Marella Repositioning Cruises: Routes, Flights and What US Travelers Should Know

Marella repositioning cruises are the one-way voyages that TUI’s British cruise line uses to move its ships between the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands and the Caribbean. They come in two sizes: short repositioning sailings of five to eight nights within Europe, and transatlantic crossings of 13 to 14 nights between Spain and the Caribbean. Every fare is all-inclusive, with meals, a selection of drinks and all tips and service charges in the price.

For a British passenger, Marella is one of the easiest ways to do a repositioning cruise, because TUI sells most sailings with flights from UK airports, which removes the one-way flight problem. For a reader in the US, the picture is different: you can sail, but you book cruise only, pay in pounds and build the flights yourself. This page explains the routes, what is included and what that means in practice if you are starting from America.

Who Marella is

Marella Cruises is the cruise brand of TUI, the European travel group, and it sails almost entirely for the UK market. The fleet is five mid-size ships, all built between 1995 and 1997 for other lines: Marella Explorer and Explorer 2 began life as Celebrity Galaxy and Celebrity Century, Marella Voyager as Celebrity Mercury, and Marella Discovery and Discovery 2 as Royal Caribbean’s Splendour of the Seas and Legend of the Seas. A US cruiser who sailed Celebrity or Royal Caribbean in the late 1990s may recognize the layouts.

The line leans adult. Marella Explorer 2 is adults only, TUI has announced that Marella Discovery 2 becomes a permanent adults-only ship from winter 2027-28, and Marella Voyager has been sold as adults only as well. On a crossing, an older mid-size ship without water slides is no handicap: it has the indoor lounges and quiet decks that matter mid-ocean.

Marella is not among the 12 lines in our repositioning cruise finder, which covers lines sold directly to US travelers. Everything below comes from TUI’s own announcements and booking pages.

Where Marella’s ships reposition

The pattern follows the winter sun. According to TUI’s announcements for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 winter seasons, the ships are based as follows:

That produces two kinds of repositioning voyage:

• Short European repositioning, 5 to 8 nights. Ships moving between the Mediterranean and the Canaries in autumn and spring. Examples TUI has announced include Mediterranean Moments on Marella Explorer 2, Dubrovnik to Malaga via Valletta and Tunis in late October 2026, and Atlantic Treasures on Marella Discovery 2, Malaga to Las Palmas via Tangier and Lisbon in November 2026.
• Transatlantic crossings, 13 to 14 nights. Ships moving between Spain and the Caribbean. For winter 2027-28, TUI described Voyage to the Tropics on Marella Discovery: Malaga, Gibraltar, eight days at sea, then St John’s in Antigua and Basseterre in St Kitts before the Caribbean season starts.

The direction is the same as the American lines: west across the Atlantic in late autumn, east in spring. Our guide to westbound transatlantic repositioning cruises covers the weather and the time changes on that crossing, which apply to Marella’s ships as much as anyone’s.

What the fare includes

TUI says Marella is all-inclusive as standard. Per its cruise-only page, that covers meals in a range of restaurants, a selection of drinks, the entertainment, and tips and service charges. TUI’s drinks FAQ lists what the standard package covers: selected draft beer and cider, wine and Prosecco by the glass, spirits, a range of cocktails and soft drinks by the glass. A Premium All Inclusive upgrade adds premium spirits, upgraded cocktails and coffee-bar drinks. On both, drinks served between 2 a.m. and 10 a.m. are charged to your account, and the minimum drinking age is 18, or 21 in US waters.

On a 14-night crossing that structure is worth more than it looks. An American line charges gratuities of roughly $17 to $18.50 per person per day and sells drinks packages that commonly run $70 to $120 a day, as our sister site explains in whether cruise drink packages are worth it. On Marella, both are already in the fare. The comparison only holds if you would have bought those extras; a passenger who drinks little gains less.

Fly-cruise packages and repositioning cruises with flights

The single biggest risk on most repositioning cruises is the one-way flight home, booked separately, often expensively, on the same day as everyone else on the ship. Marella’s UK packages largely remove it. TUI says it operates from 12 regional UK airports on its own airline, TUI Airways, and most Marella holidays are sold as packages with flights and transfers built in. For a British passenger, a crossing from Malaga to the Caribbean with a flight home from Antigua in the price is about as simple as repositioning gets.

That is why Marella turns up when people search for repositioning cruises with flights included. Among the lines that sell to Americans, flights in the fare are more often found at the luxury end, such as Regent’s top fare tier, or as an add-on through a line’s own air program. Our guide to flights home after a repositioning cruise covers how to handle the flight yourself.

What it means for a traveler from the US

Marella’s advantages are mostly British advantages. For an American, the practical differences add up:

The arrival port matters most. A westbound crossing on an American line typically ends in Miami, Fort Lauderdale or Port Canaveral, a short domestic flight or a drive from home. A Marella crossing ends on a Caribbean island, so the flight home is international and starts from a smaller airport with fewer departures. An eastbound spring crossing has the same issue in reverse: you first need to reach Barbados or the Dominican Republic.

Paying in pounds means watching exchange rates and your card’s foreign transaction fee. And the onboard rhythm, from the entertainment to the pub quiz and the tea, is pitched at a British audience. Some Americans love that; it is worth knowing before you go.

Booking a Marella crossing from the US: a checklist

1. Confirm the sailing is sold cruise only. TUI says all Marella itineraries can be booked that way, but check the specific date, since repositioning voyages have limited cabins.
2. Convert the fare. Work out the dollar price at today’s rate and add your card’s foreign transaction fee, or use a card without one.
3. Price the flight to the start port. Malaga, Palma and Las Palmas have fewer direct US connections than Barcelona or Rome, so a connection through a European hub is likely.
4. Price the flight home from the end port. Antigua, St Kitts, Barbados and La Romana all have some US service, but frequency varies by season and day of the week.
5. Check your travel insurance. Make sure it covers a cruise bought from a UK company and medical care at sea and in the Caribbean.
6. Allow a hotel night at each end. With one-way flights to and from smaller airports, a buffer night is cheap insurance against a missed ship.

Marella or an American line for a crossing?

If you live in the UK, Marella is one of the simplest repositioning products available: an all-inclusive fare, a flight home in the package, an adult-leaning ship and a price that is easy to compare. TUI quoted its 2026-27 winter sailings from £1,104 per person at launch, and the final cost moves little once you are aboard.

If you live in the US, Marella makes sense in a few cases: you are already in Europe for the summer and want a slow way to the Caribbean, you value the all-inclusive drinks and tips, or you want an adults-only ship on a crossing. Otherwise, an American line’s Europe to Florida crossing usually wins on logistics alone, because it delivers you to a US port. Our guides to Carnival’s repositioning cruises and the best cruise lines for repositioning cruises compare those options.

Before booking Marella from the US, price three things together: the cruise-only fare converted to dollars, the flight to the start port, and the flight home from the Caribbean island where the ship ends. If that total still beats a crossing that ends in Florida, Marella’s all-inclusive fare is a good deal. If not, the included drinks will not close the gap.