Marella Cruises announced the cancellation of a scheduled voyage of Marella Discovery 2 ship due to an extended drydocking at Navantia Shipyard in Port Cadiz (Spain).
The vessel is undergoing an extensive refurbishment, including stateroom renovations, hull cleaning/repainting, and a propeller polish.
Originally scheduled to resume operations on November 7th, the refurb timeline was delayed by adverse weather conditions in southern Spain.
The ship's November 7th departure was a “Spanish Flavours” itinerary from Malaga visiting Palma de Mallorca, Barcelona, Valencia, Cartagena, and Gibraltar UK.
Affected passengers have been offered either a full refund and GBP 100 compensation or a full refund plus discounts of GBP 200 per person off a future cruise or GBP 150 per person off a TUI holiday, valid for bookings made by November 18th.
Marella has yet to confirm whether the vessel’s subsequent itinerary, “Sights and Delights,” scheduled for November 14th and calling at Lisbon, Cadiz, Casablanca, Cartagena, and Motril, will proceed as planned.
Following the refurbishment, Marella Discovery 2 is slated for a “Winter Escape” repositioning voyage from Malaga to Tenerife Canaries (November 28th) where she will be homeported for the Canary Islands cruises 2024-2025 winter season before relocating to Limassol (Cyprus) in spring 2025 (RepositionCruises.com).
Initially planned to operate in Asia and the Middle East this winter, Discovery 2’s deployment was altered due to security concerns in the Red Sea region.