The 1995-built Golden Era is now in Cadiz, Spain, where over the course of the next few months, she will be converted into the modern Marella Explorer 2 for TUI Group and Marella Cruises.
The ship is at Navantia after a months-long transit from China, where she most recently sailed as the SkySea Golden Era, wrapping up her Chinese career in late summer 2018.
Following the conclusion of her SkySea program, the ship visited a COSCO shipyard in Zhoushan, and has now been moved to Spain.
She will be the subject of a lengthy conversion, debuting as the 1,814-guest Marella Explorer 2 this April, featuring nine restaurants and 10 bars.
The ship will homeport in Palma for her debut in the Mediterranean in April and May, offering week-long sailings with alternating ports. British brand Marella is moving to an all-inclusive pricing model for the 2019 season. The Explorer 2 also completes the brand’s fleet modernization process, which has seen it upgrade to larger and more current tonnage.
The Explorer 2 launched as the Celebrity Century in 1995, having been built at Meyer Werft in Germany. It was transferred to SkySea Cruises, a joint Royal Caribbean Cruises and Ctrip venture, in 2015.
