The UK's largest cruise company - Marella Cruises (owned by TUI Cruises UK), announced it will start passenger shipping operations in July with 3 of its 5 ships, “should it be safe to set sail”.
In summer 2020, Marella Explorer is homeported in Kerkyra (Corfu Island, Greece), Marella Explorer 2 is homeported in Newcastle upon Tyne (England UK) and Marella Discovery is scheduled to depart on roundtripps from Palma de Mallorca (Majorca Island, Spain).
Marella Discovery 2 starts cruises in winter 2020 and will no longer be homeported in Naples Italy (as planned for summer 2020 season). Marella Dream will no longer leave out of Palma de Mallorca as the ship resumes operations in summer 2021.
The cruise line has also announced important changes to its itinerary programme across the next 3 seasons.
For winter 2020, Discovery 2 will be homeported in Cyprus, setting sail from March 24, 2021, and replacing the itineraries Marella Celebration was scheduled to sail. The itinerary change means that Marella Cruises will no longer offer "Asia and the Middle-East" voyages. Customers booked on Marella Celebration (March-April 2021) will be transferred to Marella Discovery 2 at no extra cost.
Marella Discovery will no longer operate winter (December-January) roundtrips from Montego Bay (Jamaica). The ship will officially set sail on February 3, 2021, with a Transatlantic repositioning crossing from Malaga Spain to Jamaica prior to continuing her Caribbean program from Jamaica as scheduled on February 16, 2021.
No changes are planned for Marella Explorer and Marella Explorer 2. Marella Explorer 2 will still be homeported in Barbados and Explorer will still be homeported in the Canaries. For the line's summer 2021 programme, Explorer 2 will no longer be homeported in Naples, meaning the ship will replace the itineraries of Marella Celebration from Dubrovnik. Customers who were due to sail on Celebration from Dubrovnik will be upgraded to the adult-only Explorer 2 at no additional cost.
Marella Discovery, Marella Discovery 2, Marella Dream, and Marella Explorer will all sail their itineraries as planned.
Cruisers will be offered flexible options, such as a refund credit and up to 20% booking incentive or a full refund.
For Coronavirus updates on cruise ship quarantines (infected passengers and crew) and top-pandemic countries (COVID-19 cases and deaths, daily updated statistics) see at CruiseMapper's Norovirus page.