decide to go ahead I really hope you have a great time as the itinerary is lovely.

 

P&O have awful customer service as well, especially when I was essentially abandoned in Singapore!

 

A lot of the things you mention equally apply to P&O, food, entertainment, staff numbers, bad customer behaviour, drinking to excess, now paying for stuff that was free. All these 'bad' changes over time also apply to most if not all cruise lines. As for money my honest opinion is it is good value for money :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Caroline, We are also from the north and really looking forward to sailing from Newcastle. We have only cruised once with P&O and that was Oceana. We were on Tui Discovery earlier this year and found that to be a much better experience. Regarding the dining, we always share a table and have never had to wait. We found the food to be comparable, on Discovery the Level 47 is Italian so that makes a nice change. Islands buffet is very chaotic but we liked the glasshouse at lunch time as we could always get a very relaxing salad type lunch. The entertainment on Marella is much better in our opinion.

We also like that Marella have fabulous itineraries and long days in port so you have lots of choices with excursions or DIY trips.

One concern is the cost of parking at the Port of Tyne - £12 per day for 2 weeks is a bit steep. We have seen 'park-on-our-drive' offers but are a little wary of using these!

Give Marella a try - I'm sure you will have a lovely cruise:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Caroline, We are also from the north and really looking forward to sailing from Newcastle. We have only cruised once with P&O and that was Oceana. We were on Tui Discovery earlier this year and found that to be a much better experience. Regarding the dining, we always share a table and have never had to wait. We found the food to be comparable, on Discovery the Level 47 is Italian so that makes a nice change. Islands buffet is very chaotic but we liked the glasshouse at lunch time as we could always get a very relaxing salad type lunch. The entertainment on Marella is much better in our opinion.

We also like that Marella have fabulous itineraries and long days in port so you have lots of choices with excursions or DIY trips.

One concern is the cost of parking at the Port of Tyne - £12 per day for 2 weeks is a bit steep. We have seen 'park-on-our-drive' offers but are a little wary of using these!

Give Marella a try - I'm sure you will have a lovely cruise:)

 

regarding the parking expense ive outlined another option on here a couple of times, park at callerton airport parking, metro in to central station, thomsons shuttle bus from station to port, quite a good saving and no queing at port to park (can be quite lenghty if you time it wrong), anybody want more precise details just ask

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Booked it! After the farce on the phone I rang our usual cruising travel company ( who shall not be named obviously [emoji849]) and they beat the Marella web price & dealt with the cabin allocation thing too. Very excited.

 

Thanks everyone xx

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks okavango, just what I've been looking for. Did a dummy booking and it was a fraction of the price!

Example, parking 14 days june £66 , book through park and go and you would find a discount code for at least 12 1/2% off that. Metro about 100 yards from stepping out of your car,trains every 10 minutes, for central station you need a two zone ticket £2.60 pp single, free shuttle from station (check if thomson still do it) to terminal . OR get a three zone ticket £3.30 ,change metro line at central station for north shields, taxi from shields to terminal (about 2 miles so should not cost much)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Entertainment - the usual range of shows comedians and musicians around the ship. The shows don't normally have live music which suits me because I think the music on P&O is too loud. I think the show teams provided by Peel, the same as Fred Olsen, are more talented than the P&O ones, they can sing better!. The dreaded Butlinesque stuff - Yes they do have it but so do P&O. The difference is Marella tend to concentrate it in the same venue, actually the Venue on the Discoveries. P&O tend to scatter it all round the ship!.

 

 

 

I am happy cruising on both lines. My next two cruises are with P&O and the following three with Marella.

 

Without meaning to be pedantic, Fred Olsen haven't used Peel since 2015. They use Explosive Productions & Mirage & to be honest they made a good choice there! The shows we have seen have been very good.

 

The new Explorer ship of course will be using TED for their entertainment - will give Peel a bit of a run for their money 😉😉

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...