Marella Cruises
Marella Cruises (formerly Thomson Cruises) is a British cruise line operated by TUI UK, offering cruise holidays around Europe, the Caribbean, and Asia. The company mainly caters to the British market.
Thomson had initially entered the cruise market in 1973 but due to rising costs the venture was terminated in 1976. In 1995, Thomson re-entered the cruise business after their competitor Airtours had made a successful entry in to the market with their Sun Cruises brand.
In 2000, Thomson Travel was acquired by Preussag AG, an industrial and transport conglomerate. Preussag AG rebranded as TUI AG (TUI Group) in 2002. On 9 October 2017, the TUI Group announced that Thomson Cruises would be rebranded in late October 2017 as Marella Cruises.
Marella Cruises is often confused with its German counterpart TUI Cruises as they share the same logo, that of their parent company, the TUI Group. TUI Cruises a joint venture between the German tourism company TUI AG and the American cruise line operator Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd, both of whom hold a 50% stake in the company and caters to the German market.