Marella Cruises has lifted the curtain on its summer 2028 programme, and there's a fair bit new for UK cruise fans. The headline addition is Patras, a fresh Greek port for the line, which will feature on a new itinerary called "Grecian Gems". That sailing runs aboard the Marella Explorer from its Corfu homeport, starting July 2028 — a handy option for anyone who wants the Greek islands without a long-haul flight.

A second new itinerary, "Spanish Shores", sends the Marella Explorer 2 on seven-night roundtrips from Malaga from June 2028. The port list reads like a greatest-hits tour of the western Med: Gibraltar, Ibiza Town, Mahon on Menorca, Palma on Majorca and Cartagena, plus a day at sea to recover.

The line's CEO Chris Hackney says demand for Eastern Mediterranean sailings remains strong, with summer 2027 already tracking ahead of last year, and that Malaga performed well enough on previous seasons to justify a return. The Patras call, he adds, is part of a push to keep adding new destinations to the mix.

Also new for 2028: four repositioning cruises from April, which come with extra guest speakers and shows thrown in. The line-up includes a 10-night hop from Las Palmas in Gran Canaria to Corfu and an 11-nighter from Tenerife to Corfu on the Marella Explorer ("Sail into Spring"); a five-night Palma-to-Dubrovnik run on the Marella Discovery 2 ("Flavors of the Mediterranean"); and two 13-night transatlantics from Barbados — one to Malaga on the Marella Explorer 2 ("Transatlantic Treasures") and one to Palma on the Marella Voyager ("Atlantic Horizons"). Those Barbados departures are a classic way to dodge winter and arrive in the Med ready for summer.

Elsewhere in the fleet, the Marella Discovery and Marella Voyager will be based in Palma, with the Marella Discovery 2 homeporting in Dubrovnik.

Marella has also beefed up its cruise-and-stay offer, with 119 hotels available across Majorca, Corfu, Dubrovnik and Malaga — useful if you want to tack a beach week onto a sailing. Flights are covered too, with sailings bookable from 22 airports across the UK and Republic of Ireland.

If any of this appeals, mark your calendar: all summer 2028 sailings go on sale on October 15, 2026. Early bookers tend to get the pick of cabins and cruise-and-stay combinations, so it's worth being ready on the day.

For travellers, the takeaways are simple: more choice out of Corfu for Greek island-hopping, a proper Spanish season from Malaga, and some good-value one-way repositioning sailings if you like longer, odd-shaped cruises with extras onboard.

Full details via Cruise Industry News.