Surely a few eyebrows were raised this week when it was announced that TUI had ditched plans to add two new-build ships to its UK-based Marella fleet, putting the investment into TUI Cruises, its Germany-based joint venture with Royal Caribbean.?
The news was particularly startling as TUI CEO Sebastian Ebel said only last March that the age of the Marella fleet, which consists entirely of second-hand ships, was ‘keeping us awake at night’.
The oldest of its five ships, Marella Explorer 2, was 30 this year, and even the youngest – Marella Voyager – is 28, though they have all been significantly refurbished.
Just days after Ebel’s remarks, TUI had announced it had secured slots at Fincantieri shipyard to build two Marella ships, each carrying 3,200 passengers, with the first to be delivered in 2031.
At the time, TUI said the two new ships would be designed specifically for the British market, using high-quality materials to offer a premium product to UK passengers.
However, on Monday, Fincantieri put out a statement saying the order had been cancelled and the precious shipyard slots – of which there is a worldwide shortage – would be transferred to TUI Cruises for bigger ships than those that planned for Marella.
TUI Cruises owns the Mein Schiff brand, which has a fleet of eight ships and a ninth joining next year, and the five-ship luxury and expedition line Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, both based in Germany.
TUI’s statement said the decision to switch the slots from Marella to TUI Cruises was ‘a strategic realignment of its cruise operations… aimed at strengthening its long-term growth platform in Europe and the UK’.
Interestingly, it said TUI Cruises ‘will gradually diversify into the UK and Northern European markets’. It didn’t expand on the statement, but it appears to suggest that Mein Schiff could start to actively market cruises in the UK.
The two new ships will be sisters to Mein Schiff Relax, which joined the TUI Cruises fleet in April 2025, and Mein Schiff Flow, which is due for delivery in 2026.
Known as the inTUItion Class, they carry up to 3,984 passengers each and are the largest in the current Mein Schiff, plus the first to be equipped with dual-fuel LNG and MGO (Marine Gas Oil) engines.
With regard to Marella, a very profitable part of TUI’s business, the company said: “Marella Cruises, which holds a leading position in the UK cruise market, will continue its successful operations with the existing fleet.
“The current cooperation with TUI’s tour operator in the UK and TUI Airline will remain unchanged.”
Neither TUI UK Managing Director Neil Swanson nor Marella MD Chris Hackney has publicly commented on the decision to cancel the ship orders.
