May 27, 2025
Marella Cruises launches winter 2026 itineraries with new ports in Tunisia, Spain, Portugal and Morocco
TUI UK&I
Marella Cruises, TUI’s UK cruise line, has announced new cruises for winter 2026 featuring some first-time visits and long-awaited return ports of call including La Goulette (for Tunis), Tunisia; Vigo (for Santiago de Compostela), Spain; Lexios (for Porto), Portugal and Tangier, Morocco. All winter 2026 sailings will go on sale from 3rd July 2025.
Marella Explorer 2, one of the adults-only ship for the season, will sail from its current home port of Dubrovnik to Malaga on the ‘Mediterranean Moments’ itinerary, on the 29th October 2026. Ports of call along the way include Valletta, Malta; Tunis, Tunisia; Alicante, Spain and Almeria, Spain. This will be the first time Marella Cruises has visited Tunisia for over 10 years.
In addition, Marella Discovery 2, the second adults-only ship for the season, will sail from Malaga to Las Palmas to begins its winter season in the Canaries on the 13th November 2026. Ports of call on this ‘Atlantic Treasures’ itinerary include Tangier, Morocco; Lisbon, Portugal; Arrecife, Lanzarote; Puerto del Rosario, Fuerteventura and Santa Cruiz, Tenerife.
The rest of the fleet will homeport from a range of European and Caribbean ports:
- Marella Explorer 2 and Marella Voyager will homeport out of Barbados for the season
- Marella Discovery will homeport out of La Romana, Dominican Republic from November 2026 – March 2027 and then Majorca, Spain from March 2027 – April 2027
- Marella Explorer will homeport out of Tenerife and Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands
- Marella Discovery 2 will homeport out of Tenerife and Gran Canaria from November 2026 – March 2027 to Malaga, Spain from March 2027 – April 2027
Other new itineraries include Caribbean cruises from Barbados on Marella Explorer 2 including seven-night itineraries such as ‘Cocktails and Coconuts’ sailing from Bridgetown, Barbados, day at sea, St John’s, Antigua, Philipsburg, St Maarten, Road Town, British Virgin Islands, Basseterre, St Kitts, Forte de France, Martinique and returning to Bridgetown, Barbados. ‘Exotic Islands’ itinerarywill sail from Bridgetown, Barbados, Castries, St Lucia, day at sea, Willemstad, Curacao, Oranjestad, Aruba, Kralendijk, Bonaire, St George’s, Grenada and Bridgetown, Barbados.
Marella Cruises has also extended its Cruise & Stay offering by giving more choice for customers in different destinations, with 22 new hotels in Cyprus, Croatia, Corfu and Spain to add to the 143 hotels available for cruise & stay guests, operated from 14 airports across the UK. There will also be overnight onboard stay in port at Funchal, Madeira and Willemstad, Curaçao.
Chris Hackney, Managing Director, Marella Cruises said: “We’re excited to be launching our winter 2026 itineraries with the return of sailing to some of our Tunisian ports. We are always looking for new ways to improve and adapt our customer offering, whether that’s through new destinations, itineraries, or ships.
“Guests will be able to explore a wide range of ports and destinations in Morocco and Portugal, as well as the opportunity to take advantage of Marella’s Cruise & Stay programme, by extending their holiday at one of TUI’s hotels pre- or post- cruise.”
Marella Cruises offers its customers all-inclusive as standard with all tips and service charges included in the price so customers can enjoy an unrivalled level of service. Prices start from £1104 for the ‘Island Explorer’ winter 2026 itineraries which are available to book from 3rd July 2025.
Marella Cruises is part of TUI UK and Ireland and TUI Group. It is the third largest cruise line in the UK. As of 1 June 2023, there are five ships in the Marella Cruises fleet, Marella Discovery, Marella Discovery 2, Marella Explorer, Marella Explorer 2 and the newest ship to the fleet, Marella Voyager.Marella Cruises offers its customers all-inclusive as standard with all tips and service charges included, customers enjoy an unrivalled level of service and award-winning entertainment. Marella Cruises has also received accolades in Which? as recommended provider for Ocean Cruises since Feb 2023 and Good Housekeeping Reader Recommended for onboard service since 2019.