TUI's cruise line to restart sailings with UK cruise holidays for summer

TUI's cruise line has announced a series of new UK itineraries for the summer holidays, with both family-friendly and adult-only sailings on offer.

Marella Cruises will offer all-inclusive sailings on Marella Explorer (family-friendly) and Marella Explorer 2 (adults-only) from June through to August.

All adults aged 18 or over will need to be fully vaccinated to be on board, meaning receiving both doses of a Covid jab at least seven days before travelling. They will still need to provide proof of a negative lateral flow test result in order to board the cruise ships.

Meanwhile all kids under 18 will be asked to have a lateral flow test. The cruise line says that infants under the age of two will not be able to sail, as they are exempt from testing.

As for the destinations?

© Steve Brown/REX/ShutterstockMarella Explorer cruise ship

Marella Explorer will offer seven itineraries from Southampton, kicking off from June 25.

Highlights include a three-night South Coast itinerary visiting Dover for Canterbury Cathedral and Portland for Abbotsbury Swannery & Gardens, as well as a 'Sail the Irish Sea' itinerary including Liverpool, Dublin and Cobh, or a 'British Sights and Seas' with visits to Invergordon, Kirkwall, Leith, Edinburgh and Newcastle.

Bookings will open on tui.co.uk/cruise from Friday (April 16).

© TUIA view of the castle and water at Invergordon, Scotland

Meanwhile, Marella Explorer 2 will sail from Newcastle beginning from July 10, with bookings due to go on sale at the end of April.

The cruise line has said that the ships' onboard facilities such as restaurants, spas, entertainment and even things like mini golf will be open onboard.

While the brand is launching the UK sailings, it will continue its pause of operations until July 31 for other cruise ships Marella Discovery and Marella Discovery 2.

© TUIA view of the buildings along the Liffey River in Dublin

Managing Director of Cruise TUI UK & I Chris Hackney said: "After pausing our operations for more than year, we are delighted to announce our UK summer programme and welcome our wonderful customers back onboard our ships. The safety and well-being of both our crew and passengers remains our priority which is why we have vaccination and testing protocols for all sailings from UK ports this summer.

"Domestic sailings are a great step for the cruise industry and has given us the opportunity to take our customers to new destinations full of culture and history whilst still being close to home. We're looking forward to this new adventure on the British seas and are dedicated to making sure our customers have the most memorable and exciting cruise with us."

Currently it's hoped that domestic cruises can resume from May alongside international travel as part of England's roadmap for easing out of lockdown.

As a result, there are a number of cruise lines offering UK sailings this summer including the likes of Disney, Royal Caribbean and MSC Cruises. Some brands such as Saga and P&O Cruises have said that guests will need to be fully vaccinated in order to board the ships.

The UK government's Global Travel Taskforce said in a recent report that cruises abroad will be able to resume under the new traffic lights system, but that it would look at the success of domestic cruises as a factor before making the decision.

Will you be booking a UK cruise this summer? Let us know in the comments below.