First timer, complete beginner.......

Hi there, complete beginner here, just taken the plunge (not literarlly) and booked our first cruise on Marella Explorer, out of Palma, on 26th May for 7 days.

Everything seems a little bit daunting at first, but sure we will pick it up as we go along. I guess the lack of info about Explorer is because it’s in dry dock being re-branded? Any tips for a couple of first time newbies in their 50’s would be very grateful.

Thanks in advance.

As one of Explorers first cruises with Marella be prepared for a few teething problems as half the crew will be new and being trained by the well versed other half

No one knows this ship as it's the first of its kind to join the fleet as it was previously TUI Mein Schiff 1 used for the German market

If it's like the other Marella ships the entertainment team should be good and the showteam/bands etc good and the food/dining experience good

If you want to do excursions as you are newbies I suggest you book with the ship as you will never be left behind if you are late back and they are reasonably priced and you'll have peace of mind

I hope you really enjoy it and become hooked on cruising like everyone else on these boards

I find it takes about 4 cruises to find out what really works for you and what your needs and wants are from a cruise. The great news is, it only takes 1 cruise to get you hooked.

I tried different ships, different cabin grades, etc before I found what we like. Marella Cruises are really great and soon becoming my brand of choice. See my signature below for a list of my ships I've sailed on.

As a newbie (we all were once), read through a lot of the threads for information, as there is so much and then if stuck, ask the questions that are bothering you, that you couldn't find an answer to.

With all the info on here, we could write a book for the new cruiser and probably another 2 after that.

Many thanks for your reply, Vitalsign, I’m sure we’ll have a great time. I’ve been pestering the ‘other half’ to go cruising for some time now, so now I’ve won her over into booking, I hope she enjoys it and has a ball.

Yes, I think that’s the best idea, booking excursions with the ship as we’ve not visited Rome or Florence before. Besides, if we stayed too close to the ship, we’d become alcoholics in a few days! Is Explorer the only Marella ship that’s all inclusive?

Many thanks, SausPud, it’s certainly very helpful just reading through the threads on here, slowly piecing everything together.

For the past 4/5 years we’ve exclusively used Tui (Thomson as it was then) for our holidays and had very few problems, so trying their cruises seemed the obvious next step. The difficulty we have with holidays is that my partner works in education, so we have to pick school holidays, and pay the premium rates that go with them.

The idea is to try this 7 day break as a taster, then progress to other bigger, more exotic ones, if everything works out OK.

Many thanks, SausPud, it’s certainly very helpful just reading through the threads on here, slowly piecing everything together.

 

For the past 4/5 years we’ve exclusively used Tui (Thomson as it was then) for our holidays and had very few problems, so trying their cruises seemed the obvious next step. The difficulty we have with holidays is that my partner works in education, so we have to pick school holidays, and pay the premium rates that go with them.

 

The idea is to try this 7 day break as a taster, then progress to other bigger, more exotic ones, if everything works out OK.

My DW is the same and we are limited due to the school holidays. Some of the ships are adult only, so no children onboard, if that works for you.

I have a couple of threads explaining why I've "jumped ship" from Royal, back to Marella. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2622605

Worth a read.

Also, from May 2019, ALL Marella ships will be "all inclusive", currently, it's just the big four. Discovery 1 & 2, Explorer 1 & 2.

So we can help further, what Cabin grade did you book and have you picked a cabin number?

Yes, the adults only option certainly does appeal to us, that’s the way we normally go with Tui, either Sensimar, Gold or Senatori. As much as we love the grandkids, my partner gets over run with teenagers at work, so it’s nice to have some peace and quiet adult time on holiday. I’ve heard that Explorer 2 will be adult only, so that could be an option from next year, if this one goes well.

From what I’ve read, the All Inclusive drinks offering looks a lot better than the land based hotel ones, where some of the local spirits and wine can often be mistaken for paint stripper! Not that I’m suggesting we’re a couple of alcoholics, but we do find some hotel's local offering as completely undrinkable.

Also for only £50 each for the week, you can get all the premium drinks included and the speciality coffee from the coffee port.

I looked at the menu and can see lots of great in the normal but I do like my coffee, so might do the upgrade next year.

When you do fall in love and want to book for next year, do it early as it's normally the best price. My 2019 cruise has already increased in price, if I booked it today.

If I drank enough coffee to justify an extra 50 quid, I’d never get off to sleep, with all that caffeine swilling around inside me. As for the alcohol, it looks like most of our favourite tipples are on the inclusive menu, so no problems there.

As for cabin grades, I think we’ve booked a large balcony ones, on deck 9/10/12 which looks to suit us best. We haven’t pre booked a room number, as I assumed they’d all be very similar, with the better ones already reserved by now, so we’ll take pot luck on that one.

You will also have a hammock on the balcony. This is not normal and a real treat.

Enjoy

If I drank enough coffee to justify an extra 50 quid, I’d never get off to sleep, with all that caffeine swilling around inside me. As for the alcohol, it looks like most of our favourite tipples are on the inclusive menu, so no problems there.

 

As for cabin grades, I think we’ve booked a large balcony ones, on deck 9/10/12 which looks to suit us best. We haven’t pre booked a room number, as I assumed they’d all be very similar, with the better ones already reserved by now, so we’ll take pot luck on that one.

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On the lash until 2am?

I better start getting some serious training in, to prepare for this.

You have late night band jams, not every night, then off to the Disco. The band jams is when all the entertainment groups get together it used to be called a lock in on the smaller ships, it's a good night[emoji3]

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The £50 is for the week, it's 2 coffees a day from the shop.

But each to their own.

As a first cruise I would book a mid ships cabin where there is less movement especially as you are on the higher decks

On Discovery 2 we were mid ships deck 6 thankfully as we had some very rough seas on the Atlantic for a couple of days but the Med is usually calmer No higher than deck 7 on the other ships and have had little problem with movement. We never upgrade you can get all sorts of coffees on deck ordered from the bar staff and the AI drinks are plentiful

I thought Explorer 2 had been cancelled and was staying with TUI Germany and that's why Marella have bought Celebration

Yes, that's a fair point. All this talk of coffee's and All Incl drinks, I'm starting to get very thirsty!

It would appear that the info given on this board about Mein Schiff 2 wasn't right and it is joining Marella as Explorer 2 after all or was it right and it's another ship coming over?

It would appear that the info given on this board about Mein Schiff 2 wasn't right and it is joining Marella as Explorer 2 after all or was it right and it's another ship coming over?

Explorer 2 is currently SkySea Golden Era and will join Marella for the summer 2019 season. It is the same class as Explorer 1. It was originally called Celebrity Century.

Davecttr thanks for that so they did decide to keep Mein Schiff 2

Is it the ship that is in China currently that was rumoured to be coming to Marella? I was cruising for nearly 4 weeks and missed a lot of posts

Davecttr thanks for that so they did decide to keep Mein Schiff 2

Is it the ship that is in China currently that was rumoured to be coming to Marella? I was cruising for nearly 4 weeks and missed a lot of posts

Catch up - Marella was going to get Mein Schiff 2, but the Germans made a lot of fuss, just like us Brits with Celebration and Dream. So Mein Schiff 2 is staying with TUI in Germany and Marella went and bought Skysea Golden Era, which is an ex Celebrity ship, a similar class as Explorer 1 but slightly different deck layouts.

What Marella do after this point is not known at this time.

Here are a few of my tips if they're of any use:

Cheers, Simon, that's very helpful to complete notices like us.

Your first cruise will be daunting, no two ways. It will also be great.

If you dont know when you check in st the airport you wont see your luggage until its outside your cabin. I flew from bhx last year and that happened to me so i see no reason for any change.

You'll be ushered onto a bus to the port where you will have your photo taken and issued with your room card which doubles as your drinks purchase card. You may be asked to register a credit card for purchases on board.

When you first board the ship its time for a beverage then after 2 more go to your room unpack and YOU WILL HAVE TO TAKE YOUR LIFE JACKET TO A PRE DETERMINED DECK. THIS IS MANDATORY.

After that itll be dinner time ( depending on what time you embark) after that you can explore the ship.

Generally the first day is at sea so plenty of time to find your sea legs.

Please note that water for your room is chargeable unless you upgrade then its 1.5 litre a person each day.

Cabins are generally comfortable not too spacious but they do the job.

Now food, chances are you'll be knocked out by the amount of food on offer, the quality generally is great....some people moan about the food, you'll make up your own mind. There are various places to eat.

Drink is plentiful, if you dont have a headache on at least one morning you're doing it wrong.

Let us know how you get on.

Not long back off the celebration and we did not have to take our life jackets to the muster drill,first time this has happened,

Thanks for the reply, David, it's very helpful stuff to know, only a couple of weeks to go now.

I'm starting to get excited about it, especially now I see the ship has been re-fitted and chugging off to Palma.