Marella Cruises, the UK focused cruise line owned by TUI AG in Germany, will introduce its fifth ship on 3 June, when Marella Voyager commences operations in the Mediterranean.

The ship that started life in 1997 as Mercury for Celebrity Cruises has last operated as Mein Schiff Herz on the German market for Mein Schiff, which is part of TUI Cruises group that TUI owns 50/50 with the Royal Caribbean Group.

Two other vessels of Marella Cruises are also former Celebrity Cruises vessels of the Century class, while two have come from Royal Caribbean International and are also of the mid- 1990s vintage.

Marella Cruises Managing Director Chris Hackney told Travel Weekly that the line’s sales for the rest of the year and the winter season 2023/24 are higher than the comparable period in 2019. “We are in a really strong place for bookings for 2023 and the winter and we are really happy with it,” he was quoted as saying.

The company has decided to operate Marella Discovery on a series of cruises from Singapore in the coming winter and these have been the line’s bestselling itineraries, Hackney said.