Marella Spirit Review
Rating by category
Additional details
We chose this cruise because of the ports visited as most were a first for us. These were to embark at Malaga, then a sea day to Porto, then on to Lisbon, Porta Mao, Cadiz, Gibraltar and back to Malaga. Followed by a 4 night stay in a hotel at Fuengirola. This all came in a deal through Tui complete with All Inclusive drinks package on the ship.
Tui is a well oiled machine, and we had no problems with booking, flights, transfers or disembarkation. The only issue was that as Tui grows and takes over more companies things get a little disjointed. For example we flew out Norwegian Airways which is South Terminal Gatwick and flew back Tui which is North Terminal and we had to get from one to the other to get back to the car park. The cruise is now run by Marella, another arm of Tui and getting cruise information before hand was a bit difficult as there is no link between the booking web site and the cruise web site.
Having said that the cruise was great. The staff were as always excellent, the ship was spotlessly clean, if not a bit tired, the food was also excellent. This is the fourth Tui cruise we have been on and was the biggest Tui room we have ever had. It is worth paying the extra £10 for the space. The entertainment was quite good. Not the best Tui entertainment we have ever had but certainly not the worst!!!!
Cabin Review
We had a nice big cabin (for a Tui ship). A massive big double bed, four full length wardrobes, a shower room, tea/coffee making facility, TV all of which was kept immaculately clean by the cabin staff.What more could yo ask for?
Port Reviews
Porto (Leixoes)
We took the Tui provided bus (£7pp open return) into town and walked up and down the hills. If you get to the river it is possible to take the 6 bridges boat trip €15 which takes about an hour. Nice gentle cruise up and down the river going under the variety of bridges the cross the Douro river. Many other attractions and museums in the city to go and see as well as an old fashioned tram system the lots of people seem to want to take a ride on.
Lisbon
Very hilly place. Lots of places to see and trips to take, museums, trams, etc. We took a Tok Tok from outside the port. Did a deal with the driver and he took us round all the places you can't get to on a coach. Lots of back streets and view points as well as interesting architectural features. We paid €80 which was cheaper than what was on offer from the ship tours and we had a nice big Tok Tok to ourselves rather than being crushed into a smaller one with another couple.
Cadiz
Ship parked relatively close to the town, so we walked in. Nice old city, very relaxed, lots of shops and a big cathedral to visit. Nice long water front to stroll along as well.
Gibraltar
For such a small place there is too much to see and do here. If its a first time and you like history you have to go to the top of the rock and see the tunnels, and the apes etc. If you don't then there is a massive duty free shopping area, where they prefer Pounds Sterling. If you spend Euros the exchange rate they offer is very low and the benefits of the duty free is wiped out. Take plenty of money here!!!