Marella Cruises all-inclusive 2027: what's included and is Premium worth it?
Marella's fare already includes meals, a standard drinks selection and tips. Premium All Inclusive is an optional upgrade. On the one 2027 sailing we checked, TUI's booking page priced it at £12.71 per person per night, about £89 per person over seven nights. Every passenger on the booking must take it.
Is Marella Premium worth it?
Only if you would regularly order drinks that Standard does not cover, and everyone on the booking would use it. In the quote we checked, for Marella Discovery on 1 May 2027, Premium was about £89 per person over seven nights, or £178 for two adults (£12.71 per person per night).
What does Premium add?
A wider drinks list: the upgraded wine list, more beers, upgraded cocktails such as mojitos, premium gins, vodkas, rums and tequilas, more whiskies and brandies, canned soft drinks and most Coffee Port drinks. It does not add Wi-Fi, speciality dining or excursions.
Are tips included?
Yes. Tips are part of every Marella package, so there is no daily service charge to add to your budget.
Can you wait until you board?
Yes. TUI lets you upgrade onboard, but says the best price is before you travel. Ask for both prices.
This guide covers current prices and booking terms, not what life on board is like. Marella is TUI's cruise brand, and TUI lists included venues for its five ships: Explorer, Explorer 2, Discovery, Discovery 2 and Voyager.
What Marella includes
Every Marella fare includes meals in at least six eateries, a standard drinks selection and tips. On fly-cruise packages it also includes flights, luggage and transfers.
1. A standard drinks selection
TUI says Standard covers 10am to 2am each day. It lists Amstel and Strongbow on tap, bottled beers such as John Smith's, Guinness and Carlsberg, ales, house wine and prosecco by the glass, spirits, ports, liqueurs, sherries and aperitifs, cocktails such as Long Island Iced Tea, Mai Tai and cosmopolitan, soft drinks, mocktails and juices. Some 0% and gluten-free options are on the menu, including Heineken 0%. TUI adds that the exact brands vary.
Drinks served between 2am and 10am are not included in either tier, apart from the Premium Coffee Port hours below, and go to your onboard account. If you have a particular spirit, cocktail or mixer in mind, check the menu before assuming it is covered.
2. Meals and a choice of restaurants
TUI promises at least six eateries on every ship: a main restaurant, an Italian place, a British restaurant, a grab-and-go spot, and a buffet. Marella Voyager has a food hall of eight eateries instead of a buffet.
An included venue can still sell extra-charge dishes. TUI marks The Mediterranean on Explorer and The GlassHouse on Discovery and Discovery 2 as excluding some dishes, and says the evening meal at The Beach Cove on Explorer 2 is chargeable. In the main restaurants you can order "Treat Yourself" dishes, such as sirloin steak, for a little extra. Read the venue and the menu together: an included restaurant does not make every dish included.
3. Flights, baggage and transfers
TUI says every Marella cruise package includes flights, transfers to and from the ship, tips and luggage. On TUI Airways the hold allowance is 20kg per person (over age 2), and the cabin allowance is one 10kg bag up to 55 x 40 x 20cm plus a personal item up to 40 x 30 x 20cm. Other airlines can differ, so check your own documents.
TUI says your luggage "may be transported from the airport to the ship" under its bonded luggage service, and that you can check whether this applies in your booking confirmation. If you fly on another airline, you collect your own bags. Allow separately for getting to your UK airport, parking or a hotel night, and any seat or baggage extras you choose.
What it doesn't include
TUI's own list of extras names Wi-Fi packages, premium drinks, meals in the speciality restaurants and spa treatments. Premium drinks do not replace the other budget lines.
| Expense | What to allow for |
|---|---|
| Premium drinks | The Premium upgrade, or individual premium drinks charged to your onboard account |
| Wi-Fi | Charged to your cabin account at the rate advertised on board |
| Speciality restaurants and "Treat Yourself" dishes | An extra charge |
| Spa treatments | Optional, charged separately |
| Shore tours | Whatever you book, through Marella or independently |
Wi-Fi and staying connected
TUI says Wi-Fi is on all ships, but only in some public areas and not in your cabin. Internet access is charged to your cabin account at the rate advertised on board. Royal Suites and the Voyager Suite, booked with Suite Service Max, include a free Wi-Fi package. Our cruise Wi-Fi guide can help you decide whether you need to be online at sea.
Speciality dining
Speciality meals cost extra. Decide which restaurant you want, and allow for its charge in your budget.
What Premium adds
Premium widens the drinks list. It does not turn extras such as Wi-Fi or speciality dining into included benefits. TUI says you can then "sample almost everything on the full bar menu".
| Drinks | Standard | Premium adds |
|---|---|---|
| Beer and cider | Amstel and Strongbow on tap, bottles and cans, ales | Draught beers such as Birra Moretti and Heineken, and bottled Peroni, Asahi and Old Mout |
| Wine | House wine and prosecco by the glass | The upgraded wine list |
| Spirits | Standard spirits, ports, liqueurs, sherries, aperitifs | Premium gins, vodkas, rums and tequilas, and more whiskies, brandies and cognacs |
| Cocktails | Long Island Iced Tea, Mai Tai, cosmopolitan | An upgraded list, including mojitos |
| Soft drinks and coffee | Selected soft drinks, mocktails, juices, hot drinks | Canned soft drinks and most Coffee Port drinks |
TUI's pages name different examples of the upgraded cocktails (mojitos, margaritas, Aperol Spritz, Champagne cocktails, mudslides) and say brands vary, so check a favourite drink against the menu.
Coffee before an excursion
Premium includes non-alcoholic hot and iced coffee-based drinks at the Coffee Port from 7am. Most other drinks from the menu start at 10am. That matters if the coffee is your reason for upgrading before an early shore tour.
Children and under-18s
TUI says children aged 12 and under upgrade free when the rest of their party upgrades. Under-18s on Premium get a wider selection of soft drinks, including cans and brands such as J2O and San Pellegrino.
The rules worth reading
Everyone on the booking counts
TUI's A to Z guide says: "All passengers on the booking must upgrade to Premium All Inclusive." The rule covers the whole booking, not just your cabin; the exception is free upgrades for children aged 12 and under. If only one of you wants Premium, both pay, so compare the combined cost with what you would both really buy.
When and where to upgrade
TUI says you can upgrade at booking, online, at a TUI Store or by phone, or onboard on every ship. The best price is before you travel, so decide before you sail if you can; if you wait until you board, ask for the onboard price before you commit. The package applies only on the ship, not to hotel stays on Cruise & Stay or Stay & Cruise holidays.
Buying premium drinks one at a time
You do not have to upgrade to enjoy a premium drink. TUI says you can buy individual premium drinks onboard, at the prices on the onboard menus, charged to your onboard account. That makes occasional Premium drinks a real alternative to a whole-booking upgrade.
A seven-night example
About £89 per person, or £178 for two adults, in the quote we checked. TUI's booking page for Marella Discovery (seven nights from 1 May 2027, from Bournemouth, an inside cabin for two adults) showed Premium All Inclusive at £12.71 per person per night. We read the page on 22 October 2026.
That is one sailing on one day, not a Marella-wide tariff, and TUI's page says "Product range may vary". Use it to judge the scale of the cost.
| Seven nights | Per person | Two adults |
|---|---|---|
| Standard, drinks in the fare | £0 extra | £0 extra |
| Premium, as shown for Discovery, 1 May 2027 | About £89 | £178 |
This is the upgrade only, not the holiday price. Internet, speciality dining and excursions stay separate.
Judging it for your sailing
Take the Premium quote for everyone who must pay, and set it against what you would really spend each day on drinks Standard does not cover: premium spirits, upgraded cocktails and wines. If only one of you wants Premium, both still pay, so weigh the full quote against that person's drinks. Drinks bought ashore do not count.
How to compare Marella with P&O
Compare matched holidays: similar dates, itinerary, cabin grade and departure airport. Put each quote through the same list: fare, flights, baggage, transfers, tips, drinks, internet and speciality dining. Keep a line at zero where it is already included.
The two lines sell drinks differently. Marella's fare already pays for Standard drinks, and Premium is a supplement on top. P&O's all-inclusive packages are separate packages priced per person per day on top of the fare. Do not set Marella's Premium supplement against a P&O package price as if they bought the same thing. The fair comparison is the total holiday cost with the choices you would really make on each. Our P&O all-inclusive guide sets out what P&O's packages include and cost. For guests aged 50 and over, Saga's fare goes further, including drinks, speciality dining, an excursion in every port and a chauffeur to the ship; see our Saga guide.
When it works, and when it doesn't
| Worth considering if... | Think twice if... |
|---|---|
| Your usual drinks sit outside Standard | You like the included drinks |
| Everyone on the booking would use the extras | One of you would use most of it and the others little |
| The premium drinks you would buy cost more than the quote | You would buy only the odd premium drink |
| You want the early Coffee Port start before tours | Your itinerary leaves little time on board |
Convenience can be a good reason to upgrade. It is a preference, not a saving.
Is Marella Premium worth it? The verdict
Take Premium for the drinks you want beyond Standard, not for the principle of having everything.
The fare already gives you meals, a standard drinks selection and tips, so Standard is a complete option for many guests. If you would want only the odd premium drink, buying them one at a time is the better fit. If you would order premium drinks most days, set the whole-booking quote against what you would otherwise spend.
How we checked
We read TUI's Marella pages on 22 October 2026: the all-inclusive page, the upgrades page, the A to Z guide, the drinks guide, the FAQs and the cabin and fly-cruise pages. The Premium price comes from TUI's booking page for the sailing above, and the totals are our arithmetic. Marella is not in our calculator. See our methodology.
Keep reading
- British cruise lines compared 2027: which should you choose?
- Deposits, final payment and onboard card holds
- Marella name changes, price rises and unused credit
- P&O Cruises all-inclusive 2027
- Fred. Olsen drinks package 2027
- Ambassador Cruises 2027
- Saga Cruises 2027
- Are cruise drink packages worth it?
- Cruise Wi-Fi explained
- More International guides
Sources
TUI pages, read 22 October 2026:
- Marella All Inclusive and fly-cruises
- Upgrades and extras
- A to Z guide
- Cruise drink packages (updated 8 July 2026)
- How much are drinks onboard, what the drinks package includes, buying premium drinks individually and drinks for under-18s
- Wi-Fi on board and cabin options
- The Premium price: TUI's online booking page, cabin and board step, Marella Discovery, 1 May 2027, read 22 October 2026. The page address does not name the sailing, so it cannot be linked.
CruiseClarify is written by someone who worked behind the Purser's Desk at a major cruise line — handling guest accounts, disputed charges, and the end-of-cruise bills that caught guests off guard — and who has sailed as a guest with 10 cruise lines. We keep it independent: no affiliate links, no advertising, no sponsored content. This guide is general information, not financial advice; your booking conditions and the cruise line's current terms decide what you pay. See our Methodology.