A cruise line out of Port Canaveral that US cruisers cannot take

A new cruise line will begin in May with a homeport of Port Canaveral, Fla., but Floridians — and most U.S. citizens — won’t be able to set sail. Marella cruises Marella discovery will depart from the world’s busiest passenger cruise port for the first time on May 7, 2023, but the UK-based cruise line is not easy for US citizens to book as it mainly caters to British holiday-seekers.

Marella Cruises from the USA – but not for US cruisers

Marella Cruises is repositioning itself Marella discovery to Port Canaveral for six months beginning in May, but despite the busiest passenger cruise port in the world and a great home base for cruisers from the United States, most US cruisers cannot sail on the ship.

That’s because Marella cruises working almost exclusively for UK and European holidaymakers and the most common bookings for the line, including crossings for Marella discoveryare package options that include airfare and hotel accommodation options for complete travel arrangements.

With the only flights available departing from UK airports and requiring a valid UK address to book, it is almost impossible for US cruise lines to book one of these cruises.

Marella Cruises initially intended to begin sailings from Port Canaveral in 2021, but postponed those plans due to the pandemic. Now the Ship is ready to set sail.

Marella discovery itineraries

Marella discovery offers a variety of unique itineraries from Port Canaveral, all but one of which are 7-night cruises.

The first-ever cruise, departing May 7, 2023, is the “Sunshine State and Sands” itinerary, visiting Amber Cove, Grand Turk and two Florida ports – key west and Miami. Similar itineraries in the coming months may replace Grand Turk with Bimini and of course itineraries are subject to change at any time.

The American Dream itinerary is another 7 night round trip that visits Charleston and New York as well Free port in the Bahamas. The “Floridian Favorites” itinerary spends the week visiting top Florida destinations such as Tampa and Fort Lauderdale, as well as Bimini or Nassau, depending on your departure date.

Of particular interest is a 14-day fall cruise, a round-trip East Coast Adventure, departing from Port Canaveral on October 22, just in time for some superb fall foliage.

This cruise will visit destinations in New England and Canada including Newport, Rhode Island; Bar Harbor, Maine; Boston, Massachusetts; and three ports in Canada – Saint John in New Brunswick and Sydney and Halifax in Nova Scotia.

On 5.11. Marella discovery will depart Port Canaveral for an 11 day repositioning Bridgetown, Barbados, with stops in Miami, New Orleans and Amber Cove. The ship will remain based in Bridgetown until May 2024.

Marella discovery was originally built in 1995 as the Splendor of the Seas for Royal Caribbean International and has been Sold to TUI Cruises in 2016. The Vision Class ship briefly sailed as TUI Discovery before being renamed Marella Discovery in 2017.

The ship weighs 69,130 ​​gross tons and has a passenger capacity of 1,830 guests and up to 750 crew members.

Other cruise options in Port Canaveral

While US cruisers may not be able to set sail Marella discoverythere are many other popular options from Port Canaveral.

Five major cruise lines — Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean International, Norwegian Cruise Line, MSC Cruises, and Disney Cruise Line — all use Florida’s central port as their home port, often with multiple ships of different classes, sizes, and designs offering a wide variety to choose from on itineraries to the Bahamas, Mexico and throughout the Caribbean.

In addition, Port Canaveral is also an occasional port of call for Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean International, P&O Cruises, Costa Cruises, and other cruise lines.