The ship will leave the Marella fleet after a decade of service, joining the Tui Cruises brand as the Thomson Dream in 2010. The departure of the Marella Dream is part of a plan to revamp Marella's cruise program for the coming seasons.
All voyages on the ship between October 26, 2021, and onward will be canceled, and passengers who have booked will be notified that they can rebook on another cruise, receiving a 10% booking incentive, or receive a full refund. Marella Cruises has transferred all Marella Dream cruises for summer 2021 to the Marella Discovery, which will now sail from Palma instead of Port Canaveral, Florida. As a result, all Marella Discovery U.S. cruises for summer 2021 will be canceled.
The cruise line is offering more flexibility for winter 2020 cruises, allowing passengers to modify any cruise free of charge before October 31.
“With current travel restrictions for UK cruise lines still in place, we have made the difficult decision to reshape our cruise program for the coming seasons,” said Chris Hackney, Managing Director of Marella Cruises. “This means the early retirement of the Marella Dream after ten years of service and the relocation of the Marella Discovery from the US to Europe.”
“Due to the current uncertainty surrounding travel, and to give our guests greater peace of mind, we are offering them more flexibility to modify their cruises,” he added. “While current circumstances have required us to make changes to our program, we offer a range of incredible itineraries for guests to enjoy. We have been working hard to implement new health and safety measures to protect guests and crew while sailing with us, and we can’t wait to welcome our guests back on board soon.”.
The Marella Dream was built in 1986 and entered service as the MS Homerico for Domestic Lines. Following the merger of the Italian shipping company with Holland America Line, it sailed as the MS Westerdam until 2002. The ship was then transferred to the Costa Cruises fleet as the MS Costa Europe, before finally joining TUI in 2010.
