Marella Explorer - Full Cruise Review

In April 2025, we sailed onboard Marella Explorer on a 7-night cruise from Palma to Corfu. We were both very excited to be sailing with Marella as lots of people had told us that they thought we would really like it.

You can watch our full video review on YouTube below, or keep scrolling to read the written review instead.

Embarkation 

One of things that we really appreciated about Marella was that regional flights came at no extra cost. This meant it was easy for us to fly from Birmingham. We checked in online 48 hours prior, and we managed to get seats across the aisle from each other. Our flight was a very early flight from Birmingham Airport, so we were at the Airport for about 3am. We checked in our luggage and there were lots of staff around at the Tui desks to help.

The short flight was very comfortable however when we arrived at Palma, we waited for around 20 minutes for the steps to be attached. We didn’t find Palma airport the best airport we’ve used and found it strange how you walk through departures when you’ve arrived and then when we arrived at passport control, we were greeted by massive queues at the passport gates which were very slow moving. Once we were through the gates, we still had to get our passport stamped. We were delighted to see that our bags were already on the baggage belt when we got there and we were soon heading out of the baggage hall.

We now found it all a bit confusing of where to go but then we spotted a Marella rep who directed us outside and then another rep put us onto a coach. It then took us about half hour to get to the port. The coach stopped and the coach doors opened, people started getting off but then they were told to get back on, and we found it highly amusing that the coach only moved forward about 10 metres.  

When we entered the terminal building, we were asked for where our flight was from and our name and then we were given our cruise card. The next point was check in where we had a photo taken and credit card details were given. After this we went through security and onto ship. We were told that we could drop hand luggage into our cabin, but the cabin would not be available until 3.

Muster

We found the muster drill to be very easy on board. All new arrivals who had morning flights had to go to their muster station between 1:30 and 2:30. Here we got to our cruise card scanned to show that we had attended. We were then told that when we were in our cabin, we would need to watch the safety video, which of course we did. People whose flights arrived after this time had a later muster between 9:30 and 10:30pm.

Accommodation 

For this cruise we decided to treat ourselves to a larger balcony cabin and we happy with our choice. Cabin 9076 was in a great location for us, right by the stairs and lifts. Only problem with this was that every time you stopped on our floor you could hear the bing bong it made. However, we soon got used to this. We found the cabin to have adequate space for us with lots of storage, the bed was more comfortable than it looked but having no fridge in the cabin was annoying.  The bathroom had plenty of storage and the shower was surprisingly powerful. We enjoyed having the larger balcony and even though the hammock looked a bit tired we enjoyed using the space. For a full review of our cabin, you can watch our cabin review here on YouTube.

The Ships Condition

We found the ship to be in a very good condition considering the ship is nearly 30 years old. The public areas are all in a great condition. They always look clean and they are obviously well maintained. One thing that we did find was that in some areas there was a musty smell, but that is to be expected on an old ship. The outside of the ship all looked amazing and it is clear that Marella look after their fleet.

The Atmosphere

On board we found everyone to be in good spirits. Everyone was super friendly and people would often sit and chat to you. We commented that we had never been on a ship with such a good vibe all of the time except for maybe Virgin’s Resilient Lady. We also found that all of the staff, regardless of rank, were very friendly and would stop to have a chat with you.

Onboard Service

We found the staff on board Marella Explorer to be absolutely amazing. The service from them was excellent and it always felt like they would go the extra mile. As we’ve already said all the staff were really friendly and wanted to chat. They would have a laugh and a joke with you, and they really made the cruise feel special.

Food

We found the food to be very hit and miss on Marella Explorer and when we finished meals, we often described it as ok. To be honest when we have spent lots of money on a cruise, we expect the standard of food to be better than ok and if there was one area we would improve on Marella Explorer this would be it. While we were on board, we ate at both included and extra charge venues, and this is what we thought of them.

The buffet area on Marella Explorer is called The Market Place. We found at times that the choice in here was very limited. We thought the salad bar had a great selection and it was always fresh.  We found breakfast to be ok in here and Lizzy really enjoyed her omelette when she finally managed to get one and Laura really liked the pastries and muffin that she had. The late-night buffet though, was terrible. Options were limited and the quality was poor.

The Mediterranean was an area that we were excited to try. There are two included food venues here during the day. The Italian prepares pasta dishes to your liking and pizza slices are available. We found the pasta to be a bit watery much to our disappointment, but the pizza was ok. In the day the tapas side produces great lunch options such as wraps and paninis, paella and jacket potatoes which Lizzy really enjoyed.  

The Snack Shack is a great option to grab something quickly, especially when you are spending the day by the pool. We enjoyed the chicken burger that we ate there and found that it was a convenient location when you wanted something fast.  

Latitude 53 is the main dining room on board Explorer. If you are unable to be seated straight away, you will be given a buzzer, and you can go and sit and have a drink while you are waiting. We ate in here on Dress to Impress night, and we found the food to be mixed. Our starters were excellent, the beef wellington was decent, the desserts were good however the pasta was terrible. We also needed to ask for napkins and forks as these were not on our table when we sat down. We also ate lunch in Latitude 53 and we enjoyed this.

Vista is an Italian that is also part of the main dining room experience. We were excited to try here as we both love Italian food. Dishes that we ate included meatballs and arancini for starters, lasagne and the extra charge cheese wheel carbonara for mains and sorbet and cheesecake for desserts. Again, we described this as ok which left us feeling a little disappointed as we had high expectations for it. There was nothing wrong with it, but we have had many Italians of a far higher standard.

The pan-Asian restaurant Kora La was the first speciality restaurant that we tried. We really enjoyed the food in here which included chicken dumplings, tempura prawns, a mild prawn madras and a lamb rogan josh. We also enjoyed the sides of onion bhajis, naans and rice.  When we were onboard, the additional cost was £31.50. While we enjoyed this, we are not convinced it’s worth the money and we have eaten similar meals at sea for a smaller charge.

The Dining Club is another speciality restaurant onboard Marella Explorer that has an extra cost. We really enjoyed our starters which were scallops and prawns. Lizzy thought her dish of lamb three ways was ok, but it did not amaze her, and Laura was disappointed with her fish main and said the consistency reminded her of sausage.  Laura loved her dessert, a chocolate praline roll. The service was good but not as good as we thought it would be for a restaurant which incurs an additional charge.

At night the menu changes in The Mediterranean to tapas. Here you can enjoy tapas dishes such as patatas bravas and meatballs. The skewers incur an extra cost, but they are definitely worth the money. This was definitely our favourite meal of the cruise, and we are so full that no one had room for dessert. We had been lucky enough to visit the bridge which then meant that we were late for our booking. They were unable to seat us straight away, but it wasn’t a problem and they found us a table later in the evening,

The final speciality restaurant that we visited was Surf and Turf. Again, we enjoyed this, but we have had better on other ships. The French onion soup was better than in the main dining room and Laura really enjoyed her starter. We felt that the standard of the food in here is what you probably get in some other cruise lines main dining room.

Drinks

Marella is an all-inclusive cruise line which is what appeals to so many people. For this cruise we decided to upgrade to the all-inclusive premium. We decided this as we enjoyed being able to get the cans of soft drinks and more variety on the cocktails which we enjoyed. Personally, we would like more wine options as it was very hit and miss with what you would receive, with some wines not being to our tasting. It is also worth noting that the all-inclusive runs from 10am – 2am, so if you want a soft drink before 10 am you are not able to get one.

Entertainment

Many people compliment the entertainment offerings on board Marella, and we could see exactly why. There was constantly entertainment on offer and the pool during the day showcased this with a variety of acts on through the day.  However, they really struggled when weather was bad, as the entertainment moved inside and the Squid and Anchor was just not big enough.

The great entertainment was evident from our first day. The sail away party on the first evening was good fun, with a live band, singers, dancers and the entertainment staff trying to get everyone involved. Karaoke was also taking place in the Squid and Anchor where we were blown away by how talented the guests were. We knew that we were in for a good cruise after our first night!

The Squid and Anchor was often the focus of the entertainment on the ship and if you sat in there for the evening, you would see many different singers or quiz shows and we thoroughly enjoyed the band jam on the last night. Music was also the main theme in the lounge with live music being performed throughout the evening.

The shows in the theatre do not have as much money being spent on them as other cruise lines. While they may have lacked costume changes and different sets, they did not lack a talented cast with the singing and dancing being of a high standard.

On a week long Marella cruise you usually have one guest entertainer and the guest entertainer that we had was Andrew Browning, who performs as both himself and George Michael. Whenever, he is on board ships we see people talking very highly of him, so we were delighted to finally get to see him. Unfortunately, he was ill and unable to perform to his usual standard. This did not stop the audience from enjoying his performance.

Ports

Marella is known for its port intensive cruises, and our 7-day cruise was no exception. For us this cruise had a mixture of ports we had visited previously and ports that we had not visited before.

As we flew into Palma in the morning, we had plenty of time to get off and explore the port if we wished to. However, we chose not to as it had not been that long since we were last in Palma, and we had never been on the ship before, so we chose to stay on board and explore our new home for the week.

The second port on our itinerary was Corsica. It had been a long time since we were last here and we discovered that we couldn’t really remember a lot about it. We enjoyed a few hours off the ship walking around the port and exploring the town, visiting the beach and seeing the sites such as Napoleon’s house and the citadel. 

Civitavecchia was another port that we chose not to get of the ship for. We have visited here many times and have explored both the local area and have travelled further afield to Rome. We always enjoy experiencing the ship when it is quieter and we know from experience that this a great port to do it in as many people visit Rome. The day that we were in Civitavecchia was also a special day as it was their patron saint’s day. We were very excited to see from our balcony a flotilla, honouring their patron saint. There were lots of boats honking their horns and was a wonderful sight to see.

Salerno was a brand-new port for us. This port is on the Amalfi coast and is a gateway for excursions to many destinations such as Sorrento and Pompeii. This port was originally supposed to be Naples, and we were disappointed not to visit there as we have never been, but we know these things happen. We spent a few hours off the ship here, having an incredible pizza in a local restaurant where Lizzy’s pizza was even set on fire. We had a stroll through the main town and a walk along the sea front.

Sicilly was our next destination, stopping at the port of Messina. We were super excited for our day here as we had an excursion booked to Mount Etna and Taormina. We had a truly amazing day. On the way to Mount Etna we stopped at a viewpoint and then we were taken there where we spent about 2 hours. We enjoyed a walk around the lower crater, if you visit there make sure you wear sensible footwear as it is very slippery. After Mount Etna, we were taken to the town of Taormina. The views on the way there were absolutely stunning and Taormina is a place that we highly recommend visiting. We spent a lovely few hours wondering along the main street and enjoying a bowl of pasta with the most stunning views.

Argostoli in Kefalonia was also another new port for us and we had one main aim here – to see sea turtles. We knew that there was a little train that would take you to the bridge which was the perfect place to look for the sea turtles. The train costs €12.50 and we did not feel like this was good value for money, as the sights it takes you around are nothing special to see. However, it was worth it to get to the bridge where we spent time looking at the sea, and we were delighted to see a sea turtle!

The final destination of the cruise was Corfu, and this is where we would be flying home from. We could have visited the town for a few hours before heading home but as we had been here before we thought we would have a relaxing time as we knew our day ahead was long. The ports on this cruise truly were special and the number of ports that Marella stop at in a week is a real plus of the cruise line.

Venues

We really enjoyed some of the venues on Marella Explorer and found some of them frustrating as we felt like some of the space was wasted. One of these places was the space used next to the Lounge which we affectionately named the toilet lobby. We also found it bizarre that when the ship was refitted the atrium steps were taken out, which would have been a focus of that area. 

A venue that we enjoyed was The Lounge, but we found it frustrating that the bar is right in the middle of the room so from many seats you are unable to see the live entertainment. Another issue we found constantly throughout the cruise was that there were not enough seats in the Squid and Anchor. This is rightly so a very popular venue, but there were a number of nights that we missed out on the entertainment in here due to how busy it was. 

We also felt that Indigo is a wasted venue in the day. Many ships have crow’s nest style bars where people enjoy sitting and relaxing in the day, however the bar in here was not open so this space was not used at all all day.

Dress Code 

Dress code is a topic that cruisers often feel very strongly about, and everyone always wants to know how enforced it is. We found Marella Explorer to be very relaxed and we saw football shirts being wore in the main dining room on the evening. It is totally up to you how you dress on the evening. Some people like to dress up, while others like to stay casual. 

On dress to Impress night we also saw a variety of different outfits. Some men were in shirts and trousers, others in polo shirts while some men were wearing suits or tuxedos. Some women were also wearing dresses that you consider more formal, cocktail dresses and some wore more casual clothing, if you want a cruise line that enforces formal wear on formal night than Marella is not for you, however if you enjoy a more causal line Marella would be perfect.

Onboard Technology 

We are happy to cruise without access to the internet, however on our cruise there were things that we needed the internet for on our sea day. The internet is very expensive as you are paying per MB rather than for a day. Example of these costs are 400MB costs £20, 2000MB for £30 and 8500MB for £99. The internet itself wasn’t very good, and a lot of the MB were used by trying to connect. If we sailed with Marella again we would not purchase the internet at all as we did not find it good value for money.

Marella use a web page known as Navigate rather than app on board. On here you can view cruise news which shows the different activities throughout the day, view menus, give feedback, book excursions and speciality dining and view your on-board account. You do not need to pay for internet to use this. We found it simple to use and informative. If you do not wish to use the web page, then there are machines dotted around the ship that you can do all of this on. A paper copy of cruise news is also currently available and is delivered to your cabin at turn down service. 

The one thing that we found frustrating about this technology is that it would not let us book for additional people when we were booking dining. This meant that we would have to book two tables for two and then we would visit the venue to arrange for it to be a table for four.

Disembarkation

As we had quite a late flight home, we asked at reception on the first day about keeping our cabin on for the day. They informed us that they would let us know by a letter in a cabin and we might not get our own cabin. On the night prior to disembarkation day, we received a letter that we had been allocated a cabin, just along the corridor from ours. We needed to be out of our cabin by 8am and we moved our hand luggage to the other cabin. Like other cruise lines, luggage needed to be put outside the cabin then night before which on Marella Explorer needed to be done by 2am.

We paid £45 for our day cabin and we thought this was good value. It enabled us to have a nap and a shower and a freshen up later in the day, we could use our cabin up to 3pm, which meant we still had a few hours to kill on the ship.

All of the pick-up times for the different flights were clearly displayed around the ship as well as on paperwork that had been left in your cabin. At the allocated time When it was our time to disembark, we headed down to deck 3 and disembarked the ship. We picked our suitcases up from just outside the ship and took it the coach. 

As the coach departed everyone received a text message to say that our flight was delayed. The journey time to the airport was only about 15 minutes. Bag drop took around 15 minutes, and we went straight through to security and passport control. Corfu airport is quite small and there were a few delayed flights so as it got busier at the gates people struggled to get seats.

Our flight home was again comfortable and before we knew it, we were landing back home in Birmingham.

Value for Money 

People always say that Marella cruises are good value for money as it is all inclusive.  We paid £3120 for both of us to stay in our larger balcony cabin, this also included the upgrade to the premium drinks package which was £170. We have been on much cheaper cruises than this, and people who say that Marella cruises are cheap are very much mistaken.

The cost of our cruise included flights, transfers, food, accommodation and drinks. We think that there is definitely a place for Marella in the cruise world but there are many cruise lines that you can travel on at a comparative price. 

Overall

So, the big question is would we sail with Marella again and the answer is absolutely yes. We would like to try their other ships as we found them to be a fun and friendly cruise line. If we could change anything we would improve the quality of the food on board, but we would definitely not change the fun, friendly vibe that was onboard and we would happily sail with Marella again if we were able to find a good deal.