TUI Revised UK Strategy Transferring Newbuild Orders Away from Marella
TUI Group, which markets Mein Schiff in Germany and Marella Cruises in the UK, is revising its strategy for the UK. The group is transferring the first-ever newbuild order planned for Marella to TU Cruises, its joint venture with Royal Caribbean Group.
The move is part of a “strategic realignment of its cruise operations,” the parent company TUI AG said in a financial community press release. It said the goal is to strengthen TUI Cruises' long-term growth platform in Europe and the UK and to diversify the operation into the UK and Europe. The group highlights that it is following an “asset-right approach” that will harness TUI Cruises’ strong financial position and growth capabilities. TUI AG is working to lower its financial net leverage ratio strongly below 1.0 times in the mid-term, the company reiterated.
The order, as initially announced in March 2025, was part of what it said would be a refleeting of Marella Cruises, thereby replacing a significant proportion of the capacity of the current fleet. The group acknowledged a background of an aging Marella fleet. The cruise line, which was launched in the 1970s as part of the Thomson Holidays tour operations, was rebranded Marella in 2017, but has always worked with second-hand ships. Its current fleet consists of two ships, Marella Discovery and Marella Discovery 2, built in 1996 and 1997 for Royal Caribbean International, and three ships, Marella Explorer, Marella Explorer 2, and Marella Voyager, built in 1995, 1996, and 1997 for Celebrity Cruises.
The order was valued at more than €2 billion but was subject to Marella completing binding shipbuilding contracts and financing. TUI said it was also continuing to explore partnership options for the UK operation, which is not part of the JV with Royal Caribbean Group. TUI Cruises owns Mein Schiff and the ultra-luxury and explorer cruise brand Hapag-Lloyd Cruises.
Under today’s agreement, Marella has released the building slots at Fincantieri to TUI Cruises, and TUI has entered into new shipbuilding contracts with the Italian shipbuilder. The originally planned ships would have been smaller, designed specifically for the English market, and used design and high-quality materials to redefine premium cruising in the UK. They were scheduled for delivery in 2030 and 2032. Fincantieri will reimburse Marella’s down payment made with the Memorandum of Agreement signed in March.
TUI Cruises plans to build two larger ships, which will be sisters to the Mein Schiff Relax (157,651 gross tons) delivered in April 2025 by Fincantieri, and a sister ship, Mein Schiff Flow, floated in May and is due for delivery in 2026. Known as the inTUItion Class, they are 1,092 feet (333 meters) in length, making them the largest in the current Mein Schiff fleet of eight ships, and the first to be equipped with dual-fuel LNG and MGO (Marine Gas Oil) fueled engines. They have accommodations for 3,984 passengers.
The intent is that Marella Cruises will continue its operations with its existing fleet, TUI Group reports. The cruise ships have been significantly refurbished, but they are older and smaller than P&O Cruises, which Carnival Corporation added new ships in 2015, 2020, and 2022. P&O’s oldest cruise ship was built in 2000.