As part of our trip throughout the Caribbean, we spent ten days onboard Explora Journeys and it really was an all-inclusive five-star resort at sea.
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Trip Report Table Of Contents
- Overview
- Miami: Kimpton Epic
- Explora Journeys
- Key West, Florida
- Sea Days
- Spanish Town, British Virgin Islands (Virgin Gorda)
- St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda
- Deshaies, Guadeloupe
- Gustavia, St Barth’s
- Basseterre, St. Kitt’s and Nevis
- Castries, St. Lucia
- Bridgetown, Barbados
Grand Penthouse Suite
During our voyage we were blown away by the space, the attention to detail, and the design of our Grand Penthouse Suite (6011.) Every element was intentional, space was used well, and there was a combination of items that felt both luxurious and like nothing else we had ever seen at sea before.
In a microcosm, one example is that throughout the suite, books lined the shelves in a variety of languages, many were classics or best sellers, and others were contemporary. The selection of the books alone was intentional and when considering that such details add weight and cost to each sailing, sends home that the experience Explora is creating is that of a resort and not a cruise ship.
Living Room
Upon entering the suite, the living room is the first encountered. To the right is a massive closet more than six feet across with some shelves and plenty of hangers. It’s more than sufficient for a guest who is making the living room their sleeping quarters or adds a copious amount of storage to a party of two.
In front is a desk, to the right a dining room table and chairs. Against the far wall is a stocked (included) mini bar to the guests’ preference, as well as more drawer storage, and a safe.
The couch was huge and in this suite, a TechnoGym package is left in the room for in-suite workouts. A pair of high-end binoculars are also available. We had the couch converted to a bed but this is not a pull-out. Rather, the staff brought in an additional segment that filled in the “L” shape to make it a rectangle. Without measuring, I’d suspect it was even larger than our master bed.
Bathroom
The bathroom is incredible for a ship. Heated marble floors (temperature controls just inside the door) make mornings easy. A full shower (though we had a shower over tub, helpful for our family on this occasion.) This is not a corner circular shower like on most ships, it’s a large shower sufficient for two adults.
The vanity is also large and if they would sell the toiletries (Mandala) I would buy them. They do not, unfortunately.
Bedroom
Our room attendant had built a crib for Frankie, though we had it removed as he wasn’t using it. Explora gifted him a small plush toy (something many luxury hotels do) and made the room up twice daily, once early and then turn down service.
All suites onboard feature a walk-in closet (though in the case of our suite is was walk-thru) with Dyson hair dryers and a vanity to get ready. We also had a massive valet.
Note: The TVs are enabled to allow your own HDMI device if you’d like to bring something like an AppleTV or FireStick.
Deck
The deck was four times the standard Ocean Terrace. This was in part because the suite is twice as wide, but also simply good fortunate as the sixth deck is where the ship becomes wider and expands outward giving us so much space outside. Another small dining table and a chaise lounge looked rather small because of its size.
Restaurants
For those who don’t know, on most ships, there are three classes of restaurants: all-day buffet, main dining room (banquet), and specialty restaurants (upscale.) On Explora, all the restaurants would qualify for specialty restaurants but there’s no additional charge. The one restaurant that does require a bit extra is Anthologie which offers a tasting menu paired with fine wines for €85. The menu is constructed by a two-star Michelin chef who spends many sailings onboard. Each quarter, the chef changes but the brand only partners with Michelin-starred creators.
Without boring you with each menu, I’ll instead give you a quick caption and some photos.
Sakura
An Asian fusion restaurant with a sushi bar. Dinner reservations are required but every guest is guaranteed a seating at Sakura. Lunch is available without a reservation as are walk-ups if space is available during the evening and always at the sushi bar.
Marble & Co.
A steakhouse with a mix of traditional and contemporary offerings. Reservations are required, no lunch is offered, walk-ups are permitted if space allows, and every guest is guaranteed a seating.
Med Yacht Club
Mediterranean cuisine including Italian, Spanish, Greek, and Moroccan favorites. This was one of our favorites from the ship. No reservations are required ever.
Fil Rouge
Modern French cuisine. No reservations are required ever.
MarketPlace Emporium
Quick service, but still plated meals. This is far more relaxed than the rest of the ship but many of our fellow travelers spent most meals here simply because there was no drop-off in quality or service but the added variety made it easier to eat as a group. Nightly there’s a seafood station with mussels, crab, shrimp, and a daily selection of oysters. That’s separate from the sushi, rolled freshly next to this station, or the cooked seafood including lobster tails on the other side. Purely to test the service (wink) we ordered four lobster tails one evening, they would have given us a dozen if we asked. There’s also a Pizzaolo making fresh pies, your choice or slices from what he’s made, fresh handmade pasta, authentic wok dishes, etc.
Pools
There are several pools around the small 14-deck ship (13 but superstitions disallow this floor to exist.) One on the roof deck is adults-only, while another at the aft of the ship is an infinity pool. Hot tubs are sprinkled throughout the boat.
Our favorite pool by far was on the 11th floor between the Kids Club (there were only about 20 children onboard) and one the marketplace dining area. This pool featured a number of loungers, stair access to the 12th floor, and service from the nearby bar. But the coolest feature was the retractable roof which was closed during inclement weather, and open on sunny days.
Service
Our service onboard was second to none. Anything we needed was thought of, considered
Internet connectivity is incredibly important for longer journeys and speed at sea usually lacks. However, Explora uses StarLink from SpaceX and we consistently achieved approximately 130 Mbps download and 30 Mbps upload speeds. This made any work easy, but uploading media was faster than it is at home (thanks Xfinity.)
Other Notables
I didn’t film inside the extensive thermal spa, but guests can enjoy a salt room, sauna, steam room, ice bath, and hot tub complimentary. Massages are available for an additional charge for about €220 for an hour, full body.
The gym was sizable too.
There are a few entertainment venues, this one was before an evening performance.
The Nautilus Club was a kids’ club like we’ve never seen. Our daughter has never had much interest, but the staff here was amazing (she insisted on tipping them with her own money.) There were about 20 onboard and it was well attended. It offered a PS5, XBox X, VR equipment, and a daily agenda that kept kids active and happy.
A pickleball court with supplied equipment and a basketball court is on the roof deck.
The ship does offer a casino, though it’s very small in a side room with just a few machines and tables, and guests do not need to walk through it unless they wish to.
The ship offers onboard boutique-style shopping with the only Rolex shop at sea (faster and easier than getting one on land), Paneri, and a handful of others. Shockingly, I saw guests buying in these shops often throughout the cruise. Lastly, there are about a dozen other spots onboard I didn’t include such as Malt Whiskey, a dark Chesterfield bar with a walk-in humidor, a handful of other venues such as the Lobby bar (pictured below), the coffee shop, and others.
Value
The value for money, especially when on sale, is incredible with Explora. Let’s take the example of an upcoming sailing we will join them on again in February. Retail for an Ocean Terrace starts at $3,600 per person based on double occupancy (single supplements add just 15% which is industry-leading as most cruise lines simply charge double.) For that 7-night sailing, the average cost is $514.29/night. That places the cost well under a Sandals resort with a far higher standard of care, better food, with more variety. I stayed at Impression by Secrets Isla Mujeres (a Hyatt Inclusives property) which is about the same price for two adults ($1,000-ish/night.) I’d argue the food was better, but we also had the advantage of being able to see several destinations on the same trip, many too small for conventional ships.
Explora is running a sale right now that prices that same journey at $2,925 pp or 25% off. Booking with a Preferred Partner like my agency will also include a €350 Experience Credit that can be used for anything onboard including Anthologie and massages.
Comparing those costs to competing ships like Celebrity which is known for its high level of service and attention to detail, the two are comparable, however, Celebrity doesn’t include all specialty dining, alcohol, and wifi in its standard rates. Explora is by far the best value for money I have sailed. After more than 60 countries, flying some of the best business and first-class products in the world, and staying at some of the finest resorts I can honestly say that we have completely changed our perspective.
My travel agency earned this trip through sales though I have paid cash for my family on an upcoming trip that I will not review because we have this trip.
Did I miss it, or is there a disclosure somewhere about whether Kyle’s family paid a discounted rate for this experience?
The entire piece reflects badly on him, Not only is there no reference to anything that may have room for improvement, but there’s also no insight around the demographics of the clientele, whether service was formal or informal, whether the restaurants have any kind of dress code etc. It’s just an advertorial that might as well have been written by someone in the cruise line’s marketing department.
@PM – We don’t cruise often (though buckle in because we have another after this) but if I was reviewing a resort or hotel or an airline product, I would never include the demographics of the clientele, formality, dress code – because those are all part and parcel with cruises. It didn’t occur to me because a bunch of that doesn’t apply.
Demographics – a general mix across age categories with a skew of about 30% in the range of retirement, but not dissimilar to other luxury environments with high price tags. There were about 20 kids onboard and 400 passengers (of a 900-passenger capacity) that I mentioned earlier. We spent the week mostly hanging around with a another young family, two couples in their 20s and one in their 30s. There was a mix of nationalities but mostly North American and European.
Formal/Informal Service – There’s no set “main dining room” as I mentioned in the review. These are all just restaurants on the ship. The only requirement is long pants for men and closed toe shoes. That said, as you might feel out of place eating wagyu in jeans in a t-shirt or escargot in a French restaurant, you’re not required to dress up.
Is there anything else I can answer? I’d be happy to.
Thanks, that’s helpful! The demographics are useful to know in a cruise as you’re effectively living with all these people for the duration of the cruise. It’s obviously not the same as a flight. My reference to service formality level was in terms of how crew came across in your interactions – to use an airline analogy, are they more like the crew on Lufthansa (professional but can be cold and/or uptight), BA (depends on how well you get on with them), Iberia (it helps to speak the language), KE (eager to please but might be a bit robotic),…? Again, cruises are a lot longer than flights, I think that these things and their alignment with expectations and personal preferences (e.g. I will never forget EY crew telling me off in the nicest possible way for choosing to ask for something by walking to the galley instead of using the call button) can make or break the experience for someone.
I am still not convinced that cruises are for me, but I do know a few people who like them and I might pass on the details of the offer.
Kyle, this is a serious question. $2,925 is not bad for something like this, and I might actually consider it at this rate. What would the all-in rate for two people look like after all the junk fees are added on?
@Jerry – There’s no junk fees. This is it. All port fees, taxes, gratuities, and the only extras are if you elect to do the Michelin-starred dinner, opt for spa services, or make purchases onboard. Jerry identified there’s a premium booze list (which makes sense.) We don’t really drink but those in our party who do inbibe were never charged for anything, likely because they ordered off of the standard menu.
But when you’re talking about junk fees, I figure you’re talking about resort fees, gratuities, wifi etc. and those don’t exist.
That’s a pretty darn good deal
Where can you see a wine list with prices
I’d consider a 2 maybe 3 night but don’t see that’s their model
We like walking a lot, and days at sea don’t let you get the kind of 5-8 mile days we get staying on land
But for a family the built in childcare adds to the value
And how does this all compare to Regent on the price / amenities
found the liquor selection on cruise critic since this review isn’t taking a good critical look…
comp wines are in the $10-$20 a bottle range, think garden variety biz class wines – though they offer moet champagne comp
comp liquor includes campari, grand marnier, belvedere, glenmorangie 10 year, buffalo trace – again biz class grade. a glenmorangie 16 costs $12. macallan 12 $18.
paid for premium wines appear to be only by the bottle
veuve 2006 la grand dame is $260 – not much markup vs retail
a $30 retail bottle of pinot is $50 – that’s the low end of the paid wine list
so not terrible, but the disappointing part are the wines by the glass being so pedestrian, and no paid wines by the glass that i could find (paying say $10 for a great glass of wine as an upcharge would be a nice ‘deal’)
Did you get a discounted rate for this cruise? How much did you pay? That information would be helpful at the top (whether or not you did). Thanks.
Part B to George’s question: Or were you comped?
I don’t think a 10 night Caribbean cruise with similar itinerary on Celebrity would cost similarly or for that matter, be comparable. You get what you pay.
Also, it is clear to me that this is more of an advertisement piece for the cruise line and the travel agency. I guess Kyle can post whatever he wants to post…but a full disclosure of these two clear conflicts of interest would have made this piece be more palatable to many of us.
I sailed on Explora Journey’s as well on a similar itinerary. I think only one of the ports was different. The experience was excellent overall.
Like any cruise, there were a couple service misses, but overall the line really impressed me. From Caviar served at most of the restaurants to made to order lobster and gourmet items at the buffet, it was pretty spectacular.
For the drink selections, I tried several of the varieties of included wines and thought nearly all of them were good. Only one time did I ask for a drink alcohol that was on display at a bar, where I was asked to pay an additional cost and that was tequila in a decorative blue and white bottle. I was actually pretty surprised that it was not included but that one is featured at many resorts and the like but always an upcharge.
I hope to return on another sailing soon.