Marella Explorer Review
Rating by category
Additional details
We liked the ports of call & the fact that we could leave from Newcastle.
Having never sailed from there before we stayed in South Shields the night before to make the journey to the port easier. We had asked TUI about wheelchair assistance to the ship & was told that Tui did not offer that service( at any of their ports worldwide) but we could take our own wheelchair. Arrived at the port around 10-30 to be told TUI had a policy of not letting passengers into the pre- booked parking area till 11-45 so we tried again at 11-35 to be in a cue of around 20 + vehicles, with nearly 200 already parked.
In the embarkation hall there were wheelchairs available if required & early boarding. The boarding process was quite lengthy with periods of standing in line waiting for the shuttle bus to the ship.
Cabin Review
What a waste of space ! A large balcony with just a relative narrow open space to let in sunlight. Seems as though they had taken 6 feet off the room to increase the balcony.
Just a glass door to let in the outside light & solid panels where there would normally be glass windows making the cabin quite dark & gloomy.
On the plus side our cabin steward ( DEWA ) was brilliant. Seemed like we only had to leave the cabin for 20 minutes & it was cleaned etc on our return.
Port Reviews
St. Petersburg
Weather was dull but was still able to see a lot of the city on the river cruise.
Local entertainment provided on the boat was entertaining with audience participation encouraged.
St. Petersburg
A hot day with quite a lot of walking, Very informative