The Little Extras – Upgrading Your Marella Cruise

This is a sponsored post for Marella Cruises.

One of the best things about cruising with Marella is the all-inclusive experience. Moreso than most other cruise lines, you really don’t need to pay a penny extra once you’re onboard if you don’t want to.

But, maybe you do – there are a few ways you can upgrade your Marella Cruise experience if you want something a little more special.

In this guide, I’ll take you through all the optional extras you might choose for your Marella cruise getaway.

Flight Upgrades

No Marella Cruises depart from a UK port – instead, you’ll always fly out to meet the ship in the region you’re cruising. This is a good thing, since it means you get to spend more time exploring the best cruise destinations, and less time just sailing to reach them.

And because your flights are managed by TUI, Marella’s parent company, the whole process is completely seamless. The flight and cruise are in sync and you’ll always get to the ship before she sets sail, even if there are hold-ups at the airport.

You may prefer to upgrade your flights, to make your journey to your cruise even more relaxing. It might be as simple as paying for seats with extra space or legroom, or you might prefer the TUI Premium experience, which includes:

• VIP check-in desk and the fast-track security lane
• The best seats onboard
• Lounge entry in your UK airport
• Glass of sparkling wine or fruit juice before take off
• Drinks available throughout the flight
• A mini-pamper kit
• An increased weight limit of 23kg for hold bags

As with all the upgrades on this list, it’s not essential – you might prefer to stick to the standard seats on the plane, which are still comfortable and relaxing. Before you know it, you’ll be boarding the ship anyway.

But, if you do like the idea of an even more soothing flight, then consider upgrading your seats to start and end your holiday in style.

Premium All-Inclusive Drinks

Marella’s cruise holidays are already all-inclusive and yes, that does include drinks. But it doesn’t include all drinks.

As standard, you get:

• Selected beers and ciders
• House wines by the glass
• Soft drinks by the glass
• Selected spirits
• Selected cocktails

So, that’s plenty to enjoy and if you want to stick to a budget, you’ll be fine without paying any more for drinks on the ship.

However, you do have the option of upgrading to Premium All-Inclusive, if you prefer. That gets you everything in the regular all-inclusive package, along with:

• Canned soft drinks
• A wider range of cocktails
• Premium spirits
• Premium Lavazza coffees
• A 1.5 litre bottle of water (per cabin) each day

If you’re someone who enjoys the finer spirits, or you love a more premium coffee drink, then going with the Premium All-Inclusive package may be worthwhile. It’s not a huge upgrade cost either – around £10-12 per person, per day.

Considering some cruise lines charge £60+ per person, per day for drinks, this is still great value!

Read more: Marella Cruises Drinks Package Guide

Speciality Dining Venues

Your food is included in the fare you pay on a Marella cruise, but not at every dining venue. Some are considered speciality restaurants, and so have an extra charge – either a cover charge, or a la carte pricing.

The good news is that each ship has more free venues than paid ones – so you will always have plenty of choice for dining if you don’t want to pay extra.

But the paid venues are worth considering, as they offer even more choice for your meals, including some fantastic menu options. The costs aren’t as high as they would be on land either, so you can enjoy a special meal with just a small extra charge if you do like a good dining experience.

WiFi Internet Access

WiFi internet access is one thing that isn’t included as standard with your Marella cruise fare – after all, most people don’t use it, so including it in the cruise fare and raising prices for everyone would hardly be fair.

There’s good news, though – Marella’s WiFi, while not the fastest internet at sea, is by far one of the cheapest options. Especially as you aren’t made to pay for a package that lasts for your entire cruise.

If you just want to get online for an hour, you can do – and it’ll cost you just a one-off fee of £8. There’s a data limit, but for basic tasks like checking emails, it’ll be plenty.

Even if you do pay for a full week, you’ll only be charged around £50. Many cruise lines would charge you £20 just for a single day, so £50 for a full week is a pretty good price!

However, it’s often better to just use the free WiFi you’ll find in port – the crew will be happy to signpost you to locations where you can get online for free.

Read more: Marella Cruises WiFi Packages Explained

Shore Excursions

Shore excursions are the final optional extra you might want to pay for to upgrade your cruise.

Whenever you’re in port, you’ll be able to get off the ship and wander freely, and often that’s all you need – it’s quite easy to get around many of the destinations you’ll visit.

But there are some amazing experiences you can enjoy if you book shore excursions, and they include all your transport too. Some even include lunch and drinks, depending on the nature of the excursion.

I’d recommend at least checking out the range of excursion options in each port once you’ve booked – you might find something particularly exciting that you decide is worth the extra fee, and you’ll come away with memories that’ll last a lifetime.

Don’t Forget Spending Money

Spending money on a Marella cruise is completely optional, since you get your drinks and gratuities included as part of your fare, along with all your food.

But there are some things you might want to spend your money on – souvenirs while in port, luxury goods from the retail stores on the ship, or perhaps you fancy trying your luck in the casino?

It’s entirely up to you – but I’d still recommend making sure you budget for some spending money, and then worst case scenario you just don’t spend it and you have some funds to bring home with you.

Perhaps to put towards the deposit for your next cruise?

Final Word

I love how much you get with your cruise fare on Marella’s sailings, but I would still suggest looking at your upgrade options to see what else you’d like to budget for.

Remember that many of these can be paid for right up to a few days before you sail, or even while onboard, so you aren’t in a rush to save everything up before you book. Just pay your deposit, spread the cost of the fare, and then decide how much extra you want to set aside for your upgrades.

And if you just want to stick to the standard cruise fare, you’ll still have an incredible time!

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