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Marella Explorer 2 Cruise Review

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 12
Helpful Votes: 193

Overall rating:

4.5 out of 5
Verified Review
Marella Explorer 2

Icelandic Adventure

Sail date: September 10, 2021

Ship: Marella Explorer 2

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 3 years ago

Review summary

The cruise went too fast! Some of this was due to a lot of sea days, 6 out of a 12 day cruise making it go quiker All in all it was a good getting out of lockdown cruise and we saw places we have never been to.

Embarkation

4 out of 5
Very quick even with the lateral flow tests. Less than an hour to complete it all.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5
The food was wonderful. Used the main dining room more, because in the market place they served you anyway, but you had to stand up to get it!

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5
Did as many quizes as we could. Kept promising myself a swim, but chickened out everyday!

Entertainment

5 out of 5
Really enjoyed the stage shows, strange as usually it's not my thing. Things quieter with less than half full ship.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
The staff were really keen to serve you and wanting you have a good time. Din-Din our steward was excellent

Ship Quality

4 out of 5
The ship design is fine, the lines are a bit square, but when you are inside you don't notice. It was always being cleaned, in fact the varnish on the rails was sticky because of being wiped over!

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
It was junior suite, so a good size. It was kept spotless by the steward and his team. However in the heavy seas it creaked and groaned worse than me getting out of bed! The captain changed course to alleviate this for all guests

Ports of call

Reykjavik, Iceland

5 out of 5
Before this we called in Shetland. Excellent place! Very relaxed going through passport control, in fact we weren't sure we had! Did the golden circle and loved the geysers and waterfalls. Got some good panoramas from the perlan.

Kirkwall, Orkney Islands, Scotland

5 out of 5
Went to the Italian chapel. Amazing decorations in what was a nissen hut,but changed with panache. For a WW2 geek like me it was incredible.

Akureyri, Iceland

5 out of 5
Saw the Godafoss, which was a superb waterfall area. We then went on a whale watching trip, but when we got to the port it had been cancelled due to bad weather.

Isafjord

5 out of 5
Lovely port way down a fjord. Did a trip to the other fjords and a botanic garden.

Newcastle Upon Tyne, England

5 out of 5
Embarked here. Processed us through very quickly

Disembarkation

1 out of 5
We were given colour codes for different disembarkation times, but all the baggage was unloaded at the same time meaning early times didn't have their luggage, when later times just walked through and picked theirs up. That being said, we were off down the road in less than an hour.

Traveler Photos

The geysers area Waterfall Godafoss Italian chapel
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6 Comments

paulepton    3 years ago

Thanks for the comprehensive review. We were on in August, and DinDin was our steward. Brilliant guy.

izrgreen    3 years ago

Thank you for taking the time to write a review

AuntPinkie    3 years ago

Great itinerary. Glad you enjoyed your cruise.

hollysmomtravel    3 years ago

💙💙

javawoody    3 years ago

Glad you enjoyed your cruise thanks for sharing your experience

cruising2004    3 years ago

Thank you for your detailed review