• Wednesday 04 June 2025

Our team member Nicola just took her first ever cruise, onboard Marella Voyager, exploring the Med. Read her blog all about the experience:

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"I recently cruised onboard the Marella Voyager.  It was my first time doing a cruise and I was really impressed with it. I always thought I wanted the big "wow" ships with a balcony cabin, but I was very impressed with this ship. She was renovated in June 2023 and was originally a Celebrity ship. We had an inside cabin on Deck 10, mid ship. The shower in the bathroom was quite big and there was plenty of hanging space in the wardrobes. For me on my own, I had plenty of room in my cabin. But with 2 or 3 people in it, I would say the space would be quite tight.

There are 10 bars & 17 restaurants onboard to choose from. The food was great; so much choice to choose from. We did the buffet for breakfast and lunch, and went to the main dining room and other restaurants for dinner. On one of the nights we treated ourselves to the speciality restaurants, and I was lucky to get the Surf & Turf where the steak was divine. There is also an Italian restaurant where they give you a menu and you tick on it what toppings you want on your pizza. The waiter will then note on the menu at which table you're sitting, so you will be served the correct pizza. It's a great system.

The Kitchens is the buffet restaurant and has a great choice to suit everyone.  The Snack Shack is out by the pool and does burgers, hotdogs and chips. They also have sandwiches made up, as well as lovely fresh fruit in containers to choose from.

The main restaurants are: Abuelas (Mexican), Vista (Italian), Latitude 53 (different menus), Nonna's (Pizza/Pasta), Silver Fork (British) and Picadilly's (British). There are two pre-bookable restaurants: Surf & Turf (Steakhouse) and Kora La (Asian Cuisine)- each is approx £40pp GBP to book.

There was music playing in all the bars, we went to one of the shows in the evening and I really enjoyed it.  They have wine, prosecco, beer and minerals ready to give out to people when you enter the Broadway Show Lounge. The shows are on twice in the evening (8.30pm & 10.30pm). Squid & Anchor was one of the main bars, and they have game shows on each evening. The Arts House was another bar that was nice to go to for a pre-dinner drink.

For the first two nights, we were on the Ordinary package where there was a good choice of drinks and cocktails on it. For the last 5 nights we upgraded to the Premium package, where you can choose from all the top ranges of wines, beers and sprits and also minerals in cans. They have a jug in your cabin and have water fountains where you can fill up you water jug or water bottles. There are no fridges in the cabins, they have removed them as an environmental measure.

The dress code can be as dressy as you want or smart casual, there is no need to go over the top or worry about dressing up.  They did have a dress up night where some of the men wore a tux and the women had ball gowns, but it is your own choice.

Activities: They have games on at the pool where you can take part, or just relax and listen to the band. There is also mini golf, a cinema and Kids Club onboard. The Wifi is expensive and doesn't last very long, so I would recommend if you can avoiding using it while at sea and use your data while on land instead.

We did different excursions but also had the chance of getting off in Sardinia and Corsica and just walking around and exploring ourselves. These were two fab places. We also got to visit Girona, which was lovely. It has old cobbled streets and stood out to me as great option for a short city break in itself- it's very easy to get around.

Overall, I loved every minute and would highly recommend it. It would also be a great choice for solo travellers too, as they have a place and time for all the solo travellers to meet up.  Either way, everyone on the ship was so friendly and you would meet the same faces regularly and get chatting. If you have any questions about cruising onboard Marella Voyager, feel free to contact me."

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Get in touch with our Cruise Team: Call 021 4935806 or 0818 300205, or email cruise@shandontravel.ie.