Two ships from the cruise company Marella Cruises, a company owned by the German operator TUI, are in the Port of Funchal this morning, in an unusual double stopover of two ‘sister ships’, the ‘Marella Explorer 2’ and the ‘Marella Voyager’.
The first came from Arrecife, in the Canary Islands, on a 7-day cruise, then headed to Santa Cruz de La Palma, also in the neighboring archipelago. The second came from Gibraltar in the Mediterranean and will head across the Atlantic to the island of Santa Luzia, in the Caribbean, where it should arrive within a week.
The ‘Marella Explorer’ docked at 7 am, a ship that has had four names on its hull since it was launched in 1995, and still has capacity for 1,814 passengers and 843 crew members.
The ‘Marella Voyager’ docked an hour later. It is a ship from 1997, with a capacity for a maximum of 2,669 passengers and 909 crew members. Interestingly, this is already its 5th name.
Both will leave this afternoon, heading to their destination ports.