Marella Cruises With a Baby

From TUI's own Marella Cruises pages, checked October 2026.

Short answer: babies can sail with Marella from 6 months. Cots and highchairs are free to borrow on board, and the crew will warm milk and baby food, but Marella doesn't stock baby food, so bring your own. There's no crèche and no babysitting: under-3s get daily Mini M Club stay-and-play sessions with a parent, and kids' clubs start at 3. Babies in nappies, including swim nappies, can't use the pools. Compare it with other lines in our cruise line baby rules table.

Minimum age

Infants under 6 months old can't travel on Marella cruises (TUI: Marella Cruises FAQs).
The pages we checked don't mention a higher age for longer sailings or sea days in a row, unlike most other lines. If your itinerary is long or crosses an ocean, ask TUI before you book.
Marella Explorer 2 is adults only, and a few itineraries on other ships are adults-only too; TUI labels them clearly when you search.
Children under 18 must sail with a parent or guardian and be supervised by them at all times (Marella conditions of carriage, clause 15).
Expecting another baby? You can cruise up to the 24th week of pregnancy; if you'll be more than 24 weeks pregnant by the end of the cruise, you can't sail (conditions of carriage, clause 9).

Which ship to pick

TUI says three of its five ships are family-friendly: Marella Voyager, Marella Explorer and Marella Discovery, with kids' clubs, children's menus and family facilities (TUI: Marella for families). Facilities vary across the fleet, so check what's on your ship before you book.

Cots, cabins and plugs

You can borrow cots and highchairs for free while you're on board, so TUI says there's no need to bring your own (TUI: Marella for families).
TUI's pages don't say what cot bedding is supplied or how big the cots are (checked October 2026). Pack a fitted sheet and your baby's usual sleeping bag.
Family cabins sleep up to seven, some with partition doors between sleeping areas, and some cabins have fold-down beds or a sofa bed.
Every cabin has both American 110V and European 220V sockets (TUI: cabin sockets FAQ), so a UK-to-EU adapter covers a steriliser or monitor charger.
TUI offers special prices for infants under 2, and there's no cabin supplement for children.

Baby food, milk and changing

The crew will warm milk and baby food for you. Marella doesn't stock baby food on board, but you can bring your own (TUI: infants FAQ). Pack enough jars, pouches or formula for the whole cruise.
Highchairs are available on request in the restaurants, and there's a children's menu.
TUI's family page mentions baby changing rooms and food preparation areas on its family-friendly ships. Its changing FAQ is narrower: it names a Baby Centre on Deck 10 of Marella Discovery (and Marella Discovery 2) for feeding and changing, and says other ships have no dedicated changing facilities, though the crew will help (TUI: baby changing FAQ). Pack a portable changing mat either way.
TUI's pages don't say whether nappies are sold on board, so bring enough for the trip.

Pools

Children in nappies, including swim and pull-up nappies, and children who aren't completely toilet trained can't use any of the pools, because of public health rules (TUI: pools FAQ; conditions of carriage, clause 15.5).
So a baby's water time on Marella is a shower or a bath in the cabin. If pool play matters, look at a hotel pool on a Cruise & Stay instead.

Kids' clubs and childcare

Mini M Club runs hour-long stay-and-play sessions for babies and toddlers aged 0 to 3, daily from 9am, with sensory play, story time and crafts. Under-3s must be with an adult at all times (TUI: Marella for families).
There's no crèche (TUI: crèche FAQ) and no babysitters on board (TUI: babysitting FAQ). Children can't stay on board if their parents go ashore.
The free kids' clubs are M Crew (3 to 7) and M Club (8 to 11), with The Hideout for 12 to 17s. (TUI's crèche FAQ describes M Club as 3 to 12, so the bands may differ by ship.) The clubs don't have set hours, but usually run 4 to 6 hours of activities a day (TUI: kids' club hours FAQ).
Kids get a bag, a plush toy, an activity booklet and crayons.

Getting to the ship

Marella sells its cruises as packages through TUI, mostly to the Mediterranean and the Caribbean, so for most UK families the holiday starts with a flight. We didn't find a UK-port Marella sailing on TUI's site in October 2026; check the TUI cruise calendar for your dates. If your package flies with TUI, see our TUI Airways baby rules for pushchairs, car seats and infant seats. Want to skip the flight? P&O Cruises, Princess and Cunard sail from Southampton.

Packing list for a Marella cruise with a baby

All the baby food, formula and nappies you'll need (Marella doesn't stock baby food)
A fitted cot sheet and baby sleeping bag for the free cot
A portable changing mat
A UK-to-EU plug adapter
A lightweight pushchair that meets your airline's rules: try our cabin-size checker
Passports for everyone, including the baby: see our baby passport guide

Is Marella right for your baby?

Marella suits families who want an all-inclusive fly-cruise with free cots and highchairs and a parent-and-baby session every morning. There's no nursery, no babysitting and no pool time in nappies, so you'll be on duty the whole time. If you want drop-off care for a baby, MSC has Baby Care from 6 months, and P&O Cruises and Cunard run night nurseries.

Back to cruising with a baby.

Sources

Last checked and updated: 15 October 2026 · Kiddieko · How we check facts

Some links may be affiliate links, which means we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Learn more. Specs and prices come from makers' official UK pages (checked 2026-10-16). Always check before you buy.