Singer Becky Hill blasts best-loved tunes at Marella Voyager’s naming ceremony

Favourites including ‘Afterglow,’ ‘Back & Forth’ and latest single 'Side Effects' were belted out by the artist, silhouetted by stage pyrotechnics and smoke machines. She was accompanied by dancers in golden attire, following a drum performance.

The hour-long production, also featuring LED totems and golden haze, was the brainchild of Exposure – whose client work include brands such as Coca Cola and Lego – and Black Skull Creative, who worked on the London 2012 Olympics and Eurovision. Both Exposure and Black Skull Creative have created previous Marella Cruises’ ship launches.

The evening opened with a drum performance

The night was rounded off with a Coldplay tribute band, performing songs such as ‘Yellow,’ ‘Paradise’ and ‘Viva La Vida,’ followed by a major fireworks display.

The ship has just undergone a 36-day stint in dry dock resulting in a dramatic multi-million-pound makeover.

‘The pandemic is over’

TUI Group CEO Sebastian Ebel opened the celebrations by introducing the new vessel and declaring the pandemic history. ‘A year ago, we didn’t think we would be here to celebrate a new ship from Marella. And the dream came true. A year ago, we were suffering from the pandemic. And now the pandemic is over, and we can celebrate [having] a new ship.’

He went onto explain that ’It's not easy to create such a product,’ before highlighting what makes TUI different: ‘We have a great brand… we have great distribution… we have good technology. And we have great products, the products make the difference.’

He concluded, ‘We are proud to have Marella as a part of TUI, we are proud to have the new ship here and to celebrate today in Malaga, a wonderful city with great weather.’

’We’re back’

His remarks were followed by Marella Cruises MD Chris Hackney, who shared similar sentiments: 'As Sebastian said, this is a long time in the making. When we started on this project, we were still in Covid restrictions and had just returned to sailing. Those restrictions are gone, our ships are now full, and our customers are having a great experience. So there's no better time to say we're back.'

He extended special thanks to the crew and agents on board, before saying of Marella Voyager, ‘I truly believe this is going to be our best ship yet and our customers are going to love it.’

Ship godmothers

Godmothers Tatyana Olkhovska and Jacqui Nobile, both longtime employees of TUI with 40 years’ experience in the cruise industry between them, carried out the traditional ceremonial duties during Marella Voyager's naming ceremony.

The ship’s shakedown voyage for media and travel agents from Málaga to Palma runs May 31-June 2.

Marella Voyager's first customers embark June 3 in Palma, kicking off the vessel's season in the Western Mediterranean.