Marella Cruises officially welcomed Marella Explorer during a christening ceremony at Port Palma (Majorca) on May 17.
Formerly sailing as Mein Schiff 1 for TUI Cruises (Marella Cruises’ sister brand), Marella Explorer was named by a couple of godmothers – Susan Stewart, the hotel operations manager of the line, and Mandy Galloway, travel agent at one of the retail stores of TUI Group in Edinburgh. They were joined by Marella Explorer’s master Capt. Peter Harris and ten crew members, who represented different parts of the ship and held beam of light which released the champagne bottle to christen the vessel.
During the naming ceremony, Marella Cruises employees, travel agents, suppliers, media and all guests enjoyed a performance by Take That tribute band, fireworks display and 1-hour-long live DJ set from award-winning artist Craig David. Guests wore LED wristbands which changed colour to the beat of music.
Marella Explorer was inaugurated after a 4-week, multi-million pound refurbishment in Cadiz.
The ship embarks on her first customer cruise around the Mediterranean from Palma on Saturday, May 19. Marella Explorer will then sail in west Mediterranean during summer before moving to Barbados in winter.