Marella Cruise Ships Compared By Size, Age & More

This is a sponsored post by Marella Cruises.

Interested in booking a Marella cruise holiday, but not sure which ship to pick, and whether it makes a difference?

In this handy guide, I’ll explain the difference between each of the ships, so that you can make your booking fully informed.

You’ve got five ships to choose from…

The ships are Marella Discovery, Marella Discovery 2, Marella Explorer, Marella Explorer 2 and Marella Voyager. Marella Voyager is the most recent addition to the fleet, joining in June 2023.

Suggested read: Meet The Newest Marella Cruise Ship: Marella Voyager

The cruise line has existed for a long time – it was formed in 1973 – and so has seen a number of ships come and go.

13 ships have previously served for Marella Cruises before being sold or scrapped, with the first being SS Ithaca, and the most recent to be scrapped included the Marella Celebration and the Marella Dream.

Marella cruise ships ranked by size

The five ships sailing for Marella Cruises are roughly similar in terms of size – three are slightly larger, but not by an extreme margin.

However, there is no clear biggest ship – it depends on the measurement you’re using. Typically people view the biggest ship as that with the most internal space – measured in gross tons – but you could also measure it by guest capacity or length too.

Here’s a list of the Marella Cruises ships ranked by size, from the highest internal volume to the lowest, so you can see what I mean...

At least when it comes to the smallest ship, the ranking is pretty easy – Marella Discovery and Marella Discovery 2 are almost identical, but with a slightly higher capacity on Marella Discovery 2, you can describe Marella Discovery as the smallest ship.

Marella cruise ships ranked by age

None of the ships sailing for Marella Cruises were brand new when they joined the fleet. They’ve all sailed for other cruise lines previously – but they’ve been given a full and considerate refurbishment as they join the fleet, so that they have a fresh look and feel.

These aren’t ships on their last legs, far from it. The ships are wonderfully cared for, with modern furnishings, and they’re really comfortable. And all of the ships are pretty much the same age too.

Here’s a look at the Marella ships ranked by age, from newest to oldest.

Ship	Year Built	Year Joined Marella Cruises
Marella Voyager	1997	2023
Marella Explorer 2	1995	2019
Marella Explorer	1996	2018
Marella Discovery 2	1995	2017
Marella Discovery	1996	2016

It is a little odd that the Marella Explorer 2 and Marella Discovery 2 are actually older ships than the Marella Explorer and Marella Discovery, but that’s just how it fell in terms of when they joined the Marella Cruises fleet.

Restaurant options across the fleet

One of the biggest differences between the ships in the Marella Cruises fleet is the array of dining options.

Here’s a full list of the restaurants featured on each ship:

Restaurant	Included in your fare?	Cuisine	Marella Discovery	Marella Discovery 2	Marella Explorer	Marella Explorer 2	Marella Voyager
Main Dining Room	Yes	Varied	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES
Buffet Restaurant	Yes	Various buffet stations	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES
Gallery 47°	Yes	Italian	YES	YES	No	No	No
Snack Shack	Yes	Poolside snacks	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES
The Glass House	Yes	Deli/tapas platters	YES	YES	No	No	No
Kora La	Extra fee	Pan-Asian	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES
Sushi Bar	Extra fee	Sushi	YES	YES	No	No	No
Surf & Turf Steakhouse	Extra fee	Steaks and seafood	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES
The Dining Club	Extra fee	Fine dining	No	No	YES	YES	No
Vista	Yes	Italian	No	No	YES	YES	YES
Umi Sushi	Extra fee	Sushi	No	No	YES	No	No
Tapas @ The Mediterranean	Yes	Spanish tapas	No	No	YES	No	No
Italian @ The Mediterranean	Yes	Italian	No	No	YES	No	No
Nonna’s Pizza	Yes	Pizza and salad	No	No	No	YES	YES
Beach Cove	Yes	BBQ	No	No	No	YES	No
Abuela’s	Yes	Mexican	No	No	No	No	YES
Platter	Extra fee	Sharing platters	No	No	No	No	YES
Silver Fork	Extra fee	British Modern	No	No	No	No	YES

As standard, you can expect every ship in the fleet to have a main dining room. It has a different name depending on the ship – Marella Voyager, Marella Explorer and Marella Explorer 2 have Latitude 53, while the Discovery ships have 47°.

But the experience is similar in both – you’ll be able to enjoy table service for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with a wide-ranging menu that changes every day, so you don’t get stuck with the same choices.

There’s also a casual buffet restaurant with different stations. Again the options do vary by ship, but expect to be able to enjoy pastas, salads, carving stations and more along with classic British favourites.

The other constants are the Snack Shack, a poolside snack bar, Surf & Turf steakhouse, and Kora La, the pan-Asian restaurant.

But then each ship has different options, including Italian restaurants, venues serving fine dining, sushi bars and more. Depending on your favourite cuisines, you might want to look for a cruise on a certain ship.

The facilities on each Marella ship

One of the more consistent elements of Marella’s fleet is the onboard entertainment and facilities. A lot of similar options are available across the fleet.

Here’s a look at the facilities on each ship:

Facility	Marella Discovery	Marella Discovery 2	Marella Explorer	Marella Explorer 2	Marella Voyager
Swimming pools	2 (Indoor and outdoor)	2 (Indoor and outdoor)	1 (Outdoor)	1 (Outdoor)	1 (Outdoor)
Whirlpools	2	2	3	4	3
Jogging track	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES
Photo studio	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES
Climbing wall	YES	YES	No	No	No
Spa and beauty salon	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES
Casino	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES
Broadway Show Lounge	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES
Mini golf	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES
Shops	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES
Cinema	Outdoor	Outdoor	Indoor	Outdoor	Indoor
Escape Room	YES	No	No	No	No
Gym	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES
Gamer Zone	YES	YES	No	No	No
Hideout Teens Club	YES	YES	YES	No	YES
M Club (Kids’ Club)	YES	YES	YES	No	YES
Baby/toddler Club	YES	YES	YES	No	YES
Virtual Reality Experience	No	YES	No	No	No
Sports Court	No	No	YES	No	No

There are some subtle differences between the ships, but the main one is with Marella Explorer 2 – this is the only ship in the fleet to be adults-only and so it is missing the kids’ clubs that you’d find on other ships in the fleet.

Instead, it has a wider choice of bars and open spaces where you can relax. If you want a quieter cruise and you aren’t travelling with kids, this may be a better choice.

Which is Marella’s best ship?

While the Marella Cruises ships are all similar, the best is Marella Voyager – she has the most recent renovation, along with the favourite restaurants from prior ships and some excellent new options. If you want an adults-only cruise you may find that Marella Explorer 2 is the better ship.

The difference in experience between the ships isn’t huge, so while Marella Voyager is slightly newer and feels a bit more modern, you’ll have a great time on any of the ships in the fleet.

Final word

Now you’ve got an idea of what makes each Marella Cruises ship different (and how they are so alike in general), you can make sure you choose the right one for you.

Across most of the ships you’ll get a very similar experience, although if you want the newest-feeling ship, it’s worth choosing Marella Voyager. And if you want to avoid kids in the pools, that’s only guaranteed with Marella Explorer 2.

Make sure you check out my guide on what’s included with Marella Cruises too, so you can see just how much you get with your cruise fare.

When choosing accommodation on board, be sure to check out my Marella Cruises cabin guides:

• Marella Discovery Cabins
• Marella Discovery 2 Cabins
• Marella Explorer Cabins
• Marella Explorer 2 Cabins

And if you’d like more info about each ship, you can visit the Marella cruises website.

Related Posts:

• 13 Things To Love About Marella Cruises
• Marella Drinks Package Guide