Ever wondered what a cruise on a Marella ship is like? Maybe you’d like to know more about the on board amenities or which locations you can sail to?
Jamie Holmes from our Killingworth branch had the opportunity to embark Marella Dream and enjoyed a brilliant expedition. Here she is, about to answer all of your questions…
“After boarding Marella Dream for our Ancient Affair cruise, we ate in the Orion restaurant on our first night, which was included in our standard all inclusive package. This was a sit-down three course meal and the food was amazing! The staff were so lovely; I'm allergic to nuts and once I’d made them aware they couldn’t have been more helpful and actually provided me with a menu each night to fill out to ensure my food was cooked fresh nut-free.
I had an Outside Plus Cabin which was so spacious and well equipped with features including tea/coffee facilities, hairdryers, and towels each day.”
“Our first full day was a free day, so in the morning we took a guided group ship tour. We went to Kora La (a payable Asian a La Carte restaurant) and Broadway Show Lounge. We also looked at the card room, spa, Broadway shopping street, browsers corner, and then went to the restaurants. Our first look was at Terrace Grill, which served delicious burgers, pizza, chips, and salads with ice cream for after. Deck 9 was next; where Lido Bar, the main buffet restaurant, was located by the swimming pool. After our ship tour, we were able to step off and had plenty of free time to explore Alanya.”
“Today we had the opportunity of the excursion ‘Discover Dalyan with Kaunos'. We met with our guide to head for Dalyan and on the way he gave us some history of Turkey. We then got on a boat to discover the tombs and went to Kaunos to see the ancient ruins with Roman Baths. After returning back from Dalyan, we had some lunch on the ship and before much longer it was time for Captains night.”
Day 3 Heraklion, Crete
“On this day we had the chance of another excursion to Crete, which is one of my favourite places ever. ‘The Island of Spinalonga’ was filled with history and was so fascinating – the weather stayed sunny too which made it even better. After discovering Spinalonga, we had some lunch in a local taverna, which was a buffet of yummy Greek food! Next we had free time to look around the shops in Elounda and then transferred back to the ship."
"In the evening, we dined at Mistrals which was a really well-priced restaurant, with steaks costing only £19.95! For starter I had pork belly, main I had two large steaks, chips, and broccoli with Béarnaise sauce, and then dessert was New York cheesecake. The service and food here was fantastic.”
Day 4 Day at Sea
“There was a meeting today to discuss what we had done so far and also looked at the cruise news to decide what we were doing next. I took part in the afternoon trivia, sunbathed, and then went to listen to a talk by Eileen Golding as she spoke about historical objects from Israel, Egypt, and Greece. This evening we had an early night as we had Israel to come tomorrow.”
“We started the day early this morning and we went to ‘Jerusalem & the Dead Sea’. We met our local guide and began the drive to Jerusalem. There was time to explore the Old City – it was absolutely amazing. I have no words! First we visited the Wailing Wall which was stunning and I put a message in the wall as you’re supposed to do."
"A tour around the Old City came afterwards, where we took in all of the pretty churches, shops, and markets. We had the chance to go inside one of the churches which was 900 years old and saw the rock where Jesus bled out. We then headed for the Dead Sea which was fab! It was really rocky and slippy getting in and out but the whole experience was incredible. When we were back on the ship we enjoy a Sunday lunch in the buffet restaurant, followed by lamb kebabs and cake and custard.”
“Today we had a free today, so I was able to do some shopping in Haifa. In the afternoon I had a go of trivia and went to listen to Eileen Golding talk about mystical signs and symbols. We had our final meal and a few drinks at the Orion restaurant.
Overall, I’d really recommend Marella cruises. I feel like there was something for everybody on board; swimming pools, gyms, entertainment lounges, and kids clubs. The staff were amazing and couldn’t do enough to help and the entertainment was brilliant – you have to listen to one of Eileen Golding’s talks! My favourite restaurant was Orion because the food was just five-star delicious.
I love selling cruise holidays to my customers and this opportunity has given me first-hand experience to be able to share my knowledge on Marella cruises. Something I’ll never forget!”
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