Mediterranean Cruise 2025

Tui Marella cruise treasures of the Mediterranean followed by Mediterranean Medley

Saturday 14th June we excitedly woke up at 4am and headed to Gatwick airport for our flight to Palma to embark on a med cruise. This flight was only 2 hours which was so nice with Amelia. Getting our cases from Palma airport seemed to take forever but after an hour of waiting we had our cases and was on board the coach to the ship!

We embarked in the afternoon and had some time to relax before the ship sailed at 9pm. We had dinner, watched the show and then went to the pool deck for the sail away party. It was so nice to be back on the Marella Voyager!

Our first full day was a day at sea and there is so much to do! The mini M club is great for the kids and keeps them occupied. Lee took Amelia for finger painting and playtime whilst I had some time around the pool and then after her nap we switched and he enjoyed the casino and a massage in the spa whilst I chased Amelia in circles around deck 6 where she walked around the ship waving at everyone! She was like a celebrity on board already! The evening was dress to impress night so we got dressed, went for a nice meal, popped into the show whilst Amelia was awake to see it, walked around the ship (she loved the live singer in the arts house bar) and then went back for an early night as we were all knackered!

The next morning we docked at Olbia Sardinia. We went to the beach on a transfer which was lovely white sands and calm clear sea. It was around 40 minutes to the beach, we had a few hours there to sunbathe, swim and enjoy the beach bar as we had to be back on the boat for 1.30pm sail away. Once back on the boat we got some lunch, enjoyed the m club kids pool until they drained it and then went in the kids room for a play dough stay and play session. That evening we went to dinner, watched the show and then went to the squid and anchor to watch the band and karaoke! We realised we had to be on the coach at 7.30am the next day so called it a night after that!

We woke up in Salerno for an action packed day! The first half of the day we took a boat trip over to Amalfi where we explored the town, got a pizza and tried the lemon sorbet and limoncello spritz. We got the boat back to the ship and Lee and Amelia got back on the ship and I continued the next part of the excursion to Pompeii alone as we thought it was going to be too hot and no shade for Amelia. Pompeii was an incredible experience and I loved learning about the history and walking through the ruins! It was absolutely massive and a lot bigger than I thought, walking through streets and streets of old towns and seeing some of the restored buildings. There is so much history here it is great to see! When I got back on the boat I met Lee and Amelia for dinner and then headed to the spa for the evening where I had a full body hot stone massage and a facial. It was such a lovely treat and well needed after the day!

Just when I thought we couldn’t get any action packed than the previous day, we arrived in Civitavecchia for our day in Rome. This was another early start and a long day ahead. The coach dropped us in Rome where we first went to see the Roman Forum. This was all ancient ruins and statues and really gave an insight into how Rome used to look. We did have the pram for this but it required some carrying up and down stairs and some tricky cobbles that the pram struggled with. After this we walked over to the Colloseum for our tour inside. Luckily one of the tour guides stayed outside and looked after the pram for us and we popped Amelia in the carrier as there was no way we’d be able to take the pram in and keep up with the group. We were inside for around an hour and it really is an incredible piece of architecture and I really enjoyed looking around and learning about it. From here we took a 20 minute walk to the Trevi fountain where we then had free time to take some photos and get some lunch. We found a really nice restaurant where we tried the local carbonara and pizza, and ordered a beer as big as my head! After a quick pit stop the tour continued and it was another walk to the Spanish steps and then finishing the tour in the town square. It was such a fun day but my god was we exhausted by the end of it. We got back on the ship, lee went for his massage in the spa and Amelia and I went for some dinner and then to the show before coming back to the cabin for an early night.

Day 5 and we woke up in Ajaccio, Corsica. We booked a shorter excursion so got a little bit of a lay in (as much of a lay in as you can have with a baby) and then caught the coach at 10.15am to begin our tour. We arrived at the beach and jumped onto a mini train around the coast. We had a quick 20 minute stop at a beach where we took Amelia and her little holiday friend James for a dip in the sea before heading back to the other end of the beach for wine and canopies in a local store and then onto a beach bar for a drink and 2 hours free time. We went onto the beach for a bit, had a drink in the bar and then had a walk around the local shops before heading back to the ship where we then spent the rest of the afternoon in the kids club.

The next morning we woke up in Palamós, Spain. We had nothing booked for this day so just wanted a bit of free time to explore at our own pace. We walked into the town which took around 10 minutes found a local restaurant for some tapas and got prawns and potato bravas with alioli which was sooo good then had a mooch around the shops and walked back to the ship. We spent the afternoon in the kids club before joining our holiday friends and their baby for dinner and the brand new show battle of the bands which was upbeat and fun!

The end of our first week was a day back in Palma, Spain. We got off the boat and took a taxi to the old town. It wasn’t too far to go and cost €13 each way. When we got to the old town there was a little Saturday market set up with some stalls to look around aswell well as multiple stalls laid out on sheets on the floor selling replica hand bands, hats, sunglasses, football T-shirts etc! We walked through the old town which was very picturesque, stopping in a few bars before going to La Rosa for tapas (recommended by our taxi driver). After our tapas we had a walk around the town, went to see the cathedral and then went down to the waterfront and found the Guinness house for a beer and sangria. We was getting quite hot by this point so headed back to the ship to cool off in the kids pool. We went to latitude for dinner, watched the show summer of love and then there was a sail away deck party that we stayed at until midnight.

The first day of our second week was another day at sea. We had a good system for this last week so thought we’d stick to the same routine this week. I took Amelia for breakfast whilst Lee had a lay in. Once we’d finished I took Amelia back to Lee and he played with her for the morning, taking her to M club for hand painting, letting her have a run around deck 6, taking her for lunch and then back to the room for her nap whilst I spent the morning round the pool, reading my book and laying in the sun. Once she woke up I took Amelia for a while to play at the kids club whilst Lee signed up to the poker tournament at the casino and had a bit of time to himself. The evening was dress to impress night so we got dressed up, went for dinner and then went to see the show before taking Amelia to bed.

Our next land day we arrived in Villefranche. We got off the boat and got a taxi through Nice and up to Château de Crèmat for a vineyard tour and wine tasting. The tour was great with some lovely wines and the views were absolutely stunning! It was quite expensive to get up here €80 each way in a taxi plus €50 for the tour and wine tasting for 2 people but we really wanted to visit a French vineyard and it was worth the trip! After this our taxi driver recommended we visited Saint Jean Cap-Ferrat to get some steak frites from Lèo Lèa and I’m so glad we took his advice it was the best steak I’ve ever had, the secret recipe sauce was incredible! We had a little walk along the harbour and then we headed back to the ship where we met our holiday friends in the M club and put the kids in the pool to cool off.

Our next stop was Toulon, France. We took a 27 minute walk through Toulon to arrive at Le lido. This was a beautiful restaurant on the beach with comfortable beach loungers and umbrellas to hire for €20 each. The beach was sandy with stones as you got to the shore line and was mainly locals but not too over crowded. We had a great time down here playing in the sea and sand with the kids and then enjoying a few drinks on the loungers whilst Amelia napped. After a few hours we headed back to get the tender boat back to the ship, stopping for some moules frites on the way. We got back on board the ship and went to the kids club for messy play, which Amelia and Sotirios loved and then had a splash in the kids pool. That evening I went for a lovely hot stone massage and then went to the pool deck for a deck party and they had a special guest, Danielle Grace Williams, performing Ibiza anthems with the saxophone which was my favourite evening entertainment of the cruise so far!

Our next port of call was Barcelona. We have been here a couple of times so decided to just stay near to the ship, we got a shuttle bus to Port Vell and then walked over the bridge to the marina and shopping centre where we had a look around the shops and got some lunch. We had a walk along Las Ramblas as we were looking for some replacement crocs for Amelia which we found in the foot locker and then headed back.

Our last day was Valencia and we decided to spend the last day at Oceanographic with Amelia’s little friends Sotirios and Oliver. They had a great time and absolutely loved the fish tanks, seeing the whales and sharks and we even got to see the dolphin show! It’s a massive park so took a long time to get around. By the time we was finished it was time to head back to the ship. We went to the kids club to play for a while and in the evening the M club team put on a mini disco for the kids and they loved it! A great way to end an amazing holiday! We got our suitcases packed up after dinner then got to see one last show before heading to bed and leaving the ship the next morning.

We had to be out of our rooms by 8am and off the boat by 9.30am for a 12.55pm flight home. The airport was absolute chaos with massive queues for bag check, security and passport control, the computer system went down in McDonald’s so we couldn’t order food and our plane was delayed by 2hrs but we got a Popeye’s, waited at the gate where there was conveniently positioned an Irish bar and then finally made it back home!

We had the best time away on our 4th Marella Cruise and are already looking to book our next.