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About
Passengers: 1,814 | Crew: 780
Passengers to crew: 2.33:1
Passengers to space: 0.03:1
Launched: 1995 | Refurbished: 2019
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Balcony
Cabin size: 172 - 172 sq. ft.
Connected rooms: 0
Accessible rooms: 0
Maximum passengers: 2
Number of cabins: 0
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Went on our first cruise in September on Marella Explorer 2 embarking at Dubrovnik, ..... all in all we had a good time with a few negatives... Had a balcony room, glad we chose a balcony room but still felt that the room and bathroom were cramped, although there was enough wardrobe and storage space, agree with other reviews that the towels and bedding had seen better days and the room was dated as the ship is quite old, we didn't spend a lot of time in the room so that was ok. The common areas on the ship were much better condition and most were comfortable, liked the Squid and anchor and Aperitif. the food in Lattitude i thought was poor other than breakfast, the Vista element of it ( Italian ) was much nicer. Nonna's was good, could create your own pasta which was nice, paid extra to eat in the surf and turf twice which was very tasty and worth the extra, Hugo, Jane & Bel made sure we had a good time and plenty to eat. Ate in Kora La once and what a treat that was ! the food was amazing, some of the best I've had and loved it all. special mention to Kadek who looked after us so well in Kora La. also Frank in Aperitif who was always on the ball with our drinks and Brin who looked after us at breakfast in lattitude, some of the white wines need sorting as some were awful!! took almost the whole week to work out what was nice, the premium drinks package was worth the extra on my opinion, could get the 1864 wine on that in some bars, not all which was nice. wasn't really keen on the pool area as was crowded and beds were so close together, stop offs were good, enjoyed Corfu, Chania & Montenegro, the ship is a well oiled organised machine and cant really fault it for that, there is always something going on if you want to watch / join in, live bands were good. used the hairdressers for a wash and blow dry and although expensive was a nice treat. watched one show in the show lounge which was good, don't really like buffet food so didn't really eat in the buffet. we stayed on Kolcep island after the cruise for 3 nights, the transfer from ship to coach to boat was totally disorganised and not enough information given , people thought their cases was being transported, others didn't know where to go, we asked for information at the reception on the ship and were given wrong information, that needs sorting ASAP. the island was beautiful although we had a lot of rain but the hotel was just ok, curled up sandwiches on offer when we arrived wasn't great, would have been nice to have been offered something, the all inclusive restaurant was ok but nothing special, wasn't enough seating for everyone to sit and eat and to have a drink afterwards, ate in the al a carte restaurant one night and it was hit and miss, some dishes ere ok and other not so much, went on a ferry to Dubrovnik and that was a good experience as always. TJ was a good Rep from the hotel and worked really hard, even was around at the airport when we left to help out. all in all we had a good time on the trip, don't think we will become avid cruisers going every year, if i did do it again i think i would go for a newer modern ship with a bit more luxury, although what we paid on the explorer was good value for money and you get what you pay for. the staff all work their socks off to give you great service and as said previous the ship is very well run but would try another cruise line in the future one day only due to personal choice. …
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Helpful
+1
Having just returned from a 2 week cruise, my thoughts on cruising have changed completely. We started our adventure on Explorer 2 in Dubrovnik, now we are new to this kind of travel and, like most first timers, we sought information, tips and advise from reviews..my advise is don't believe everything..opinions can be very negative even over the tiniest of detail....some people spend their entire journey looking for faults, look down and never up. Some people compare with other cruise companies, again unfair..look at price comparison....if you want the standard of Celebrity, or MSC or any other 5* then go pay their prices...don't complain that Marella doesn't match up. Our review is personal, its what we experienced, not a comparison. Firstly the ship, its huge (in our eyes anyway) I know there's bigger out there but they honestly are monstrosities. We chose an outside cabin, i didn't want our first time to be an inside cabin, for no other reason than I wanted to see the sea. Arriving at our cabin 8190 we were surprised at how roomy it was, yes we'd seen photos but actually it was bigger than expected, with a good size bathroom, loads of storage and a decent size balcony, I'd read that the mini fridge was locked...this wasn't the case. We learned the easiest way to navigate the ship was the colour of carpets at each of the stairways.. red, blue, green. Dining options are spread over the ship on different levels, Market place buffet, snack shack, Nonna's and beach cove being deck 11..pool deck. We found all the restaurants and snack bars to be very good quality I honestly don't know what people complain about. Latitude is split on 2 levels with Vista being on the lower, this was a waited on service again with fantastic food choice. All the bars served 'proper' booze no watered down brands , fantastic cocktails, draughts beers, Cava you name it. The house wine's aren't great. but you can ask for alternatives. the bars themselves range from Flutes 'bubbly bar' to Squid and Anchor pub, Hole in One sports lounge to Aperitif relaxed bar. Waiter bar service is always available around the pool and sundecks so you dont actually have to leave your sunbed to get a drink. Entertainment is what you want it to be, from quiz nights, bingo, broadway longe shows, live bands, the list goes on. If you don't like it, don't moan about it.... they had a comedian on one night who could give the 'circuit' a run for their money he was that funny. Pool area always was crowded, and we found the sunbeds a bit too close together, if you were using the pools there was little room to get to them. The pools themselves are salt water, and a tad cool. suited us better as this meant less people in them. Whirlpools are salt and chlorine, signs said no booze to be taken in..but this was ignored. Lovely if you like chlorine in your drink. Staff...I honestly have never met more dedicated, polite, hard working staff anywhere. An international crew from all corners of the earth, Philippines, India, Africa ..their hard work and genuine concern over your wellbeing was truly outstanding. They kept our rooms spotless, they tended our every whims they worked so hard to ensure everyone had a fabulous holiday. Captain Richard is proud of his team you can tell that. To sum it all up, I am glad we chose TUI Marella for our first cruise and based on our experience we will definitely be booking again…
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
3 Helpful votes
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First time cruising for us. Tui Explorer 2 . Adriatic delights and Greek Mystique. What a fantastic experience we had from start to finish. The ship was immaculate everywhere. We weren’t sure about the inside cabin but it was perfect. We had the best housekeepers who worked so hard looking after our cabin daily ( twice a day) Pintu and Win are a credit to Tui, nothing was ever too much trouble, their customer service skills were second to none!! The staff throughout the ship are excellent, really attentive and always smiling. The food in the restaurants is good quality and cooked well, a great choice and always hot. Loved the entertainment, lots of choices available. Would highly recommend and will definitely be using Tui again next year.…
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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+1
Simply cannot find a bad thing to say about our cruise and stay on the tui marella explorer 2 , the staff could not be more friendly, the countries visited, entertainment on board , the food , drink , the people we met , we've only been home 24 and we're already looking at booking again, absolutely fantastic 🛳 .…
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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This was our first Marcella Cruise and we had an amazing experience. The staff were absolutely fantastic , so cheerful & exceptionally helpful. They couldn’t do enough for us . The daily newsletter keeps you well informed on daily information. Also Captain Richard’s daily bulletin. Our inside cabin was very clean with so much storage. The staff were excellent, cleaning it twice a day. Our cabin boy Herald was lovely and cheerful & and always had a friendly word . A very polite young man. We used buffet restaurant for breakfast and Latitude for Evening meals The food and drinks were always really nice . (No complaints) We had a meal in Kora La restaurant and the portions were huge . Throughout the day a very wide variety of food was served.on deck .Spoilt for choice to be honest. Everything cooked freshly. Also sandwiches, salad boxes , fruit pots etc . Or buffet restaurant . Something to suit everyone. We didn’t get the premium package for drinks , not necessary ! The choice of cocktails, beer , wine , Prosecco were perfectly adequate. Everything was so well organized when we docked at port . No problem there ! We visited Venice on an organized trip and had an amazing time , could have done with a few more hours, to be honest. At other ports we used taxi & public transport. The entertainment was very mixed to suit all different preferences. The theatre was very impressive. The bars were all nice & comfortable and staff very attentive regularly coming around asking for your drinks order . We had a fantastic holiday and will definitely be returning. Captain Richard runs a very happy ship .…
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
1 Helpful vote
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