The Marella Discovery coming to Newcastle Port to sail the Baltic was a big promotion in April 2017 and a group of us booked straight away to choose the cabins we wanted.

The embarkation was an absolute disaster. We were lucky we only queued for one and half hours to hand our luggage over, some queued for three hours. ( if it rained ??? ). The Cruise itself was brilliant, visiting eight beautiful cites, using all of the ships facilities and enjoying the best weather in the Baltic Sea for 120 years. The cabin, dining, and service were above average with the entertainment superb. On shore, wherever possible, we used the Red Buses which provide great value and on the fourth trip in Stockholm it was Free. The ships excursions in St Petersburg were the identical ones that were available five years ago so there was not a great of choice for us but we had a brilliant time at Peterhof Grand Palace and Gardens, highly recommended. With the temperatures ranging from 22/27c for the cruise (until we got back to Newcastle) it was disappointing that the main swimming pool was out of action until the last day of the Cruise.

The biggest disappointment of the whole cruises was the cost that we had paid a year in advance of the Cruise to those passages who booked only six/eight weeks before and paid half price for their cabins. So my main Advice to all would be never book a MARELLA CRUISE until SIX / EIGHT weeks before sailing as you will save a lot of money and enjoy the cruise even more.