New to Marella

[msk1955]

Hi folks

 

We have sailed a number of times with various cruise lines, but never with Marella.  We have booked through an agent, so understand we are unable to log on to our booking via the Marella home page, but our agent has sent us the links to upload our API and choose our excursions.  I have a few more questions though: 

Do we have to register a credit card on boarding, similar to other cruise lines?  

Do we need to inform Marella of our insurance details (I am unable to find anywhere on the links to enable us to do this)?

Are our luggage labels and boarding passes emailed to us, or is there another way?

Are the formal nights well attended and do most men wear black tie?

 

Any and all help or hints appreciated.

 

Thanks.

 

[dronnygirl]

Hi msk1955,  welcome aboard.

You will have to register a credit card when you board, even though it's AI there are extras e.g. photos or drinks not included in the AI

You don't  need to inform Marella of your insurance details, it's your responsibility to sort this

Luggage labels are supplied when you arrive at the airport as you will be met by a rep

Formal evenings or Dress to Impress nights are well attended but sadly less and less men wear black tie. Only about 25% on our last cruise on Explorer 2. Most people dress smartly though.

I'm sure you will have a lovely cruise, which ship/itinerary have you booked?

[msk1955]

Thanks very much for replying.  We are on the 7 night cruise departing on Christmas Day and returning 2 January, taking in Cyprus, Turkey, Greece and Israel.

[pblack05]

You will likely get a lot of men wearing black tie for NYE. We were on the Dream last year for NYE and it was a great cruise. We are on the Explorer this coming NYE and will be taking our "formals"

[msk1955]

In that case, I will try to persuade my husband to take his formals 😀.  We are also on the Dream and looking forward to it now.  Will feel a bit odd as it will be the first Christmas away from home, but our big family do is the week before, so it's the best of both worlds.

[davecttr]

You can also register a debit card if you wish or make a cash deposit which you can top up as required. the balance will be refunded at the end of the cruise.

[msk1955]

Thanks for that.  We have always registered a credit card, so will no doubt do so again.

[okavango]

1 hour ago, dronnygirl said:

Hi msk1955,  welcome aboard.

You will have to register a credit card when you board, even though it's AI there are extras e.g. photos or drinks not included in the AI

You don't  need to inform Marella of your insurance details, it's your responsibility to sort this

Luggage labels are supplied when you arrive at the airport as you will be met by a rep

Formal evenings or Dress to Impress nights are well attended but sadly less and less men wear black tie. Only about 25% on our last cruise on Explorer 2. Most people dress smartly though.

I'm sure you will have a lovely cruise, which ship/itinerary have you booked?

Luggage labels not normally given at the departure airport any more ,they seem to have changed back to mostly at departure port check in or arrival airport reps except for the bonded luggage flights

[Vitalsign]

We are on this cruise with my sister and partner and it is also our first holiday/ cruise at Christmas This will be Dreams final week of sailing before she goes for a 3month refit so the atmosphere should be great on board as the crew will be leaving when we do or a couple of days later but no passengers will be getting on the day we leave so hopefully after the celebrations we will be able to have a lie in.

Dream is a really friendly ship if now a little old but easy to get around and the main pool has a closeable roof which is a bonus should we get rain

im sure you'll enjoy the cruise we're looking forward to being in Israel Christmas week we've been before and can really recommend the 2 day overnight excursion

 

Thomson Spirit           Oct/Nov 2005  Repo Palma to Sharm el Sheikh  

Thomson Celebration   Jan 2007  Red Sea Magic 

Ocean Village             Feb 2008  Western Caribbean & Central America 

Ocean Village             Aug 2008  Eastern Med 

Ocean Village 2          Feb 2009  Eastern Caribbean  

Ocean Village             Mar 2010  Eastern Caribbean 

Thomson Dream         Feb 2011  Eastern Caribbean & Cuba

Thomson Celebration  Aug 2011  Eastern Med  

Thomson Celebration  Apr 2012  Red Sea Magic  

Thomson Celebration  Apr/May 2012  Repo Sharm el Sheikh to Marmaris

Thomson Dream         Feb 2013  EasternCaribbean  

Thomson Majesty     Nov/Dec 2014  Colourful Coasts Canaries

Thomson Dream          Jan/Feb 2015  Western Caribbean Panama & Cuba  

Thomson Dream         Apr 2015  Transatlantic Sunset 

Thomson MajestyJune 2015  Hellenic Classics 

Thomson Celebration   Sept 2015  Adriatic Affair

Thomson DreamJan 2016  Mayan Treasures/Cuban Revolution

Thomson DreamApril 2016  Atlantic Adventure

Thomson DreamJune 2016  Iconic Islands/Adriatic Explorer

Thomson CelebrationJan 2017 Cities of Gold

Thomson DreamApril2017  Atlantic Daydream

Thomson SpiritJune 2017 Classical Greece

Thomson Majesty         Sept2017 Med Medley/Treasures of Med

Marella Celebration         Jan 2018  Caribbean Gems/Coral Islands

Marella Discovery 2         April 2018 Cuban Fusion

MarellaDiscovery 2          April 2018 Atlantic Discoveries

Marella Dream                 May 2018 Spanish Delights

Marella Discovery 2June 2018 Aegean Meze

Marella DreamSept 2018 Mediterranean Medley

Marella Celebration          April 2019 Caribbean Dreams

Marella Celebration          April/May 2019 Atlantic Quest

Marella Discovery June 2019 Adriatic Explorer

Marella Dream      Dec 2019 Ancient Affair

Marella DiscoveryApril 2020 Golden Cities and Sands

Marella DiscoveryApril 2020 Red Sea Experience

 

[FuzzyDuckUK]

You seem to be avoiding the Explorers...

[Vitalsign]

Yes - especially Naples after the reports

But also the showteam are not from Peel nor the CDs and I like the old RCL Vision class ships and the Explorers are larger

[2BACRUISER]

9 hours ago, Vitalsign said:

Yes - especially Naples after the reports

But also the showteam are not from Peel nor the CDs and I like the old RCL Vision class ships and the Explorers are larger

Its funny you say about the 'old RCL Vision' class because i think having been on both that the two differing ships still retain the elements of their origins i.e the Discoverys are still  very much run along RCL lines and character and clientele whilst the Explorers still imo retain their Celebrity personna both in atmosphere, clientele and way they are run. 

Good to see Dream is going in for a 3mth refurb which suggests they arent thinking of replacing her in the imminent future.

[brian1]

12 hours ago, Vitalsign said:

Yes - especially Naples after the reports

But also the showteam are not from Peel nor the CDs and I like the old RCL Vision class ships and the Explorers are larger

Having seen the showteam sing and dance superbly in a gale force 10,with the stage in the bow.I disagree with your 2nd point.

Edited November 12, 2019 by brian1

[msk1955]

Many thanks for all of your replies.  I have just one more question, apart from the water stations in the restaurants, are there any bottles of water provided in the cabins at the start of the cruise?  I know that if you upgrade to the premium drinks package you get a 1.5 litre bottle of water each day, but what if you don't upgrade?

[Vitalsign]

You have to purchase bottles of water there is an order form in your cabin and your cabin steward/ess will deliver them There is usually a carafe also on the tea/coffee tray which you can fill from the water stations Your steward will also deliver ice to your cabin on request. I have a collapsible funnel which I bought on line - very useful for filling small water bottle for days off ship and for decanting alcohol from a glass bottle into a plastic one for lightweight journey home in my case

[Jim The Scot]

There are free cold water dispensers on every deck/floor which you can use to fill up your carafe in your cabin or bottles.We were on deck 5 last month and used the dispenser for our water.

[howmuch!]

Bottles shouldn't be filled at the dispenser, so fill the carafe and decant it into bottles when you get back to the cabin.

[davecttr]

31 minutes ago, howmuch! said:

Bottles shouldn't be filled at the dispenser, so fill the carafe and decant it into bottles when you get back to the cabin.

Some people can take no notice of that, or anything else that does not apply to them cos they are special.

[Jim The Scot]

59 minutes ago, howmuch! said:

Bottles shouldn't be filled at the dispenser, so fill the carafe and decant it into bottles when you get back to the cabin.

 

Thats what I meant..Poorly worded on my part

 

 

Hope thats not aimed at me dave.I,ve been on enough cruises to know the procedures/ rules

[Vitalsign]

There seem to be a lot more 'special' people on our cruise line in the last couple of years

Especially regarding hand washing, hand sanitising and inappropriate dress 😬

[Scot born]

Hi

Just received my ETicket and it seems that there are still doing 

On 11/11/2019 at 4:33 PM, okavango said:

Luggage labels not normally given at the departure airport any more ,they seem to have changed back to mostly at departure port check in or arrival airport reps except for the bonded luggage flights

 

Hi 

Just received my E ticket and they will be giving the luggage labels at the departure airport as we are on the same cruise Happy Cruising see you on board. 

 

NFORMATION ABOUT LIMASSOL, CYPRUS To check in your bags in the UK you'll need to visit the Marella Cruises stand. We'll attach your cabin number to your bag to speed up the process at the other end. Once you've landed, collect your luggage and make your way through to the Arrivals Hall. A Marella Cruises Advisor will meet you and direct you to your transfer coach. When you reach the port, your luggage will be taken straight to your cabin. You'll also be given a welcome envelope with your onboard account card inside. Your onboard account card doubles as your boarding card, so you should keep it on you at all times - you'll need to show it at the gangway and when you pay for something.

[msk1955]

Thanks  - interesting.  Will be the first time on a fly/cruise where we have had to collect our luggage upon arrival.  Usually, once it's checked in here, the next time we see it is outside our cabin.  Will need to bear that in mind!

[Vitalsign]

Luggage is bonded and delivered straight to your cabin on Marella Caribbean cruises and if you fly/cruise from Dubrovnik.  Its supposed to be bonded for the Naples cruises too but this first summer cruising has had problems which hopefully will be sorted for next year

[dronnygirl]

1 hour ago, msk1955 said:

Thanks  - interesting.  Will be the first time on a fly/cruise where we have had to collect our luggage upon arrival.  Usually, once it's checked in here, the next time we see it is outside our cabin.  Will need to bear that in mind!

It's  not really  a problem, soon on the coach and then you don't  see luggage until your cabin. The upside is that when you disembark the luggage is lined up on the quayside or in shelters for you to identify and put on the coach. At this point I often sneak last minute things into the suitcase which saves having to carry them in the hand luggage.

[brian1]

Naples will never be bonded.Italians love their beurocracy.