By
Elizabeth Robinson |
Viking Line’s Mariella has rejoined service after a dry dock between 10–22 September 2017. The ferry previously received a significant overhaul in spring 2015 with the renovation of the cabins and restaurants. This time, the work continued with the refurbishment of the café, the adjoining children’s play area, and the reorganisation of the ship’s tax-free shop.
During the brief dry docking, Mariella's Coffee & Joy café was renewed. The Coffee & Joy café renovation concept had already received positive feedback on Mariella's sister ship, Gabriella. The range of baked goods and coffee onboard has been expanded with the help of the ship’s newly recruited pastry chef.
There have also been minor changes to the tax-free shop to enable Viking Line to more efficiently promote more popular items, such as fashion and beauty products. The selection of table and sparkling wines has also been refreshed.
“Our ships are briefly taken out of service, on average, once every two years, since we hold technical maintenance and upgrades to be a crucial element of our operations. At the same time, this allows us the possibility to renew our ships to meet the changing trends and wishes of our passengers,” said Lauri Orpana, route manager for Viking Line.
2017 saw renovations to the Viking XPRS and extensive changes were made on Gabriella in spring 2016, following the successful upgrades of Amorella and Mariella in 2015.