Marella Discovery 2 Cruise 2025

Grecian Discovery & Aegean Gems

We took a 4 hour flight to Paphos Cyprus from London Stansted ready to catch the coach to the Cruise Port in Limassol to board the Tui Marella Discovery 2. We hadn’t been on this boat since 2019 so it was so good to be back on board.

The first full day on board was a day at sea. Amelia was loving running around the deck and dancing in the squid and anchor all morning keeping her daddy on his toes whilst I read a book and relaxed around the pool and then she came and joined us in the afternoon and had a splash in the shallow part of the pool which she loved. It was a really windy day and they were close to closing the top deck as the furniture was blowing away so we didn’t join my parents up there but managed to get a lounger downstairs by the swimming pool. Lee spent the afternoon in the casino and spa which he loved and then we all got ready for the dress to impress night on board. We took Amelia to the kids disco before heading to dinner in 47 degrees restaurant where we had the beef wellington then watched the show and went to the squid and anchor for the game show.

The next morning we arrived at Piraeus, Greece. We got off the ship and jumped on a little hop on hop off fun train to see the area. We had a stop at the marina for a drink, then onto the town for a walk around before heading back to the marina for a gyros and then getting the last train back to the cruise terminal. This was a really fun day and it’s pretty area to see! Once back on board we went to the pool deck and jumped in the pool to cool off!

Our next port of call was Heraklion, Crete. We took a 25 minute taxi ride to Watercity water park. We got really lucky as the park was really quiet so we didn’t have to queue to go on any of the slides and they had a great baby splash park for Amelia to enjoy! She loved going down all of the little water slides and we had fun going around the lazy river in a rubber ring together!

The following morning we woke up in the beautiful island of Santorini. We repeated our day from last time we came here to show my parents. We got the cable car up to thira for €10 per person and then got a taxi to Oia which was €40 each way. We then headed to the photo spot we went to last time to recreate the pregnancy announcement photo we had but with Amelia this time. https://maps.app.goo.gl/yfPgLUbNPQTt3xX36?g_st=ic. After this we went to a bar for a drink with the beautiful views of the sea and then headed back to Thira for a gyros plate. We had a good day here as there wasn’t much of a queue to get back down the cable car so we didn’t not have much waiting around to do!

After Santorini, our next stop was Bodrum, Turkey. This was a great day for the markets and shopping. You do get hounded as you walk the streets with everyone wanting you to see what was in their shops but that was to be expected and we bought some great quality items! It took around 20 minutes to walk here from the ship with loads to see on the way so it didn’t feel like it was too long but the way back in the heat seemed to take forever! Once back on the boat we went to the pool deck to cool off.

The end of the first week saw us visiting Rhodes Town, Rhodes. We took a 25 minute walk to Elli Beach where we rented 2 loungers and an umbrella for the day for €40 (the closer to the sea you get the more expensive they get). It was a stone beach with wooden pathways between the loungers which was helpful for getting the pram to our loungers! It was a really hot day with not much breeze but the sea was nice a fresh to cool you down!

The beginning of the second week saw us back to Limassol, Cyprus where we embarked. This was a long port day due to guests embarking so we made the most of the day. We got the 30 bus from the port along to the beach where we hired sun loungers and an umbrella for €2.50 each. The food and drinks here were also very reasonably priced and we spent a good few hours here, with Amelia playing in the black sand with her buckets and spades and having a swim in the calm sea. At around 3pm we got the bus back to the port €2 per person per journey, got back on the ship to get ready and then left the ship again and went to the marina for dinner where we found Wagamamas. The marina was very pretty and a great place to go for a wander round and food/drinks.

The next day was another day at sea and me and Lee done our usual and split the day looking after Amelia. I spent the morning around the pool whilst Lee ran around the decks with Amelia and then after her nap we swapped and I took her in the pool for a bit before getting her showered and changed and taking her to the kids club and then purchased a bouncy ball from the shop and she had great fun throwing it around the ship and chasing after it! The evening was dress to impress night so we got dressed up, went for dinner and a show and then multiple drinks around the ship!

Our next morning we docked in Piraeus (for Athens), Greece. We got a Tui excursion which drove us around Athens on a coach to see the sights before stopping at the bottom of the Akropolis where we climbed to the top to see the beautiful marble structures. It was very hot with minimal shade but the climb was moderate and relatively easy to do and the views from the top were amazing!

Our next stop was Mykonos, my favourite stop of the cruise. We took a walk along the coastline to see the windmills and town and then continued on to  Megali Ammos beach where we got sun loungers around the pool at Mykonos Bay Beach Club for €30 each. The pool area is beautiful with large pool (although freezing), hot tub and restaurant. The food and drinks are on the pricier side (€20 for a cocktail, €7 for a Fanta, €12 for a milkshake, €20 for chicken or pork gyros tacos etc) but it was really good food and worth the money. It was really windy but the wind break took the breeze away from the pool but if you got too hot you could just walk onto the beach for the breeze, although the sea was choppy and freezing (colder than the cold swimming pool, but luckily the hot tub was warm enough to get into!)

Our next port was back to Turkey to visit Kusadasi. We started the day walking around the port around the bazaar and shopping in the markets/shops. We finished shopping around lunch time, walked back to the boat to put our shopping in our rooms and then got back off the boat and got a taxi to Ephesus. You have to haggle the prices as they started at €100 for the ride but we got it down to €50 round trip. We first went to see the Virgin Mary statue and then our driver dropped us at the gates of Ephesus. It was €40 each to get in and we paid €50 for a private guide to explain the site to us! It was huge and only 20% of the original site has been uncovered so far. Old marble ruins and statues were everywhere. Make sure you wear sensible footwear as the marble is slippery! After walking round for about an hour our driver met us by the exit gate and took us to our next stop, a traditional spice, food and perfume shop where we got some baclava and Turkish delight. It wasn’t the cheapest here but there was loads of samples to try and the bits we did buy were really nice! We stopped at a supermarket on the way back as I needed some essentials and then got back to the ship just in time for sail away. We got ready, went to 47 degrees for dinner for chicken balti which everyone loved (I had the lamb chops as it was a bit spicy for me). After dinner we went to the squid and anchor for Band-e-oke which was so much fun getting up and singing with the live band. At 11pm there was a late night show with Bella Bluebell which was hilarious.

The next morning we docked at Souda, Crete and got the bus to Chania. It was a 20 minute walk from the town to the beach - Nea Chora. The sand was soft yellow sand with loungers on the beach, relatively calm sea, showers and a nice clean bar with a shady outdoor seating area and good music. We stayed here until 2pm and then headed back through the town to get the bus back to the ship.

Our last full day was spent in Rhodes Town, Rhodes. This was only a short port day as we had to be back on board by 1.30pm so we spent the morning walking around the old town. You have to be really careful in the bars here as they don’t give menus unless you ask for one and if you just asked for a beer without a menu you’d get a whole glass boot for beer which cost $20 per drink and the cocktails came in fish bowls for €40. Luckily we checked and the 500ml beers were €7. We had a look around the shops, got some souvenirs, stopped to grab a gyros then walked back to the ship. We had booked to go up to see the bridge at 4.20pm

Our disembark day in Limassol started as a great experience. Our luggage was bonded so we didn’t have to wait for it and it went straight home to London but upon arriving to the airport it was very busy and our flight was delayed which wasn’t ideal.

We had such a great cruise and can’t wait for the next one!