Recent Marella Ship Concerns

[Ashby]

We are on the Dream in April on her repositioning from Tenerife back to Palma. It will be our 15th cruise including 7 on the Dream. I know and have experienced the short comings of the ship but the itinerary suited us.I have become really concerned with recent reviews. I know that D&V has been a big issue but the general reports have been awful. We were on the D1 in September and felt that the cost cutting re waiters and bar staff delivered a very slow service.I was surprised to read that trays in the Sirens are not allowed.My husband is blind so I always carry both of our meals whilst he holds my arm so if we want to use this restaurant it's going to be a lot more trips to the self service area.The sad thing is that after 20 years of cruising I think this may be our last.I had great hopes of the newer ships but found the layout and use of evening bars with very limited seating and no We on the entertainment deck really differcult with someone who is blind and finds stairs differcult Hopefully our April trip will be find and tui will have address some of the issues if they take any notice of these comments

[Britboys]

Thanks for that Pensioncruiser. Just didn't want anyone to think I was suggesting that there were drunks all over the ship, as there weren't :D.

[Britboys]

There aren't any trays in the Islands buffet on D2 either. I really don't get this as there are so many reasons to have them. As Ashby has said, if you are helping another person who has a disability, you don't want to have to keep walking to & from the servery area. When I travel alone I normally have a book and spectacles with me, so add that to cutlery, drink and even only one plate - it is a real pain. Every other cruise line I know provides trays in the buffet restaurant.

[Pensioncruiser]

Hi Ashby we did the repositioning on Dream last year and found no deteriation in service from previous cruises on her, if they no longer have trays, they had them last year, I am certain the waiters will help out, they offered to help me and I am just an oldie 😉, we meet a lot of you old staff and had a great cruise.

 

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[Pensioncruiser]

That should be the old staff not you😀

 

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[Ashby]

We usually use the Mir ehenever possible but do like sirens for a change.We find the larger buffet areas very differcult. Have always chosen our cruises based on POC and are looking forward to Lisbon,maderia and Cadiz which together to Las Palmas are new to us So as long as the Dream is free of illness with reasonable food and entertainment it should be fine. But I can remember the times when holidaying on a cruise ship was something special!

[Daveth10]

Don't kid yourselves with excuses, go and read the reviews on Cruise Critic and other review sites. The majority of reviews say that Marella Cruises are awful and they will not go with them again. In my opinion unless you get a cruise with Marella, (all inclusive) for less than £80 per night inclusive of flights, go elsewhere, as you are being overcharged for poor quality.

[Gate54]

The reviews are mixed.

I have enjoyed both of my cruises on Marella ships and have left reviews and given some of the things people have complained about. On review sites you often find that people who have something to complain about are the ones who write reviews whereas those who were satisfied don't write reviews.

The cruises are not perfect but one thing I like is the fact that there aren't any surprises at the end of the cruise as you know what you have paid for.

I believe that they are good value for money.

[jake 26]

[quote=Gate54;55269570

The cruises are not perfect but one thing I like is the fact that there aren't any surprises at the end of the cruise as you know what you have paid for.

/quote]

The surprises seem to be before you go with the amount of itinerary changes being made after passengers have paid the final balance.

The Atlantic Discoveries transatlantic in April has been dubbed 'The Marella Mystery Cruise' on Facebook after 30% of the original ports were changed.

Discovery 1 itineraries this winter appear to have flummoxed many about where they were going, and Havana overnighters on some Cuban Fusion itineraries on D2 have been Cozumel overnighters.

I think we shall consider returning to P&O or similar next year.

[Gate54]

I definitely would have complained if our visit to Havanna had been shortened.

We did have one change of port due to bad weather.

[Britboys]

I think one of the problems is that they are in transition at the moment. They are bringing in newer, larger ships and they are trying to 'up the ante' but I am not sure they are putting enough money into it. Also, the prices when booking ahead are not really attractive bearing in mind the product on offer. I have just looked at the Eastern Med 7-night itineraries for October this year. Full Board on Celebration is £800/900pp and AI on Discovery 2 £1000/1100.pp

[davecttr]

Don't kid yourselves with excuses, go and read the reviews on Cruise Critic and other review sites. The majority of reviews say that Marella Cruises are awful and they will not go with them again. In my opinion unless you get a cruise with Marella, (all inclusive) for less than £80 per night inclusive of flights, go elsewhere, as you are being overcharged for poor quality.

 

I checked the cruise critic reviews!

 

P&O have 7 ships and Marella 5

 

 

There were 3304 P&O reviews and 2268 Marella

An average of 472 reviews per ship for P&O and 453 per ship for Marella

For P&O 59% of reviews were rated very good or excellent, 18% of reviews were rated poor or terrible.

 

For Marella 64% of reviews were rated very good or excellent, 17% of reviews were rated poor or terrible.

 

 

For both cruise lines the terrible rating was 8%

 

 

P&O's best rated ship was Aurora on 65% and worse were Britannia/Oriana on 21%

 

Marella's best rated ship was Spirit on 76% and worse was Dream on 22%

 

What does this mean?

 

What it does not mean, at least as far as cruise critic is concerned?

 

Draw your own conclusions ;p

[Vitalsign]

If you check the most expensive 7 night Celebration cruise in October from Manchester which is more expensive than flying from Gatwick is £992pp for AI in an inside cabin In all fairness Celebration (although I love this ship) should be cheaper than a Discovery ship

[Longislandtea]

Don't kid yourselves with excuses, go and read the reviews on Cruise Critic and other review sites. The majority of reviews say that Marella Cruises are awful and they will not go with them again. In my opinion unless you get a cruise with Marella, (all inclusive) for less than £80 per night inclusive of flights, go elsewhere, as you are being overcharged for poor quality.

 

Totally dis-agree with you. So do most of the people I have cruised with. Remember, only a small % bother with CC...... :evilsmile:

[jake 26]

Re pricing

 

I can't really understand the logic in Marella pricing mainly concerning the Discovery ships.

 

The base price is high per person per night but the increase in cost for upgrading to better cabins is quite low and makes the higher end cabins amazing value in comparison to other lines. For example a junior suite on Discovery for 7 nights will be no more than £300 pp on top of the base price for a standard inside.

The junior suite is a large cabin with bath & shower, a good sized seating area with settee and chairs, and a nice sized balcony with table chairs and sun lounger plus other perks.

That type of cabin on P&O Aurora or Oriana which are similar sized ships will cost up to 3 times the base price (which is likely to be lower than Marella), so possibly an additional £1400 pp.

Some friends were with us on the Discovery 2 TA 18 nights last November and they had an executive suite which is stunning. That cost around £6600 for them both. They would not have got that level of suite for less than £16000 on P&O.

So the worst value is the basic inside on Marella. Therefore it is incorrect to compare the basic price on Marella with e.g. P&O basic price as Marella will come out dearer but over the whole cabin range P&O are likely to be significantly dearer.

Perhaps if Marella charged a comparable rate for the better accommodation they would be able to provide improved food and service levels as Andrew states.

Personally I am very happy with the price we pay for a JS but it doesn't seem fair overall.

Edited February 13, 2018 by jake 26
Typo

[GlenLivet]

After 6 consecutive cruises with Thomson/Tui (with the last two being on Discovery 1), I must admit last year was the first time I felt the cruise did not represent as good value as previously. To my mind there appeared evidence of cost cutting, particularly in the main dining rooms where the portion sizes and choice seemed to be less. I also felt the entertainment in the Broadway lounge fell short of our previous experiences. The programme on both cruises on Discovery 1 was pretty much identical, although they were a year apart. I would have thought they would have had a completely new line up of shows for each summer season in the Med. Maybe it's just cheaper to stick with the same costumes, sets and routines?

 

To put things in some kind of context, we actually first sailed on D1 just a couple of months after her maiden voyage, and we fully accepted there were staffing issues with new crew settling in etc., but still enjoyed it more than last year's cruise.

 

Still undecided whether to go with them again this year. Previously I have always booked well in advance, usually when the new brochures come out. However due to our experiences, this year they look a tad expensive for what's on offer...

[Nannyannie]

Don't kid yourselves with excuses, go and read the reviews on Cruise Critic and other review sites. The majority of reviews say that Marella Cruises are awful and they will not go with them again. In my opinion unless you get a cruise with Marella, (all inclusive) for less than £80 per night inclusive of flights, go elsewhere, as you are being overcharged for poor quality.

 

 

Am so sorry you had such a terrible cruise last year but do you really think it is necessary to keep criticising on so many threads. Many people from all walks of life wealthy or not have had wonderful cruises with Marella or previously Thomson. Nothing is ever perfect regardless of how much is paid. The class of passengers has nothing to with the way they behave on board. You will find cut backs on most cruise lines during the last few years. Good luck with your next cruise. Most of us will continue to enjoy Marella.

[Britboys]

I can see and accept the point made about the Suite prices being very good value but having said that, the majority of pax do not travel in the suites. Those of you that have seen my review on this site of my recent cruise on D2 will know that I wasn't impressed. When the prices are not significantly cheaper than, for instance, P&O, I would expect a similar standard. Unfortunately what I experienced on D2 was nowhere near the same standard I had experienced on two P&O ships of similar size and age last year. The week certainly wasn't a disaster but didn't make me want to return to Marella.

[Scriv]

I can see and accept the point made about the Suite prices being very good value but having said that, the majority of pax do not travel in the suites. Those of you that have seen my review on this site of my recent cruise on D2 will know that I wasn't impressed. When the prices are not significantly cheaper than, for instance, P&O, I would expect a similar standard. Unfortunately what I experienced on D2 was nowhere near the same standard I had experienced on two P&O ships of similar size and age last year. The week certainly wasn't a disaster but didn't make me want to return to Marella.

 

 

Britboys, thank you very much for your review. I found it very helpful especially as I have seen you on other forums so have quite a good idea of where you are coming from and the kind of thing you like and expect. Just trying to decide whether Marella is anything for us or not.

[Longislandtea]

I can see and accept the point made about the Suite prices being very good value but having said that, the majority of pax do not travel in the suites. Those of you that have seen my review on this site of my recent cruise on D2 will know that I wasn't impressed. When the prices are not significantly cheaper than, for instance, P&O, I would expect a similar standard. Unfortunately what I experienced on D2 was nowhere near the same standard I had experienced on two P&O ships of similar size and age last year. The week certainly wasn't a disaster but didn't make me want to return to Marella.

 

As a solo traveller, my cruise during the Christmas Period was at least £1k cheaper than P&O.

[Vitalsign]

I have never found a P&O cruise with similar itinerary to Marella comparable in price Always an extra sea day and no drinks package and tips excluded. I've also been told trips are more expensive too So I'm happy with my fully packaged smiling cruise provider

[Britboys]

Britboys, thank you very much for your review. I found it very helpful especially as I have seen you on other forums so have quite a good idea of where you are coming from and the kind of thing you like and expect. Just trying to decide whether Marella is anything for us or not.

 

Thank you Scriv. I would say that if you can get a really good deal, it is worth trying. I don't regret my week on D2 even though I am not inspired to sail with them again. I had set my expectations low and they were met. If you have any questions about Marella, feel free to pm me on the other forum (CN).

[Britboys]

I wouldn't expect to get a cruise with the likes of P&O for the same price but to me it would probably be better value for the things that are important to me in a cruise. I guess like many lines, you maybe have to book at the right time with Marella to get a really good deal.

Out of interest, I have this afternoon priced up solo cruises with Marella out of Malaga, Palma & Corfu in September. Seven nights run from £1105 to £1889 and 14 nights from £2033 to £2352. Some were Full Board & some AI. I could also book a 7 night P&O fly cruise from Malta for £1828 including choice of cabin number and free seat-booking for the flight. A 14-night fly-cruise comes out at £2271 with a guarantee cabin or £2331 with choice of cabin and some on board credit included.

I appreciate tips and drinks would be extra on P&O but as a moderate drinker, I would find the P&O prices better value for money based on my limited experience of Marella.

[Daveth10]

Thank you Scriv. I would say that if you can get a really good deal, it is worth trying. I don't regret my week on D2 even though I am not inspired to sail with them again. I had set my expectations low and they were met. If you have any questions about Marella, feel free to pm me on the other forum (CN).

 

Britboys, I think you have summed it up perfectly, we enjoyed our cruise, I wouldn't choose to go with Marella again, and would only recommend Marella if one was able to get the cruise at absolute rock bottom prices

[Nannyannie]

I do understand you speak as you find, but if I found a cruise line to be so awful wild horses wouldn't drag me on to it regardless of price. All being well we will be on Discovery in a week or so. Will see how we find this ship. Have done this cruise on Emerald, Destiny, Dream and Celebration and have had a wonderful time on every one. Will report back.