Marella Explorer 2 Food Review | Cocktails Review AND The Truth About Vista Italian Restaurant!

Marella Explorer 2 Food Review | Cocktails Review AND The Truth About Vista Italian Restaurant!

Welcome back to Marion And Me! In today’s travel vlog, we are taking you along for day two and night three of our Mediterranean cruise vacation onboard the Marella Explorer 2. We start our evening trying to capture a classic, romantic cruise sunset out on the open deck before deciding to escape to the comfort of the ship’s bars to bring you a complete, honest review of the cruise nightlife, onboard entertainment, and specialty dining options.

We kick off the night at the Aperitif Bar, a fantastic and quiet spot around the corner from the main atrium crowds. We share some excellent budget travel tips regarding the Marella cruise drink packages and highlight the remarkably cheap cocktail prices onboard. Classic, high-quality cocktails like the Vesper martini, Bramble, Rusty Nail, Rob Roy, Gimlet, Negroni, Blood and Sand, and Aperol Spritz are incredibly affordable, costing only around £4.50 to £5 each! We also give a special shoutout to the exemplary bar staff, Swati and DD, for their standout service.

Next, we head inside Vista, the popular onboard Italian restaurant. Having previously tried this restaurant venue on the Marella Discovery, we compare the two experiences and look at menus using the Marella Cruise Explorer app. For our starters, we review a retro, 170s-style fresh melon and prosciutto ham (prosciutto e melone) dish paired with a classic Chianti red wine. For the main courses, we review a tender steak and a traditional Italian porchetta served with a side of courgettes. However, we provide a highly critical look at the portion sizes on this ship, explaining why the main dishes were not quite significant enough and why we had to order a shared side of tortellini pasta just to pack out our starch intake! We also share a look at the posh tiramisu trio dessert layout and highlight our wonderful singing waiter, Telly.

While enjoying dinner, we look back at our previous shore excursion to Pisa, Italy from the port of Livorno. We give our final verdict on whether the £62 Marella excursion cost was truly worth the money, reflecting on our tour guide Luca’s hilarious warnings about pickpockets in big hats. We also look ahead to tomorrow’s cruise itinerary, where we will take a tender boat into the stunning French port of Villefranche-sur-Mer (Villefranche), sharing important mobility and accessibility tips for navigating cruise ship tenders. Plus, we give a fun shoutout to fellow travel creators “Me and Mon” and their little dog Twiggy!

To wrap up the night, we take a walk through the Broad Street onboard shops to look at the duty-free jewellery, watches, and clothing. Because slow dining service caused us to completely miss the Broadway Show Lounge production of Rockology (following the brilliant Bud’s Diner show from night one), we try our luck gambling at the ship’s casino instead. Find out how we managed to lose a £20 stack of blackjack chips in under four minutes! We finish the evening winding down with a no-sugar-syrup Espresso Martini at the Flutes Bar and the Indigo Bar.

If this Marella Explorer 2 dining guide and cruise vlog helps you plan your next holiday voyage, please make sure to hit that like button, drop a comment below, and subscribe to Marion And Me for more authentic cruise reviews!

CHAPTERS:
00:00 – Catching the Cruise Sunset & Heading to the Bar
00:17 – Aperitif Bar Review: Cheap Cocktail Prices (£4.50 Menu)
02:36 – Broadway Show Lounge: Rockology vs Bud’s Diner Expectations
03:59 – Entering Vista Italian Restaurant & Using the Explorer App
04:37 – Final Verdict: Was the Marella Pisa Excursion Worth £62?
07:47 – Tomorrow’s Itinerary: Villefranche Tender Port & Mobility Tips
09:10 – Vista Starters: Honest Review of the Melon & Prosciutto
10:30 – Vista Main Courses: Tiny Porchetta Portions & Steak Review
14:27 – Tasting the Posh Dessert Menu: Tiramisu Trio
15:35 – Broad Street Shopping: Onboard Duty-Free Merchandise
17:11 – Flutes Bar: Ordering Custom Espresso Martinis
18:22 – Casino Disaster: Losing £20 in 4 Minutes (Blackjack/Pontoon)
19:45 – Late Night Drinks at Indigo Bar & Aperitif Bar

About Marion And Me: We are a mature couple sharing honest travel advice, cruise reviews (Marella & Virgin), and tips for the over 50s. Join our weekly adventures as we explore hidden gems in Spain and beyond!
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