Celebrity Cruises vs Marella Cruises
A detailed side-by-side comparison of Celebrity Cruises and Marella Cruises covering ratings, fleet size, food quality, entertainment, value for money, and available sailings from UK ports. Updated for 2026.
The head-to-head
Ratings are based on aggregated passenger reviews, editorial analysis, and expert scoring. The cobalt outline marks the stronger line for each attribute.
Who should choose which?
Every cruise line has its strengths and weaknesses. Here is an honest look at who each line is best suited for, based on passenger feedback and our editorial assessment.
Choose Celebrity Cruises if you want…
- Food and dining enthusiasts
- Modern luxury seekers
- Couples and adults
- Design-conscious travellers
Celebrity Cruises may not suit you if…
- Families wanting mega-ship activities
- Budget-conscious cruisers
- Those wanting UK departures only
Choose Marella Cruises if you want…
- All-inclusive simplicity
- First-time cruisers
- Budget-conscious families
- Regional UK airport departures
Marella Cruises may not suit you if…
- Luxury seekers
- Food enthusiasts
- Those wanting UK port departures (fly-cruise only)
Ships at a glance
A quick comparison of each line's fleet including passenger capacity, tonnage, and year of launch.
Celebrity Cruises Fleet (17 ships)
Celebrity Apex
Built 2020 · 2,910 guests
Celebrity Ascent
Built 2023 · 3,260 guests
Celebrity Beyond
Built 2022 · 3,260 guests
Marella Cruises Fleet (5 ships)
Marella Explorer
Built 2018 · 1,924 guests
Marella Explorer 2
Built 2019 · 1,814 guests
Available cruises
Current sailings from both cruise lines. Prices shown are per person based on two sharing the lowest-grade cabin available.
Celebrity Cruises Sailings
Save 1%7 NIGHTSAlaska Southbound Glacier
11 NIGHTS2-night Rome & 11-night Best of Italy & Croatia
Save 1%7 NIGHTSIceland Total Solar Eclipse Cruise
Save 1%7 NIGHTSBest of Greece Cruise
Save 1%7 NIGHTSGreece Malta Turkey Cruise
Ports: Barcelona, Spain · Athens (Piraeus), Greece
Save 1%7 NIGHTSGrand Cayman Mexico Perfect Day
Ports: Miami, Florida, USA
Save 5%7 NIGHTSGalapagos Outer Loop Cruise
Ports: Isla Baltra, Galapagos
Save 1%11 NIGHTSBest of Italy & Croatia from Rome
Ports: Rome (Civitavecchia) · Florence & Pisa (Livorno) · Salerno · Messina, Sicily · Kotor · Dubrovnik
Save 1%3 NIGHTSKey West Bahamas Cruise
Save 1%7 NIGHTSAlaska Dawes Glacier Cruise
Save 1%12 NIGHTSBest of Scandinavia Cruise
Ports: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Save 1%3 NIGHTSKey West Bahamas Cruise
11 NIGHTS11 Night Italy & Greek Islands
Ports: Naples · Santorini · Athens · Dubrovnik
Save 1%7 NIGHTSBest of Greece Cruise
Save 1%10 NIGHTSGreek Isles & Turkey from Barcelona
Ports: Barcelona · Messina, Sicily · Athens (Piraeus) · Thira, Santorini · Ephesus (Kusadasi) · Mykonos Town, Mykonos
Save 1%7 NIGHTSTortola, St. Kitts, Puerto Plata
Save 1%3 NIGHTSKey West Bahamas Cruise
Save 1%12 NIGHTSBest of Japan Cruise
7 NIGHTS2-night Barcelona & 7-night Italy, Spain & French Riviera
Save 1%3 NIGHTSKey West Bahamas Cruise
10 NIGHTSBest of Greece from Athens with Stay
Ports: Athens (Piraeus) · Rhodes Town · Ephesus (Kusadasi) · Thira (Santorini) · Mykonos Town · Thessaloniki
Save 4%7 NIGHTS7 Night Italy & French Riviera
Ports: Barcelona · Villefranche-sur-Mer · Portofino · La Spezia · Civitavecchia · Naples
Save 4%7 NIGHTSNorwegian Fjords cruise from Southampton
Ports: Southampton · Stavanger, Norway · Nordfjordeid · Geiranger, Norway · Bruges (Zeebrugge)
7 NIGHTS7 Night Best Of Greece Cruise
Ports: Rhodes · Kusadasi · Santorini · Hydra · Mykonos
7 NIGHTS7-night Grand Cayman, Mexico & Perfect Day
Ports: Miami · Perfect Day CocoCay · Cozumel · George Town · Nassau
Save 1%9 NIGHTSItalian Riviera & France
9 NIGHTSItaly, Spain & French Riviera from Barcelona with Stay
Ports: Barcelona · Nice (Villefranche) · La Spezia (tours to Florence/Pisa) · Santa Margherita · Rome (Civitavecchia) · Naples
8 NIGHTSMediterranean Masterpieces
Save 3%14 NIGHTSNorwegian Fjords and Arctic Circle cruise from Southampton
Ports: Southampton · Stavanger, Norway · Alesund · Olden · Tromsø, Norway · Honningsvåg, Norway
Save 1%12 NIGHTSBoston Maine Canada Cruise
Hot deal15 NIGHTSLake Garda & Venice with Best Of Italy & Croatia Cruise
Ports: Ravenna · Zadar · Dubrovnik · Kotor · Messina · Salerno
14 NIGHTSMediterranean, Italy and Spain cruise from Southampton
Ports: Southampton · Seville (Cadiz) · Cagliari, Sardinia · Rome (Civitavecchia) · La Spezia (tours to Florence/Pisa) · Nice (Villefranche Sur Mer)
15 NIGHTSAlaska with Dawes Glacier from Vancouver & Banff, Toronto & Niagara Falls with Stays
Ports: Vancouver · Icy Strait Point · Skagway · Juneau · Ketchikan
Hot deal8 NIGHTSGreece, Malta & Turkey from Athens
Ports: Athens (Piraeus) · Thira · Ephesus (Kusadasi) · Mykonos Town · Rhodes Town · Valletta
14 NIGHTSHawaii with Vancouver and Waikiki Beach Stays
Ports: Vancouver · Hilo, Hawaii · Kailua Kona, Hawaii · Honolulu, Oahu
Hot deal12 NIGHTSAdriatic & Greek Isles from Athens with Stay
Ports: Athens · Thira · Rhodes Town · Ephesus · Mykonos Town · Dubrovnik
Save 19%11 NIGHTSAdriatic & Greek Isles from Athens with 1-night Stay
Ports: Athens (Piraeus) · Thira · Santorini · Rhodes Town · Rhodes · Ephesus (Kusadasi)
Save 2%10 NIGHTSAdriatic & Greek Isles from Athens
Ports: Athens (Piraeus) · Thira, Santorini · Rhodes Town, Rhodes · Ephesus (Kusadasi) · Mykonos Town, Mykonos · Dubrovnik
10 NIGHTSWestern Caribbean with Miami Beach Stay
Ports: Miami · Perfect Day at Cococay · Cozumel · George Town, Grand Cayman · Nassau
11 NIGHTSItalian Riviera & France from Rome with Stay
Ports: Rome (Civitavecchia) · Naples · La Spezia · Portofino · Nice (Villefranche Sur Mer) · Marseille (Provence)
15 NIGHTSSwiss Alps, Bernina Red Train and Greece & Turkey Explorer with Milan and Rome Stays
Ports: Rome · Souda Bay · Thira · Ephesus · Istanbul · Mykonos Town
13 NIGHTSGreece, Turkey & Italy from Rome with Stay
Ports: Rome (Civitavecchia) · Souda Bay (tours to Chania), Crete · Thira, Santorini · Ephesus (Kusadasi) · Istanbul · Mykonos Town, Mykonos
Save 1%11 NIGHTSCanaries Portugal Cruise
Save 3%9 NIGHTSBest of Greece from Athens
Ports: Athens · Rhodes · Ephesus · Thira · Mykonos · Kavala
21 NIGHTSTreasures of Tahiti & Fiji from Honolulu with Waikiki Beach Stay
Ports: Honolulu, Oahu · Papeete, Tahiti · Moorea · Raiatea · Suva · Lautoka
Save 4%7 NIGHTS7-night Tortola, St. Maarten & Puerto Plata
Ports: Miami · Puerto Plata · Tortola · Philipsburg · Miami
Save 2%11 NIGHTSGreece, Turkey & Italy from Rome
Ports: Rome (Civitavecchia) · Souda Bay · Thira (Santorini) · Ephesus (Kusadasi) · Istanbul · Mykonos Town
Hot deal11 NIGHTSItaly, Spain & French Riviera from Barcelona with 1-night Stay
Ports: Barcelona · Naples · Messina · Rome (Civitavecchia) · Portofino · La Spezia
11 NIGHTSGreece & Turkey from Athens with 1-night Stay
Ports: Athens (Piraeus) · Thessaloniki · Istanbul · Ephesus (Kusadasi) · Thira (Santorini) · Rhodes Town
10 NIGHTSGreece & Turkey from Athens
Ports: Athens (Piraeus) · Thessaloniki · Istanbul · Ephesus (Kusadasi) · Thira (Santorini) · Rhodes Town
Marella Cruises Sailings
Save 2%7 NIGHTSMediterranean
Ports: Palma de Mallorca
7 NIGHTSMediterranean
Ports: Limassol
Save 2%7 NIGHTSGreek Mystique
Ports: Dubrovnik · Athens · Olympia (Katakolon) · Corfu · Kotor
Save 2%7 NIGHTSMarella Discovery 2 Mediterranean
Save 2%7 NIGHTSMarella Discovery Mediterranean
7 NIGHTSAdriatic Delights
Ports: Dubrovnik · Venice (Trieste) · Koper · Zadar · Split · Kotor
Save 2%7 NIGHTSMarella Voyager Mediterranean
Save 2%7 NIGHTSMarella Explorer Mediterranean
Save 2%7 NIGHTSMarella Discovery 2 Mediterranean
7 NIGHTSSail Three Seas
Ports: Malta · Catania · Argostoli · Corfu · Kotor
7 NIGHTSAdriatic Affair
Ports: Kotor · Split · Zadar · Venice (Trieste) · Koper
Save 2%7 NIGHTSTreasures of the Mediterranean from Majorca
Ports: Palma · Olbia · Naples · Civitavecchia · Ajaccio · Palamos
7 NIGHTSSail Three Seas
Ports: Malta · Catania · Argostoli · Corfu · Kotor
7 NIGHTSAegean Gems from Cyprus
Ports: Limassol · Souda Bay · Piraeus · Izmir · Mykonos · Rhodes
7 NIGHTSHighlights of the Mediterranean from Majorca
Ports: Palma · Majorca · Ajaccio · Corsica · Civitavecchia (tours to Rome) · Livorno (tours to Florence/Pisa)
Save 10%11 NIGHTSTransatlantic Passage to Paradise from Malaga to Barbados
Ports: Malaga · St. John's, Antigua · Roseau · Bridgetown, Barbados
14 NIGHTSEscape to the Caribbean from Malaga
Ports: Malaga · Tangier · St. John's · Basseterre · Roseau · Castries
Save 2%7 NIGHTSCanary Islands Explorer
Save 2%14 NIGHTSParadise Islands & A Christmas in the Tropics from Barbados
Ports: Bridgetown, Barbados · St. John's, Antigua · Road Town, Tortola · Philipsburg, St. Maarten · Basseterre, St. Kitts · Roseau
7 NIGHTSCanarian Flavours
Ports: Tenerife · Gran Canaria · Lanzarote · Agadir · Funchal · La Palma
7 NIGHTSAtlantic Islands from Tenerife
14 NIGHTSA Taste of the Tropics & Paradise Islands from Barbados
Ports: Bridgetown, Barbados · Castries, St. Lucia · Pointe-à-Pitre · St. George's, Grenada · Scarborough, Tobago · Kingstown, St. Vincent & Grenadines
7 NIGHTSCanarian Flavours
Ports: Tenerife · Gran Canaria · Lanzarote · Agadir · Funchal · La Palma
14 NIGHTSParadise Islands & A Christmas in the Tropics from Barbados
Celebrity Cruises vs Marella Cruises: the bottom line
Choosing between Celebrity Cruises and Marella Cruises ultimately comes down to what kind of holiday you are looking for. Both are well-established cruise lines with loyal followings, but they cater to different preferences and budgets.
Celebrity Cruises, founded in 1988 and headquartered in Miami, USA, operates a fleet of 17 ships. It is categorised as a premium cruise line and scores 4.7/5 overall based on 11,200 reviews. The line is particularly strong for food and dining enthusiasts and modern luxury seekers, making it a natural choice for cruisers who value those attributes.
Marella Cruises, established in 1995 from Luton, UK, has a fleet of 5 ships. As a value line rated 4.1/5 from 7,800 reviews, it excels at all-inclusive simplicity and first-time cruisers. If those are your priorities, Marella Cruises deserves serious consideration.
On food, Celebrity Cruises scores 10/10 compared to Marella Cruises's 5/10. For entertainment, Celebrity Cruises comes in at 7/10 versus Marella Cruises's 6/10. Value for money favours Marella Cruises with a score of 9/10.
Our recommendation: browse the available sailings above and compare itineraries, dates, and total cost including what is bundled in the fare. The best cruise line is the one that matches your specific needs, budget, and travel dates. Use the scores as a guide, but remember that individual ship and itinerary matter just as much as the cruise line brand.
Celebrity Cruises vs Marella Cruises — FAQ
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