until September, and she was not fully manned until 17 January 1891. Her official acceptance trials were carried out in February and March, and she was placed into full commission on 14 March. After her commissioning, she joined a French fleet that visited Kronstadt and was inspected by Czar Alexander III of Russia. On the return voyage, the fleet stopped in Spithead, where Queen Victoria reviewed the ships. This turned out to be the only time Marceau operated in the Atlantic; after returning to France, she was assigned to the Mediterranean Squadron, where she remained for the duration of her career. She was joined there by both of her sister ships in 1893; at that time, the unit also included the ironclads , , , , Hoche, and . She participated in the fleet maneuvers that year as part of the 3rd Division, in company with her sister and Dévastation, the latter serving as the divisional flagship. The maneuvers included an initial period of exercises from 1 to 10 July and then larger-scale maneuvers from 17 to 28 July. In 1895, Marceau, Courbet, Amiral Baudin, and Formidable all nearly ran aground off Hyères; Marceau and three tugs were used to tow Amiral Baudin back to port. During the 1895 maneuvers, which began on 1 July, Neptune and the rest of the Mediterranean Squadron conducted a training cruise and practice shooting while the Reserve Squadron mobilized its ships. The main period of exercises saw the fleet divided into three units and Marceau was assigned to the second unit, tasked with operating with the first unit to attack the defending third fleet in Ajaccio. The maneuvers concluded on 27 July. The following year, the Mediterranean Squadron consisted of Marceau, her two sisters, the two Amiral Baudin-class ships, Courbet, Dévastation, the ironclad and the new pre-dreadnought battleship . That year, she served in the 1st Division of the squadron. She participated in the fleet maneuvers that lasted from 17 to 30 July, during which Marceau served as part of the French fleet that attempted to defeat simulated attacks on the French coast. From September to November, she served as the French station ship at Ottoman Crete, which was then in a period of significant unrest. In November, she was replaced by the torpedo cruiser . 1897–1921 By 1897, additional pre-dreadnoughts began to enter service, including and . They joined the three Marceau, Brennus,