Marella Discovery to operate adults-only cruises in summer 2026

TUI's cruise line, Marella Cruises^*, has announced that its ship Marella Discovery^* will operate adults-only itineraries in summer 2026^*.

Marella Explorer 2 cruise ship docked - photo courtesy of Marella Cruises

The change from a family-friendly vessel to an adults-only one comes, according to a spokesperson, thanks to "growing demand for adult-only holidays". This will leave Marella Discovery 2^*, Marella Explorer^* and Marella Voyager^* for family cruises.

Throughout summer 2026, Marella Discovery will home-port in Limassol, Cyprus, where the following itineraries will depart from:

Grecian Discovery - Piraeus, Thira, Santorini, Bodrum, Heraklion, Crete, and Rhodes
Aegean Gems - Souda, Crete, Piraeus, Greece, Izmir, Mykonos and Rhodes
Aegean Delights - Kos Town, Greece, Kusadasi, Patmos, Marmaris and Alanya

Managing Director Chris Hackney said: "This addition to the summer 2026 programme will allow customers who prefer an adult-only ship a variety of itineraries to explore the sights of Greece, Cyprus and Turkey.

"We know from our research that three-quarters of customers said adult-only ships were important to them when making a booking. Given the popularity of the adult-only ship, Marella Explorer 2, we hope this announcement will encourage even more new to cruise customers to sail with Marella Cruises in 2026."

Ready to set sail? Check out the latest discounts on itineraries with Marella Cruises today.

Marella Cruises releases its summer 2025 itineraries

Marella Cruises has revealed its scheduled itineraries for summer 2025, including the reintroduction of Cyprus for the first time since 2017.

The ship Marella Discovery 2^* will call Limassol, Cyprus its homeport from May 7, 2025, for a number of summer sailings with two distinct itineraries: Aegean Gems and Grecian Discovery.

Then there's the newest ship Marella Voyager^*, which will continue to sail from Palma for summer 2025, offering four itineraries: Magic of Spain, Treasures of the Mediterranean, Mediterranean Secrets and Mediterranean Medley.

The collection also features 10 cruise-and-stay options giving passengers the option to explore more of their final destination with 200 hotels to choose from across the likes of Palma, Corfu and Dubrovnik.

Chris Hackney, Managing Director of Cruise for TUI UK & Ireland, said: "We're excited to be launching our summer 2025 itineraries and basing Marella Discovery 2 out of Limassol.

"We are always looking for new ways to improve and adapt our customer offering, whether that's though new destinations, itineraries or ships.

"Guests will be able to explore a wide range of ports and destinations as well as have the opportunity to take advantage of Marella's cruise-and-stay programme by enjoying a stay at one of TUI's hotels pre or post-cruise."

Marella Cruises to return to the Dominican Republic in 2024/2025

Marella has announced that it will recommence sailings to the Dominican Republic^* in the Caribbean^* for the first time since 2017.

The cruise line will offer a series of adults-only itineraries setting sail from the port of La Romana aboard Marella Explorer 2^*.

Available to book from 20 July 2023, these will include stops at islands such as Grenada, Barbados, St Lucia and St Kitts, among other destinations.

Two winter cruises in the Mediterranean will also go on sale this month. These feature the sailing from Malaga to Tenerife via Gibraltar and Casablanca in Morocco on 9 December 2024 aboard Marella Explorer^* as well as a sailing from Palma, Majorca to Alicante, Almeria and Malaga on 2 November 2024 aboard the line's newest ship, Marella Voyager^*.

Chris Hackney, TUI UK & Ireland Cruise Managing Director, said:"We're always looking for new ways to improve our customer offering, whether that's new destinations, new itineraries or ships.

"We're therefore pleased to offer a new experience for guests with our new sailings departing from La Romana for winter 2024.

"Customers will be able to explore some of the most popular Caribbean islands throughout their time on board as well as the opportunity to take advantage of Marella's cruise and stay offering, with the chance to enjoy a stay at one of the TUI hotels in the Dominican Republic, pre- or post-cruise."

Marella Cruises' new ship Marella Voyager christened in Malaga

Marella Cruises celebrated the upcoming maiden voyage of its freshly renovated, new-to-the-fleet ship, Marella Voyager, when it was officially christened in Malaga this week.

Marella Voyager^* is the line's fifth ship and features, among other things, some 900 cabins, 10 bars and restaurants, an indoor cinema and a pool deck.

The event was a huge success and precedes the liner's first sailing, which is due to depart from its home port of Palma, Majorca on Saturday 3 June 2023.

Managing Director, Chris Hackney, said: "The launch of Marella Voyager marks an exciting moment in time for us, so it was an honour to have Becky Hill join us in celebrating such a fantastic night.

"Marella Voyager is part of our strategic vision to continually modernise and grow our fleet. We pride ourselves on continuing to offer more for our customers, whether that's new ships, new destinations, our all-inclusive as standard offering and fantastic, friendly service."

Marella Cruises to drop (almost) all pre-departure testing

Marella Cruises has announced that it will drop the need for pre-departure testing from October 2022.

The changes will not apply to passengers sailing from Corfu, however, as under Greek law, all cruise passengers must be tested by a medical professional before boarding.

Managing Director of Cruise for TUI UK and Ireland, Chris Hackney, said: "As always, our customers are our number one priority, and the relaxation of these rules means our guests can enjoy a simpler process pre-travel, without having to spend any additional costs."

Marella Cruises to set sail for Canada in winter 2023/2024

Marella Cruises has announced that it will operate a new 14-night itinerary including Canada for winter 2023/24.

The new East Coast Adventure sailing, which will be held aboard Marella Discovery^*, will depart from Port Canaveral in Florida in October 2023 and call at Newport, Bar Harbor, Saint John, Sydney, Halifax and Boston.

Marella Discovery and the line's newest addition, Marella Voyager^*, will operate various US and Caribbean routes throughout the season.

These will include, respectively, the 12-night Stateside Discovery, taking in Port Canaveral Miami, New Orleans, the Dominican Republic and Barbados, and the eight-night Paradise Islands itinerary calling at Tortola, Saint Maarten, Saint Kitts, Antigua and Dominica.

Away from the US, Singapore will become the homeport for Marella Discovery 2^*, which will host the 14-night Eastern Experience cruise taking in Laem Chabang, Phu My, Malacca, Langkawi and Patong Bay.

Marella Cruises will release its full winter 2023/24 programme for booking on 21 July 2022.

Marella Cruises reveals US itineraries for summer 2023

TUI-owned Marella Cruises^* has revealed a collection of four itineraries based in the US for summer 2023. The ship Marella Discovery will be based in Florida's Port Canaveral for the season and host the new routes, which include stops in the likes of New York, Charleston, New Orleans and Miami.

Details of Marella's US-based itineraries were initially announced in 2019, however, the pandemic meant plans were halted. Chris Hackney, Managing Director of Cruise at TUI UK and Ireland said: "We have customers who are already really excited about this and we had strong bookings at the time it was first announced."

Hackney promises that the new itineraries, Sunshine and Jazz, Sunshine State and Sands, Floridian Favourites and American Dream, will offer "a true flavour of the US."

The US itineraries will go on sale from 4 November 2021 and packages including flights with TUI will be available.

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