Marella Cruises Announces New Ports and Itineraries for Winter 2025

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Marella Cruises, owned by Germanyโ€™s TUI Group, has unveiled its winter 2025 program, introducing new ports of call and expanded itineraries across its fleet. 

Beginning on December 16, 2025, the 2,076-passenger Marella Discovery will include Isla Catalina in the Dominican Republic and Ponce in Puerto Rico in its โ€œTropical Islesโ€ itinerary. This marks the first time Marella Cruises will port in these locations. 

The Tropical Isles itinerary will embark from La Romana, Dominica Republic, and include stops in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Charlotte Amalie and Frederiksted in the U.S. Virgin Islands before visiting the new ports. The journey will conclude back in La Romana.

Isla Catalina, Dominican Republic
Isla Catalina, Dominican Republic (Photo Credit: Marella Cruises)

โ€œWeโ€™re excited to be announcing our winter 2025 programme, with our more remote island ports of call in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, allowing our guests to discover more,โ€ said Chris Hackney, managing director of Marella Cruises. 

In addition to these new ports, the 1,832-passenger Marella Discovery 2 will launch its โ€œExotic Islandsโ€ itinerary on January 8, 2026. This route includes stops in Barbados, St. Lucia, Aruba, Curacao, and Grenada.

Notably, the itinerary features new overnight stays in Willemstad, Curacao, and cruise-and-stay options at the Hilton Barbados Resort and Radisson Aquatica in Hastings, Barbados.

Another new itinerary, the โ€œIsland Explorer,โ€ will commence on November 28, 2025, on the 1,886-passenger Marella Voyager and the adults-only, 1,814-passenger Marella Explorer 2. This route covers Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Madeira, and La Palma, Spain, with overnight stays in Funchal, Madeira. Guests can choose to sail from Tenerife or Gran Canaria.

In addition, to celebrate the New Year, Marella Voyager will offer a special Spanish itinerary, โ€œA New Yearโ€™s Dream,โ€ which includes the Madeira firework display and cruise-and-stay options in Tenerife and Gran Canaria.

Said Hackney, โ€œBy expanding our overnight onboard stay offering in the Curacao and Canary Islands and cruise-and-stay options in the Caribbean and Canary Islands, it will give guests a chance to explore the sights, with a change to stay at our TUI hotels pre- or post-cruise.โ€

The new itineraries will be available for booking starting July 18, 2024.

A Similar Lineup for 2024

The 2025 lineup is similar to Marella Cruisesโ€™ 2024 winter schedule, in which three of the cruise lineโ€™s five ships spend the season in the Caribbean, and two will be positioned in the Canary Islands.

Marella Voyager, the newest ship that debuted in 2023 in Malaga, Spain, is scheduled to enjoy a 2024 winter in the Caribbean, calling on ports in Barbados, Tobago, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Guadeloupe, British Virgin Islands, St. Kitts, Antigua, and Dominica.

The 77,302 gross ton ship is currently summering in the Mediterranean until November 17, 2024.

Marella Explorer Cruise Ship
Marella Explorer Cruise Ship (Photo Credit: StudioPortoSabbia)

Marella Explorer 2, also currently in the Mediterranean, will also reposition to the Caribbean on December 7 for its 2024 winter season, visiting the Dominican Republic for the first time since 2017.

Read Also: Marella Redeploys Ship to Western Mediterranean

Sister ships Marella Discovery and Marella Discovery 2, both weighing 69,130 gross tons, are currently in the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas. 

While Marella Discovery will move to the Caribbean on November 10 and visit similar ports, Marella Discovery 2 will spend this winter in the Canary Islands following a cancellation of original plans to sail in the Middle East and Asia due to ongoing strife in the Red Sea.

It joins Marella Explorer, which is slated to spend its 2024 winter in the Canaries. Although Marella Explorer is scheduled to sail in Greece and Turkey through October 31, 2025, it is not included in the 2025 winter schedule. Last refurbished in 2022, perhaps the 1,924-passenger ship will be in dry dock. 

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Lissa Poirot
Lissa Poirot
Lissa Poirot has been covering travel for more than a decade, including sites such as TripAdvisor, CruiseCritic, The Points Guy, Family Vacation Critic, and Family Traveller. Her love of travel has led Lissa to visit more than 43 countries and has her on a mission to see every state in the U.S. (only 4 states to go!). When she's not traveling, she's exploring new attractions and events on the weekends, be it in New York City or Philadelphia, as Lissa lives between both fabulous cities.

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