Norwegian Cruise Line vs Marella Cruises
A detailed side-by-side comparison of Norwegian Cruise Line 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 Norwegian Cruise Line if you want…
- Flexible, no-rules cruising
- Solo travellers (studio cabins)
- Broadway entertainment
- Modern ship design
Norwegian Cruise Line may not suit you if…
- Those wanting traditional cruise formality
- Budget travellers
- UK-departure-only preference
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.
Norwegian Cruise Line Fleet (19 ships)
Norwegian Prima
Built 2022 · 3,215 guests
Norwegian Viva
Built 2023 · 3,215 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.
Norwegian Cruise Line Sailings
Save 3%3 NIGHTSBahamas
Save 3%9 NIGHTSAlaska
7 NIGHTS7-Day Bermuda Round-Trip Philadelphia
Ports: Philadelphia · Royal Naval Dockyard · Halifax · Philadelphia
Save 3%3 NIGHTSBahamas
7 NIGHTS2-night Rome & 7-night Italy, Croatia & Greece
7 NIGHTS7-Day Bermuda Round-Trip New York
Ports: Royal Naval Dockyard
Save 3%7 NIGHTSAlaska
7 NIGHTS7-Day Hawaii Inter-Island from Honolulu
Ports: Kahului · Hilo · Kona · Nawiliwili
Save 3%7 NIGHTSCaribbean
Save 5%7 NIGHTSFrance & Italy from Barcelona
Ports: Barcelona · Nice (Villefranche Sur Mer) · Florence & Pisa (Livorno) · Messina · Salerno · Rome (Civitavecchia)
Save 3%11 NIGHTSNorthern Europe
Ports: Reykjavik · Iceland
Save 2%11 NIGHTSBritish Isles from Southampton
Ports: Southampton · Invergordon · Newhaven (For Edinburgh) · Stornoway, Isle of Lewis · Belfast · Dublin (Dun Loaghaire)
10 NIGHTS2-night Seattle & 10-night Alaska & Hubbard Glacier
7 NIGHTS2-night Rome & 7-night Italian Gems & South of France
7 NIGHTS2-night Venice & 7-night Italy, Greece & Croatia
9 NIGHTSIceland & Scotland from Reykjavik with Stay
Ports: Reykjavik · Isafjordur · Akureyri · Lerwick, Shetland Islands · Newhaven · Southampton
15 NIGHTS7-night Waikiki Beach Honolulu Stay with Tours & 7-night Inter-Island Cruise of Hawaii
Ports: Honolulu, Oahu · Kahului, Maui · Hilo, Hawaii · Kona, Hawaii · Nawiliwili, Kauai
Save 14%7 NIGHTSIceland & Scotland from Reykjavik
Ports: Reykjavik · Isafjordur · Akureyri · Lerwick, Shetland Islands · Newhaven (For Edinburgh) · Southampton
11 NIGHTSPortugal & Spain from Southampton to Barcelona
Ports: Southampton · Amsterdam (Ijmuiden) · Zeebrugge · Le Havre (Paris) · Vigo · Lisbon
7 NIGHTS2-night Lisbon & 7-night Spain & Portugal
Save 7%7 NIGHTSCanada New England
7 NIGHTS7-Day Greek Isles from Venice to Athens: Santorini, Mykonos & Croatia
Ports: Venice (Ravenna) · Dubrovnik · Kotor · Corfu · Olympia (Katakolon) · Mykonos
7 NIGHTS7-Day Mediterranean from Lisbon to Barcelona: Spain & Portugal
Ports: Lisbon · Portimao · Cadiz · Motril · Gibraltar · Ibiza
7 NIGHTS7-Day Caribbean Round-Trip Orlando: Great Stirrup Cay & Dominican Republic
Ports: Orlando · Puerto Plata/Dominican Republic · St. Thomas (US Virgin Islands) · Tortola · Great Stirrup Cay
7 NIGHTS7-Day Alaska Round-Trip Seattle: Glacier Bay, Skagway & Juneau
Ports: Seattle · Juneau · Skagway · Ketchikan · Victoria
7 NIGHTS7-Day Mediterranean from Rome to Venice: Italy, Greece & Croatia
Ports: Rome · Salerno · Catania · Corfu · Kotor · Split
11 NIGHTS11-Day Northern Europe from London to Reykjavik: Iceland, Scotland & Norway
Ports: Southampton · Newhaven · Kirkwall · Bergen · Alesund · Akureyri
7 NIGHTS7-Day Mediterranean from Barcelona to Rome: Nice, Florence & Amalfi Coast (salerno)
Ports: Barcelona · Marseille · Cannes · Florence/Pisa · Sicily · Salerno
Save 4%11 NIGHTSBaltic Cities with Helsinki & Copenhagen Stays
Ports: Helsinki · Tallinn · Stockholm (Nynashamn) · Riga · Berlin (Warnemunde) · Kiel
Save 1%7 NIGHTS2-night Rome & 7-night Italian Gems & South of France
7 NIGHTS2-night Boston & 7-night New England & Canada
7 NIGHTS2-night Barcelona & 7-night Spain & Portugal
7 NIGHTS2-night Venice & 7-night Italy, Greece & Croatia
Save 16%7 NIGHTSCanada New England
Save 18%7 NIGHTSCanada New England
Hot deal7 NIGHTSMediterranean: Nice, Florence & Salerno
Ports: Civitavecchia · Salerno · Catania · Livorno · Villefranche-sur-Mer · Marseille
9 NIGHTS2-night Seattle & 9-night Joy of Alaska
Save 4%12 NIGHTSNiagara Falls, Canada & New England from New York with Stays
Ports: New York · Halifax · Saint John, Bay Of Fundy, Canada · Boston · Portland, Maine · Newport
7 NIGHTS3-night New York & 7-night Boston & Halifax
10 NIGHTSIceland, Scotland & Norway from Reykjavik
Ports: Reykjavik · Isafjordur · Akureyri · Maloy · Leirvik · Invergordon
Save 10%7 NIGHTS3-night Miami & 4-night Great Stirrup Cay & Nassau
11 NIGHTSSpain & Portugal Explorer with Lisbon and Barcelona Stays
Ports: Lisbon · Portimao · Cadiz · Motril · Gibraltar · Ibiza Town, Ibiza
7 NIGHTS2-night Barcelona & 7-night Italy & France
Save 19%7 NIGHTSCanada New England
7 NIGHTSAlaska: Juneau, Ketchikan, Sitka & Victoria
Ports: Seattle · Sitka · Juneau · Endicott Arm · Icy Strait Point · Ketchikan
Save 3%11 NIGHTSCanada & New England: Boston, Bar Harbor & Halifax
Ports: Philadelphia · Boston · Bar Harbor · Saint-John · Halifax · Sydney
7 NIGHTSCaribbean: Great Stirrup Cay, Dominican Republic & Tortola
Ports: Miami · Puerto Plata · Saint Thomas · Road Town · Great Stirrup Cay · Miami
Save 3%12 NIGHTSNiagara Falls, Canada & New England from New York with Stays
Ports: New York · Halifax · Saint John, Bay Of Fundy, Canada · Boston · Portland, Maine · Newport
10 NIGHTS2-night Seattle & 10-night Joy of Alaska & Glacier Bay
9 NIGHTSNew York Yankees Vs New York Mets Baseball Game with Bermuda from New York
Ports: New York · Royal Naval Dockyard (King's Wharf)
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
Norwegian Cruise Line vs Marella Cruises: the bottom line
Choosing between Norwegian Cruise Line 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.
Norwegian Cruise Line, founded in 1966 and headquartered in Miami, USA, operates a fleet of 19 ships. It is categorised as a contemporary cruise line and scores 4.4/5 overall based on 13,800 reviews. The line is particularly strong for flexible, no-rules cruising and solo travellers (studio cabins), 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, Norwegian Cruise Line scores 7/10 compared to Marella Cruises's 5/10. For entertainment, Norwegian Cruise Line comes in at 8/10 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.
Norwegian Cruise Line vs Marella Cruises — FAQ
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