Departure of line's longest-serving ship will be marked with week-long celebratory cruise in Europe
By
Rebecca Gibson |
Marella Cruises’ is to retire its longest-serving ship, Marella Spirit, on 21 October after a seven-night ‘Continental Coasts’ itinerary to Spain and France.
Marella Spirit’s final cruise will take guests to Malaga, Barcelona and Valencia in Spain, and Toulon in France. The ship’s send-off celebrations will begin when guests are given a glass of sparkling wine on arrival and continue with a nautical-themed fancy dress party that includes a live performance from 1980s cover band Wild Boys, and an audience with Mark Labbett from ITV game show ‘The Chase’. Celebrations will conclude with a speech from the captain and a deck party on the final night.
“We are sad to say goodbye to our much-loved ship Marella Spirit and are proud of the hard work of our crew onboard over the past 15 years,” said Chris Hackney, managing director of Marella Cruises. “We are excited for the future as we continue to develop our current ships and offer our customers more choice and with the introduction of our first ever adults only ship Marella Explorer 2 next year it promises to be an exciting journey.”
Marella Cruises is also set to revamp one of the main bars onboard Marella Discovery on 5 October, ahead of her winter sailings. The line will convert the venue into Squid & Anchor, a new traditional British-style pub concept that was first introduced onboard the recently launched Marella Explorer. The venue will host live music and quiz nights.