First of all let me inform you that my husband and I have cruised many times with many of the main cruise operators.This is our opinion of our New Year Carribean cruise. The staff throughout the ship are pleasant and efficient. The ship is clean and well maintained. The entertainment was good. The major issue with this ship is the food in Latitudes Restaurant and the Lido Buffet. In both of these eateries the quality and choice of food is poor. We visited Latitudes on the first evening of our trip and left very disappointed indeed.For the rest of our cruise we ate at Vista (Italian and included in fare) or at one of the speciality restaurants. To eat in the speciality restaurants, Kora La, Surf and Turf and The Dining Club cost us £220 but knowing that we were assured of a good meal made it well worth the price. The difference in quality is staggering and begs the question if Chefs can produce excellent meals in these restaurants, why is it not the same throughout the ship? The answer is obviously cost but in our opinion cutting costs with food is a big mistake and deters passengers from booking with Marella again. In the middle of the week all of the speciality restaurants were full, with people being turned away or put onto waiting lists should guests not turn up. Marella strongly encourage guests to pay for an upgrade in drinks, offering well known brands as opposed to local ones. Why don’t they have the good sense to put £100 pounds on each fare and up the quality of food? Marella you seriously need to up your game.

Also there is no loyalty scheme for frequent sailors.Others offer free WiFi, laundry, mini bars and excursions. We are at the top of some loyalty schemes and have received all of these benefits. Where is our incentive to book again? We have been told by our local Tui branch that a loyalty scheme has been discussed several a times during the last few years. Remember, there is a lot of choice when booking a cruise. Food plays an important part in any holiday and the number of foodie programmes on TV , shows the appetite the U.K. public have for well cooked great looking meals !