Just returned from first cruise with Marella on Explorer - trip report

[beckyboo1986]

I thought I’d share with you all our thoughts from our First Marella Cruise. It’s a long one!  I also shared lots of pictures and videos on both Instagram and Tiktok so feel free to search for Explorewithethan2021 for more information.

 

We had a fantastic time and travelled with my disabled sister and toddler. We’d absolutely book another Marella cruise but there’s always room for improvements. I also think it’s really helpful hearing tips from other passengers so you can be better prepared and manage your own expectations.

 

Cabin 5065:

 

We booked an outside adaptive cabin. Loved the space available. Plenty of wardrobe space but perhaps could have done with a few more draws. The beds were set to a double upon arrival (despite there being same sex adults on the booking, there was another post regarding this so thought I’d mention it) so we asked the stateroom attendant to change this. I had to explain this a few times as initially he thought I was asking for another bed to be added. We had several communication issues throughout the week and we often didn’t have enough towels or our pool towels were moved so we couldn’t find them (didn’t think to look on top of the fridge!). Sadly I did feel this was the only area where the service was lacking but it didn’t caused us a major issue.

 

One night we had horrible noise in the cabin all night but strangely the next day it was all fine. The bathroom was very large but you had to make sure the shower was pointing directly down otherwise it did floor into the room. There was also a slope from the bathroom to the bedroom which was quite slippery depending on footwear.

 

Overall, I would recommend this cabin type especially if you’re disabled as the space is very handy and so is the fact it’s adapted.

 

Breakfast:

 

We mixed between Vista and Marektplace. The menu in vista had daily specials such as avocado on sourdough and bacon or pancakes then the usual fixed items such as full English breakfast. I had one issue where I aske for cold milk for my toddler and gave them his beaker and it came back boiling hot milk. This incident happened in front of the Head Waiter so I’d like to think it wouldn’t happen again.

 

I was surprised with how good the marketplace was. I often dislike buffets on cruises but I never found it too busy which was great and there was always somewhere to sit.

 

Lunch:

 

We often ate at Italian @ The Mediterranean. Loved the selection of pastas made to order and pizzas available. We’d often pop into the buffet to grab additional food too. The area was pretty warm but the service was great. I loved it when they retracted the room, so nice.

 

We did go to Snack Shack occasionally to grab a late afternoon snack and again service was brilliant. Freshly cooked fried foods and healthier options in the fridge.

 

Dinner:

 

We loved both Vista and Latitude 53 for dinner. Service was generally always good (just one off night where it was very slow). We would go around 6:30pm and it was never too busy and always straight to a table. My sister is dairy and gluten intolerant and only one waitress really took not of this. She arranged for her to be given a menu ahead so she could pre-order.

 

What I loved most about the restaurants was the service. Every waitress/waiter was so kind and interacted so well with my son, Ethan. It felt like he was Royalty. They’d try and make him laugh and give him high fives, it was so lovely to see so I thank you so much for this.

 

The Coffee Port:

 

We had the Premium Drinks Package (highly recommend!) so we often grabbed morning coffees from here. Again the service was amazing! Diljana was so sweet and Siti (hopefully spelt correctly) was wonderful. They both taught my son to say cookies 😊 I took my thermal flask onboard so I’d often get a coffee to go off the ship. They stopped giving out cups with lids, they did try and give us cups with lids but wasn’t always available. I thought this was a bit bad when it was quite rocky.

 

Scoops:

 

It wasn’t always easy to grab an ice cream from the buffet so a few times I bought one by the pool for Ethan. He loved it and the cost isn’t a lot.

 

Pool:

 

We had no issues here. We didn’t spend the whole day here so we’d get a bed shortly after lunch and spend a few hours here. Bar service was great. The pools were cold and salt water but I expected this. Now, controversial one, Ethan did use the pool using a swim nappy. I know his poop schedule and he swims twice a week so knows not to go to the toilet in the water. I also only stayed in the water a maximum of 20-30 minutes with him. I understand why they say no un-toilet trained children however so long as parents are sensible about it, I think it’s ok. I was surprised there were no lifeguards on duty as that’s usually when they’d stop toddlers/babies using the pools.

 

Mini M Club:

 

We liked having this as a place to go and play with the toys. It’s an unsupervised room attached to the main kids club. Ethan would often look into the kids club and I felt bad as he just wanted a play buddy. When we first arrived, the room was very grubby and overcrowded with toys. However, I bumped into the lovely Cruise Director (sorry forgot his name, maybe Chris) and gave him some feedback which he gladly took onboard. They removed some of the larger toys and it really transformed the space.

 

We loved the little activities they put on too. The little ones didn’t always want to go along with it but it was nice they tried. Ethan loved the balloons and bubbles instead of Baby Yoga. The mini disco at 7:15pm was also a big hit.

 

The splash pool area was also great. Again unsupervised but a lovely shaded area and place they can play. There was never any big kids in there so it was a safe place for the younger ones.

 

Indigo Bar:

 

We loved coming up here after dinner as it was always quiet and Ethan enjoyed the lights. There was never anyone else around but sadly the dancers were a bit funny one evening and asked Ethan to move (it was still early around 7:30pm) as they were hosting a dance session yet no one was there. I thought it was a bit unnecessary. Waiting service was always fantastic. Try the special smokey cocktails.

 

The Lounge:

 

Great area with live music but often closed during the day. It would have been handy to be open as it’s a place where people often walk through to get about the ship. I had one rude waitress one evening, Jovi, but generally everyone was smiley and happy. I guess we all have off days.

 

Squid & Anchor:

 

A place where the parties at. Loved the live music in the evening and the children’s activities during the day. Again service was brilliant. One waiter was playing ball with Ethan so patiently, it was lovely to watch.

 

Gym/Jogging track:

 

I made it to the gym, once. It was a pretty rough sea morning so wish I hadn’t. It’s a typical cruise gym with lots of cardio machine but few decent weights. It was fine for a quick workout though. I did want to go for a jog however the track is pretty slippery and you have to do 11 laps just for one mile so worth sticking to the treadmill.

 

Cinema/Shows:

 

I was hoping to take Ethan however there were no children’s filming at all. Perhaps they’ll offer more when there are more children but it was a shame there wasn’t something suitable to watch. I didn’t make it to any of the shows sadly.

 

Sports court:

 

The sports court was looking very worse for wear. The nets have large holes in so the ball was constantly going outside. It was also just not a very inviting area sadly. We saw the golf course but didn’t play.

 

Overall, we had a brilliant time. I’d absolutely book another cruise with Marella. I do wish they had just a little more for toddlers, especially supervised sessions. I did speak to the lady in charge of the children’s clubs and she explained they simply don’t have the room for little ones to rest hence why they can’t have supervised sessions. I also said an in cabin babysitting service would be the dream. Often one of us just stayed int eh cabin so Ethan could sleep and it would have been great just paying for this service.

 

I haven’t commented one the itinerary but if you have any questions about it, please feel free to ask.

 

 

 

Edited April 4, 2023 by beckyboo1986

[Jim The Scot]

Thanks for the great review beckyboo,glad you enjoyed it

 

Back in the day cruise reviews were fairly regular read on this forum but sadly not much now.

 

We were on Explorer in October and enjoyed it 

[FIFE1]

Thanks for the great review we are on the explorer on the 26th May. 

[beckyboo1986]

13 hours ago, Jim The Scot said:

Thanks for the great review beckyboo,glad you enjoyed it

 

Back in the day cruise reviews were fairly regular read on this forum but sadly not much now.

 

We were on Explorer in October and enjoyed it 

Hi Jim,

 

Yes I noticed a few on other forums so thought I'd share here too in case anyone had any questions 🙂

[beckyboo1986]

4 hours ago, FIFE1 said:

Thanks for the great review we are on the explorer on the 26th May. 

I'm sure you'll have a fab time 🙂

[Brummijam]

Great review Becky.

Congrats on your award 🏆👍

[beckyboo1986]

On 4/5/2023 at 11:09 AM, Brummijam said:

Great review Becky.

Congrats on your award 🏆👍

Thank you. That was a lovely surprise to receive an award 🙂