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Marella getting too pricey?


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On 12/28/2019 at 5:27 PM, nancyneptune said:

 

Agree with your comments about Marella being very expensive now and the AI attracting the wrong sort of person. 

On our last cruise we saw several people a bit worse for wear and the women were by far the worst. 

There was some large groups of people who were rowdy and sometimes rude to the waiters. 

 

 

 

Lets not pretend this an issue soley related to Marella.This an issue across many of the all singing all dancing more established cruise lines like P&O and Carnival for example where fairly recently there has actually been fights on board

Edited by Jim The Scot
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8 hours ago, Jim The Scot said:

 

Lets not pretend this an issue soley related to Marella.This an issue across many of the all singing all dancing more established cruise lines like P&O and Carnival for example where fairly recently there has actually been fights on board

 

 

Totally agree Jim, but i would like to see Marella lower there price for a cruise and take of the all-inclusive and put it back on as a incentive for early booker,s like they had many years ago, my wife is T.T as is quite happy with soft drinks i like a glass of wine or three and quite happy to buy a bottle for my eavning meal, but thats just me, PS I have also been a early booker one to get the cabin i want and to have the drink,s package if its going.

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Funny things, cruise prices. You go on the P&O forum and you will see people complaining that P&O is now too expensive compared to other cruise lines!  The truth is, you will always find bargains if you shop around. The biggest impact on pricing still seems to be school holidays. We've just booked two weeks in the Caribbean on Discovery 2 in April and as my wife teaches part time, she's changed her working days to allow us to take a few days in term time. Had we taken a similar cruise a few days earlier, the cost would have been £1,000 higher.

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21 minutes ago, so,ton saint said:

 

 

Totally agree Jim, but i would like to see Marella lower there price for a cruise and take of the all-inclusive and put it back on as a incentive for early booker,s like they had many years ago, my wife is T.T as is quite happy with soft drinks i like a glass of wine or three and quite happy to buy a bottle for my eavning meal, but thats just me, PS I have also been a early booker one to get the cabin i want and to have the drink,s package if its going.

The good old days, also liked the set meal times and table's I know I'm on my own with that one but we meet some fantastic fellow passengers who are still friends. 🤗

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37 minutes ago, Pensioncruiser said:

The good old days, also liked the set meal times and table's I know I'm on my own with that one but we meet some fantastic fellow passengers who are still friends. 🤗

 

No your not Roger had my own seat for ten year,s at St Marys with the grand boy he became of age  (18) and went to Uni i got moved to another stand and had to make new football friends, life goes on  ( THAT BLOODY VAR) OOP,S

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15 hours ago, Jim The Scot said:

 

Lets not pretend this an issue soley related to Marella.This an issue across many of the all singing all dancing more established cruise lines like P&O and Carnival for example where fairly recently there has actually been fights on board

 

We know some cruise lines have all singing all dancing ships Jim and that is the reason we don't book them.  We expect better behaviour on Marella's classic ships like the Celebration and the Dream.  Unfortunately since all the ships became AI for some people neither the ship nor the itinerary are important.  It's all about how much food and drink they can consume in the course of a week.

 

Our last cruise was on the Dream and we saw several women being helped back to their cabins and one even being sick on the carpet before her husband could open the door.  Not what we want to see on holiday.

 

Like So,ton saint I would like to see Marella return to the way things were and give people the choice of whether to have the drinks package or not.  It's unfair to expect  people to pay the increased prices for their cruise when they don't drink alcohol or even soft drinks and coffee.

 

It's unbelievable the number of cruisers who seem to think the AI also means the food element. The food was always available ( at one time 24 hours a day )  and I have to say in years gone by was of a much better standard than it is now.

Also the number of people who refer to the drinks as free.  Certainly not free just included in the price of the cruise.

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Agree, would much prefer not to have AI.  We like to go ashore and have a meal and drinks in local restaurants but people tend to think twice when they have AI.  We have noticed many resorts now have empty restaurants and bars due people staying in their AI accommodation.

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10 hours ago, so,ton saint said:

 

 

Totally agree Jim, but i would like to see Marella lower there price for a cruise and take of the all-inclusive and put it back on as a incentive for early booker,s like they had many years ago, my wife is T.T as is quite happy with soft drinks i like a glass of wine or three and quite happy to buy a bottle for my eavning meal, but thats just me, PS I have also been a early booker one to get the cabin i want and to have the drink,s package if its going.

 

Totally with you SS

 

3 hours ago, nancyneptune said:

 

We know some cruise lines have all singing all dancing ships Jim and that is the reason we don't book them.  We expect better behaviour on Marella's classic ships like the Celebration and the Dream.  Unfortunately since all the ships became AI for some people neither the ship nor the itinerary are important.  It's all about how much food and drink they can consume in the course of a week.

 

Our last cruise was on the Dream and we saw several women being helped back to their cabins and one even being sick on the carpet before her husband could open the door.  Not what we want to see on holiday.

 

Like So,ton saint I would like to see Marella return to the way things were and give people the choice of whether to have the drinks package or not.  It's unfair to expect  people to pay the increased prices for their cruise when they don't drink alcohol or even soft drinks and coffee.

 

It's unbelievable the number of cruisers who seem to think the AI also means the food element. The food was always available ( at one time 24 hours a day )  and I have to say in years gone by was of a much better standard than it is now.

Also the number of people who refer to the drinks as free.  Certainly not free just included in the price of the cruise.

 

Hi Nancy

 

The point I was trying to get across is,unruly,drunken behaviour is prevalent over many cruise lines which includes the all singing dancing ones where you might expect it not to be and not just Marella

 

Thankfully we,ve been fortunate so far not to witness drunk/unruly behaviour.The only thing we have seen a change in on our last two cruises is noisy passengers who,ve had a few  who seem to want to shout at each other even though they are sat at the same table.Never witnessed this at night in any of the bars but on the smoking deck above lido pool during the day  as we sat their ocassionally as that was one of the few places where the sun shone.Not a place we normally frequent

 

Like you and SS I would also like to see Marella return to things the way they were for reasons cited.Unfortunately dont see it happening

 

Stole this from a post by vwgolf on the dream thread that sums up my feelings

 

“quietly sozzled folks who keep themselves to themselves are no problem - in fact, I may be one of those myself!”

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2 hours ago, Jim The Scot said:

 

 

 

Stole this from a post by vwgolf on the dream thread that sums up my feelings

 

“quietly sozzled folks who keep themselves to themselves are no problem - in fact, I may be one of those myself!”

 

Thanks - I'll take that as a compliment!

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Quietly sozzled sounds fine lol !   It's the sozzled and raucous that annoys people. 

 

Off now to get the house shining, the black bun, shortbread and malt whisky sorted for later so I would like to wish you all a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year. 

 

 As we say here in Scotland  " ALL THE BEST WHEN IT COMES "

 

 

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1 hour ago, oxygenbanditnot said:

In some area's, it is customary for a tall dark handsome man (me) to knock on the door at midnight with a lump of coal. Guess in Scotland it's a black bun ? 😇

 

 

Tall dark, handsome man  wearing a kilt, carrying a lump of coal, a black bun and a bottle of malt whisky. lol !  🤣

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Well I did it, I admit it, I cancelled a Marella cruise and booked a P&O one instead

Outside Single cabin on Marella Explorer to Greek islands and Adriatic 14 nights fly cruise to Corfu, price  £3178, yes £3178! Lost my deposit of £200 . I fancied visiting Santorini again but what are the odds the itinerary would be changed? After the 28 hour delay flying to Tenerife beforexmas I thought I mus be fool to go through this. My alcohol consumption has dropped dramatically, now only 2 or 3 drinks per day on holiday so the 'free' AI now means little.

 

I booked a 12 night to Spain/Portugal from Southampton bliss, no flying. 12 nights, inside cabin of my choice on Azura. Price £1408 plus £45 OBC plus £70 shareholder benefit plus free port shuttles plus free laundry. Lots of sea days. I like sea days cos I read a lot. Plus 10% off onboard spend once I reach the £115 OBC. Saving £1713 even with the lost deposit.

 

So chuffed I booked my winter 2020/21 cruise, 14 nights to the Canaries, P&O Iona £1601 for an inside cabin, £45 OBC and £150 shareholder benefit plus all the other perks.

 

It looks like my Norway cruise with Marella will be the last for some time as they will no longer be cruising from the UK

 

ps - that £1713 will come in handy my guttering has taken a hammering and it needs complete replacement.

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19 hours ago, davecttr said:

Well I did it, I admit it, I cancelled a Marella cruise and booked a P&O one instead

Outside Single cabin on Marella Explorer to Greek islands and Adriatic 14 nights fly cruise to Corfu, price  £3178, yes £3178! Lost my deposit of £200 . I fancied visiting Santorini again but what are the odds the itinerary would be changed? After the 28 hour delay flying to Tenerife beforexmas I thought I mus be fool to go through this. My alcohol consumption has dropped dramatically, now only 2 or 3 drinks per day on holiday so the 'free' AI now means little.

 

I booked a 12 night to Spain/Portugal from Southampton bliss, no flying. 12 nights, inside cabin of my choice on Azura. Price £1408 plus £45 OBC plus £70 shareholder benefit plus free port shuttles plus free laundry. Lots of sea days. I like sea days cos I read a lot. Plus 10% off onboard spend once I reach the £115 OBC. Saving £1713 even with the lost deposit.

 

So chuffed I booked my winter 2020/21 cruise, 14 nights to the Canaries, P&O Iona £1601 for an inside cabin, £45 OBC and £150 shareholder benefit plus all the other perks.

 

It looks like my Norway cruise with Marella will be the last for some time as they will no longer be cruising from the UK

 

ps - that £1713 will come in handy my guttering has taken a hammering and it needs complete replacement.

 

 

Wow !  That is some price difference Dave.  Well done.  All those other little extra too. 

We have cruised with Thomson / Marella for years and all we have had for our loyalty is a bar of chocolate. ( Don't think they even do that now )

 

Marella's prices for solos are ridiculous. There is a company that specialises in solo cruises and has some great itineraries and low or no supplements for solos. Might be worth having a look at their website.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

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  • 4 weeks later...
28 minutes ago, insidecabin said:

I see the 14n baltic have started to drop

Expect further reductions still over 3months to go

Mmm, also watching. Loads of cabins free although it's a popular itinerary, we have compared price with P&O but their Baltics have 6 sea days so a no no for us.  

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