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MARELLA CRUISES
MARELLA EXPLORER MINI-PROFILE |
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SUMMARY
Marella Explorer is a medium size cruise ship primarily serving the British cruise market.
This is the third incarnation of this ship. She began life as Celebrity Cruises' Galaxy, the second ship in Celebrity's Century class. (See our full profile of Celebrity Galaxy). Her sister ships are the slightly smaller Marella Explorer 2 (formerly Celebrity Century) and Mein Schiff Herz (formerly Celebrity Mercury). Although still popular with Celebrity cruisers, in 2009, this ship was transferred to TUI Cruises, a joint venture between TUI AG and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd, owner of Celebrity Cruises. She was taken to the Lloyd shipyard in Bremerhaven, Germany where she underwent a 38 day transformation costing some 50 million euros. Among other things, 200 balcony cabins were added to the ship. The ship was also given a new name, Mein Schiff (My ship), which was the winning entry in a newspaper contest. When the line added a second ship to its fleet the name was changed to Mein Schiff 1. In 2018, the ship was transferred to Marella Cruises (formerly Thomson Cruises), which is owned by TUI. After receiving a refresh, the ship emerged with 10 restaurants and 10 bars. She was also given a Champney's spa. Other facilities include a show lounge, whirlpools, mini-golf, a cinema and an outdoor pool. Marella markets its ships as "all inclusive". This means that certain things that are extra on other lines, such as gratuities, are included in the cruise fare. However, there is an additional charge for some things including for some of the specialty restaurants. The fact that three different markets have enjoyed this ship is testimony to her design and construction. |
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ESSENTIAL STATISTICS
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TONNAGE: 76,998 gross tons
LENGTH: 259 meters, 852 ft. BEAM: 32 meters, 105 ft. DRAFT: 7.7 meters, 25 ft. SPEED: 21.5 knots (cruising) POWER PLANT: Diesel electric PROPULSION: Two propellers REGISTRY: Malta LINE: Marella Cruises BUILDER: Meyer Werft (Germany) CAPACITY: 1,924 (double occupancy) CREW: 780 ENTERED SERVICE: 2018 (as Marella Explorer) 2009 (as Mein Schiff 1) 1996 (as Celebrity Galaxy) |
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DECKPLANS
(Both courtesy of Marella Cruises)
(Both courtesy of Marella Cruises)
PHOTO FEATURES
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Cruise ship mini-profile - - Marella Cruises - - Marella Explorer