Reporting full-year earnings, TUI Group noted the high demand for its three unique cruise brands TUI Cruises, Marella Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises.
The company said that short-term bookings continue to represent a large share of overall bookings. Still, encouragingly, the proportion of mid-term bookings is increasing as customer confidence returns.
The company also said that 2023 booked ticket rates for all three brands are above pre-pandemic levels.
Marella Cruises has revealed details of the new ship Marella Voyager’s bar and dining options ahead of its launch this summer.
The all-inclusive vessel will include new venues such as Silver Fork, a British-themed speciality restaurant; The Arts House, a bar with an arts and crafts space; and The Kitchens, a food hall with eight eateries rolled into one. The ship also offers a spa, pool and show lounge.
Marella will also debut its first Mexican restaurant, Abuela’s, which will offer a range of dishes such as tacos, burritos, nachos and fajitas.
From its homeport in Majorca, Voyager will sail to destinations such as Barcelona, Naples, Sicily and the south of France. In the winter, it will offer eight-night itineraries from Barbados.
Chris Hackney, managing director of cruise for Tui UK and Ireland, said: “We’re delighted to present an exciting evolution of our fleet in Marella Voyager.
“She really takes things to a new level, building on our current ships’ best features, whilst adding new venues that we know our customers will be excited to try.
“We understand what guests want from their cruise and what they love about our existing ships, so by ensuring we keep some Marella Cruises favourites as well as adding a different flavour to Marella Voyager, we will be providing more choice for our loyal customers and providing an exciting introduction to the brand for new customers.”
The line has also announced plans to offer sailings in Canada for the first time as part of its winter 2023/2024 programme, which goes on sale on 21 July.
TUI Cruises is set to grow in size and reach, according to the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine.
The newspaper reported that British cruise line Marella Cruises, which is currently owned by TUI Group, will be integrated into TUI Cruises – a joint venture between TUI Group and Royal Caribbean Group.
The handover of Marella will grow TUI Cruises, which currently operates in the German market, into a European cruise line. Earlier, in 2020, another cruise line, Hapag Lloyd Cruises, was integrated into the TUI Cruises brand in a similar fashion.
Marella Cruises currently has a fleet of four ships – the Marella Explorer, Marella Explorer 2, Marella Discovery and Marella Discovery 2. The cruise line recently confirmed to Cruise Industry News that it would be growing its fleet to five ships in 2023 but did not disclose which ship those plans would involve.
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