Marella Explorer Reviews

Summary:  This was my very first holiday on my own,and so it was with some trepidation that I set out. The flight and arrival were o.k. - the transfer to the ship without going through the airport was a surprise and very quick -, and the queue to collect the Sea Pass and lodge credit card details was not too long and I was soon on board. On finding my cabin there was a letter on the bed, inviting me as a solo traveller to a breakfast meeting the next day to meet the other solo's. After that, those who wanted to on any given evening met in the lounge before going into eat together. Having this connection allowed us to make our own arrangements to (e.g.) go to Nelsons Dockyard independently but together when we were in Antigua. Thanks must go to Amanda for arranging this. This really made a huge difference to my holiday. Another unexpected joy was finding there were ballroom dancing classes each day at 4 pm and then more social dancing each evening at 9 - led by visiting professional dancers. On the one hand I will say that it was a pity that there were not more people taking up this opportunity, but on the other hand I did get many hours of sometimes 1 to 1 tuition. Special thanks to Lisa and Phillip (week 1) and then Paul (week 2). I do hope that Marella keep this up. What excursions I took via Marella were well organised and I felt quite good value. It is not their fault that some of the islands (St Maarten in particular) are still in a poor state after the hurricane of 18 months ago. I mostly ate in the Latitude restaurant, where the food was good (although portion sizes were very variable), and service could sometimes be very slow. My cabin was a 'single' inside (with a massive double bed), more than ample storage space, but nowhere to read a book except to lie on the bed. Personally I would have preferred a smaller bed, leaving space for an easy chair. The steward kept it really clean and was really sweet. The main entertainment shows were not to my taste. The shows by the on-board company were very 'samey' in the style of the musical and dance content for each particular evening (although very competent and full of energy), and the visiting comedians (sons of one of either Cannon or Ball) were dire. I was not the only person who walked out. As I say, not to my taste, but it didn't matter too much because I could always go dancing! There were also lots of other things to do - films to watch, casino, various individual musicians in various bars (they were good), quizes, etc. etc. - so really everyone should have been able to find something they liked. The ship as a whole was fine - but then I only regard the ship as a means to an end. It is the destinations that matter to me when I book a holiday. Would I travel on this ship again? Yes - if it was going where I wanted to go!!

Summary:  This ship and cruise was excellent value for money. I loved the all inclusive options. Had no reason to upgrade our drinks as the ai offered a wide variety of choice. Large balcony room was superb. Plenty of storage and the hammock was an excellent added feature.

Summary:  Enjoyed cruise, good service. Good food. Lack of sun loungers. Health and safety issue in buffet. Guests allowed to handle and cut loaves of bread, with large carving knife. In the middle of a thoroughfare. I pointed this out three times and nothing was changed. Lack waiters in bars. Lounge bar a ridiculous shape, making it difficult to get served, too many stools at bar blocking access. I made all these points known to reception, Thomson encourage comments, but nothing is done to improve matters, it just keeps complaints on board ship

Summary:  We had a junior suite on Deck 12 for a back-to-back cruise out of Barbados taking in a dozen islands or countries. The cabin was spacious with a sofa and an exceptionally large balcony with loungers, table, chairs and a hammock. It was very comfortable with our only complaint that the air conditioning was sometimes too cold and there was no way of turning it off. The cabin is important to us because we enjoy reading and playing the guitar (quietly!) and keeping ourselves to ourselves. Being able to make our own tea and coffee and get jugs of skimmed milk from the Market Place also added significantly to our experience. The crew, especially our cabin steward, were superb as was the all inclusive food and drink. We particularly rated the Italian Vista restaurant. We did once-or-twice ask to be seated with an empty table between us and other passengers when the dining room was less busy and against walls and partitions rather than in the middle of sets of tables. We very much liked that there were always tables for two. Not everyone is a natural chatterbox. We can't comment on other entertainment as we didn't stay at the poolside or go to the theatre nor did we take any Tui organised excursions having booked our trips separately from the UK. Unlike a previous cruise with a different company, we liked that there were quiet areas on the ship and that we couldn't always hear music on our balcony. It was very relaxing. The Captain was exceptionally good at giving us relaxed but useful information about the sea state, arrival times and what to take ashore. All the arrangements such as flights, baggage transfer and so worked like clockwork with the only delay the Barbados immigration onboard ship the last day but what's half an hour in a fortnight? We thought this cruise was good value-for-money with a good itinerary although undoubtedly some islands are more interesting than others and some are very similar in what they offer. As someone who had a very negative view of cruising at one point, I would thoroughly recommend this cabin and this ship.

Summary:  Caribean cruise on the Marela explorer. Fantastic cruise. Not the best ship in the world but was everything that we could ask for. Fantastic beaches Turquoise waters. Loved it Mark and sue

Summary:  Straight to the point,sailed many times on thomson and other cruise lines,the entertainment on this ship cruise around carribean from the 30th Dec to 13th Jan 2019 was the most disappointing of all.Too many individual resident singers/musicians that were not up to standard. A otherwise pleasant cruise with good food and service spoilt.

Summary:  This is my first cruise for myself and family.booking through iglu was easy and everything my operator told me and booked was spot on so a big thank you to him.As for the ship it was ok but I think it’s still very dated from the cabin point of view and some areas like stairwells and some facility areas.As for food well the area called market place is perfectly named as it’s just basic bog standard food.some of the other eateries are ok but service throughout the ship was slow and not what i expected.As for the Xmas dinner on board well I was better dressed than what the food I was served needed.we get asked in a news letter dress respectful and of a good standard but the food quality and service was poor.Im coeliac and choice on board the ship is limited dispite what they say as try eating the same food day in day out when your choice is limited.i will say all staff are exceptionaly friendly throughout.my balcony door latch didn’t lock and even tho I told them twice or more it never got fixed.i won’t say I’m a lover of cruising as to be honest we didn’t cruise the ship went flat out most nights at sea and the ship at the best of the liners out there.i did however find it funny that some people you speak to think cruising is a rich or luxury thing but it ain’t really it’s a ship at the end of the day with average food and very average entertainment.theres no snobbery about it.Thompson forgot some of my gluten free food on my flight back so cheers for that and the raisins and waffer was not worth eating Poor display of flight food.but I have said and will again iglu from the booking to the staff etc I can’t fault

Summary:  4 of us were on cruise November into December. Thought on board entertainment was bad especially in squid and anchor game shows put on regularly were very tedious and lengthy plus very little interaction with people not involed plus no real atmosphere when stag acts on and no encouragement for people to enjoy very static. All staff were extremely pleasant and only a few times a bit rude rooms were good and food was very much the same not real variety

Summary:  We cannot fault the ship, its cleanliness, choice of food, pleasant staff, we had an amazing time.

Summary:  Wonderful holiday two weeks spoiled around the Caribbean some islands need to recover from hurricanes last year,.food excellent, room service excellent,shows could be a bit better,but overall will return.