Marella Cruises has announced an amazing giveaway to help holidaymakers bag free shore excursions. This is what you need to know.
Marella Cruises has announced an amazing giveaway to help holidaymakers bag free shore excursions. This is what you need to know.
Marella Cruises free excursions can be snapped up with bookings made in September – you just need a special code! Read on to find out more.
The Marella Cruises free excursions giveaway comes after recent research from the TUI cruise line shed light on a common concern among Brits: a significant majority (59 percent) report feeling frequently bored by their home routines, while 66 percent desire a more consistent sense of motivation and positivity.
In response to this widespread yearning for enhanced well-being, Sheffield University psychologist Dr Michael Bonshor—affectionately known as the ‘Professor of Wellbeing’ — has developed a formula aimed at boosting our happy hormones.
Dr Bonshor’s formula combines essential elements to enhance positive feelings: fresh air, sunlight, socialising, memory-making, new experiences, a pleasant environment, rest, and exercise.
This approach highlights how these factors contribute to the release of key hormones such as serotonin, dopamine, endorphins, and oxytocin, which collectively foster happiness and well-being.
Despite the clear benefits of these happy hormones, Marella Cruises’ research reveals that many struggle to integrate these elements into their daily lives, leading to a happiness deficit.
The survey indicates that nearly half of Brits (40 percent) haven’t experienced anything new in over a year, and a substantial 74 percent desire new experiences during their holidays. Furthermore, the primary obstacles to happiness identified are insufficient holidays (34 percent), lack of rest (32 percent), and work-related stress (28 percent).
Dr Bonshor explains: “Holidays are an ideal way to escape the mundane and access the positive hormones that help us to feel good and improve our wellbeing. The ‘happiness hormone’, serotonin, improves our mood and is activated by being outdoors.
“The ‘reward and pleasure hormones’ (dopamine and endorphins) circulate when we do things that we enjoy and sharing enjoyable experiences with other people releases oxytocin. Wherever we are in the world, we can find moments in our everyday lives to encourage our bodies to release the positive hormones that help us to enjoy life to the full.”
Supporting this perspective, GB Olympian and Marella Cruises ambassador Greg Rutherford, who has recently faced challenges to his positivity due to injury, has put Dr Bonshor’s ‘Happy-Hormone’ formula to the test.
During his Marella cruise, Rutherford participated in various activities including a jeep safari in Turkey, wine tasting in Limassol, Cyprus, and engaging with fellow cruisers and the ship’s crew. This immersion in new experiences, coupled with fresh sea air and ample rest, allowed him to experience the formula’s benefits firsthand.
Rutherford commented: “A cruise is a fantastic environment to boost those happy hormones and test out the formula. Exploring new ports every day, taking in the sea air and trying new experiences has let me gain those positive hormones.
“Marella Cruises’ ‘Happy-Hormone’ formula can also be applied even at home, from finding the time to get exercise or even looking back at old pictures and videos from memories, the nation can follow this formula to boost their hormones back in the UK.”
To encourage the nation to embrace new experiences and boost their positivity, Rutherford is offering a special incentive: Marella Cruises free excursions. Throughout September, Marella Cruises will give away 20 free excursions to customers who book a cruise, allowing them to explore and enjoy new adventures that contribute to their well-being.
By following Dr Bonshor’s formula and taking advantage of such opportunities, Brits can enrich their lives with positive experiences, both at home and abroad, and achieve a greater sense of happiness and fulfilment.
Use the code “GREG” to receive a complimentary Marella cruise excursion valued up to £70 per person when you book any new Marella Cruise in September 2024.
This offer has no cash alternative and no minimum spend required. Any changes to excursions due to itinerary adjustments will be at Marella Cruises’ discretion. The offer is limited to the first 20 new bookings and applies to a maximum of two people per booking. To redeem, enter the code “GREG” on the holiday payment page of the Marella Cruises website.
Sailawaze Editor Harriet has been a travel writer for nine years and specialised in cruising for nearly four. She recently won Specialist Travel Writer of the Year at the Travel Media Awards 2024 for her coverage of the cruise industry. Globetrotting highlights include flyboarding in Malaga, exploring waterfalls in Belize, ziplining in Costa Rica, truffle-hunting in Tuscany and whale-watching in Iceland. Next on her cruise bucket list is Antarctica – or any opportunity to see the Northern Lights!
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