Returned on 17th Aug 2019 from a 7 day cruise on Marella Discovery 2 on its Cosmopolitan Classics Cruise. This was our first cruise and Marella were recommended to us by a relative.

Our flight was from Manchester airport scheduled for 12:50. Up on arrival at Manchester at 09:35 we joined a large queue at the TUI check in desks. There were only 2 desks open for all TUI flights that morning. WE slowly made our way through the queue only for all of us in the queue to be asked to move back whilst other flights took priority. No explanation was given by the TUI staff whose only comment was for us to go downstairs and have a coffee for at least half an hour. We all refused and just stood there beyond the barriers and were told that we had to move as we were blocking the fire exit. No one moved. We were all disgusted by the treatment we received from the TUI staff who did not seem to care or any customer service. We eventually were checked in at about 10:45. The flight was then delayed for approx. 45 minutes with the reason given that the baggage handlers were very slow at loading the aircraft. Manchester Airport is the “pits”. It is undergoing major refurbishment of the terminal 2 but will not be any better as it is still run by the worst management I have come across. It is run by the local Councils and needs to be privatised.

Buffet restaurant. The good points – Plenty of choice of food, lovely views from the tables near the windows, plenty of seating/tables which were cleared very quickly by the staff. Drinks were self-service with a good choice. The bad points – Breakfast was the same every day and the bacon and sausages appeared to be very pale and undercooked. The fruit choice was also very limited and this was the only meal of the day that you could obtain a banana. Although there was a choice of food at lunch and dinner menu choices were themed foreign dishes which were cooked in sauces/herbs etc. There was no alternative choice of “plain food” with even the salad section having spices/oils on the lettuce. The fruit choice was very limited being mainly melon and pineapple. The hot “puddings” did not appeal to us as they did not look nice. The cakes were small and did not appear enticing and were the same choice every day. You were expected to use a plastic “glass” for water/ fruit juice. However although these were washed they appeared not to have been rinsed properly and therefor looked dirty and cloudy. They looked to be a health hazard to us and we therefore chose to use glasses instead where available. Read more