Cruise Journeys: an Explora Voyage in the Caribbean

Quiet luxury still finding its rhythm.

Looking for concrete details and tips? Go straight to the Practical Information section.

I had been staying in San Juan for a few days between a Princess cruise that led me to Dominica and Grenada, two island countries I hadn’t yet visited, and which I loved, no matter how brief the visits were.

My friend Max joined me in San Juan the night before the cruise. It would be Max’s first cruise, and my first on Explora Journeys, so we were both somewhat excited. Explora is a relatively new player in the luxury cruise segment, having set sail for the first time in August 2023. Owned by shipping giant MSC, Explora is meant to be a higher-end experience than their eponymous cruise line.

I had sailed on almost fifteen cruises at that point, but Explora would be my most luxurious yet, so I was enthusiastic about the experience to come.

The front elevator lobby on the Explora I ship.

I discovered cruising in 2022 and got hooked immediately. My first cruise was a Princess trip to Alaska, followed by a transpacific crossing (still on Princess), a few other shorter cruises on various lines, and a transatlantic crossing on Virgin Voyages that made that cruise line my first choice for its vibe, crowd and quality.

I always wanted to try and go a bit more upmarket, however, and among the luxury cruise lines, Explora stood out in reviews as less stodgy than others, where I thought the vibe and the crowd wouldn’t appeal to me as much. After finding a relatively affordable crossing from San Juan to Miami over Thanksgiving 2025, we took the plunge.

I handled the booking online, but had to contact Explora to change the cabin they assigned us, as I felt it was too close to an elevator bank. This was done over email, relatively easily.

The Explora Journeys check in area in San Juan.

Day 1 - boarding

We checked out of Hotel Rumbao, a Marriott-affiliated property, conveniently located right in front of the Old San Juan pier where, today, the Celebrity Beyond and Explora I were docked. The old San Juan pier is the most convenient pier in town, as it is located steps away from the historical neighborhood of, you guessed it, old San Juan, the cultural heart of Puerto Rico’s capital.

Ships sometimes dock on the other side of the port, at the Pan-American pier. Both my Virgin and Princess ships docked there earlier in the month. I was glad to be able to walk to the ship this time.

Right away, the Explora vessel looked different. Next to the somewhat massive Beyond, it almost looked like a big private yacht, and this is something I would feed during all of the voyage: the sense of coziness, the feeling of never being overwhelmed by towering stairs, or ship spaces designed to fit thousands of people.

The Helios pool at the front of the Explora I ship.

Explora I was designed to host up to 922 passengers on her trips, and this meant the boarding experience didn’t feel crowded. We had a 1pm-to-3pm boarding slot, and we arrived at 1pm on the dot, to make sure we could enjoy every minute of the ship’s first day in San Juan.

While the boarding itself was smooth, check-in wasn’t. Explora bills itself as a luxury line, and throughout the booking process, this was something we felt: from the beautifully designed website to the attentiveness of the post-booking interactions, the focus on the design and customer service to create an elevated experience was clear and well delivered on.

We may have rubbed shoulders with the rich-and-not-famous, but never felt like we couldn’t connect with people.

In the drab boarding lounge leading to the ship, that experience was fairly different. We were asked to sit on a row of chairs, towards the back, and every time a group of people ahead of us would be called up to check in with a crew member, we’d be told to move up to the rank of seats ahead of us.

I am sure this was meant to be a more premium queuing experience - after all, we weren’t standing in line for a while, but it felt like the process hadn’t been fully ironed out, and somewhat haphazardly executed. Check-in itself was fast (we had done most of it online already), and pretty soon, we were getting on the boat, cruise card in hand.

Our Ocean suite, coming with a welcome champagne bottle.

Unlike premium or mainstream cruise lines, the price you pay upon booking a luxury cruise is inclusive of mostly everything on board - this meant no additional charges for most alcoholic drinks (or Wi-Fi, fitness classes), and we were welcomed with champagne as soon as we stepped on the ship. I’ll admit there are worse ways to start a voyage.

It was a little after 1.30pm when we rode the elevator to deck 11, where the buffet, called The Emporium, was located. We had heard a ship-wide announcement that cabins were ready, but wanted to grab a little something to eat.

If the ship decor hadn’t already tipped me on how upscale this trip would be, the food selection at the Emporium would have been the big giveaway. Although the space felt a little busy - something that usually happens on the first day on any cruise, as everyone getting on the ship and waiting for their cabin wants to eat - the food selection and presentation were top-notch. It was a great balance between minimalism and abundance, making you feel like the seemingly endless options choices couldn’t overwhelm you.

I picked salmon and steamed veggies as well as an octopus ceviche. Every food item was handed to me by an attendant, which felt more sanitary than traditional buffets (Virgin, although not a luxury line, does this as well, but on Princess, it’s every cruiser for himself).

Inside the Emporium restaurant on deck 11 of the Explora I ship.

My salmon fillet was delicious and perfectly cooked. The steamed vegetables were good but a little watery, while the octopus in the ceviche had a somewhat plasticky texture - not sure I would try it again, but thankfully, there were so many food choices available that it would not be an issue.

After lunch, we headed down to our cabin. I was a little underwhelmed by the cabin itself. Don’t get me wrong, it was beautiful and well appointed. I think I had imagined it bigger than it was - we sailed in an Ocean suite, the lowest category available. It felt slightly bigger than a regular MSC or Princess cabin with terrace, and the terrace itself was a bit bigger too, with space for a comfortable Sunbrella couch, two chairs and a small table which was nice enough to work on. The bathroom, clad in white marble with a heating floor, next to a relatively spacious walk-in closet, was a joy to use, especially after having experienced some of the tiniest bathrooms in the industry on Virgin Voyages a few weeks before.

Yet something felt off in the room - I finally realized it was how big the bed looked versus the room size. Explora’s beds are king size, which is wonderful, especially when you’re sharing the bed with a friend: everyone has space. It just made the room very tiny, taking over most of the space between the bathroom to the left and the small couch area to the right.

I also didn’t love the fact there was no working station in the room itself. There was a ledge on the opposite side of the bed which was very useful to store things, and could have been a working desk, had a chair been provided. The only two potential working areas would be on the terrace or, possibly in the dressing room, which featured a low, armless chair, but that would have felt quite claustrophobic.

A hallway on deck 7 of the Explora I ship.

I spent a little bit of time booking some of the restaurants - there are a few you can book ahead of the voyage, but others only once you’re on the ship. Both of us are French and enjoy dining around 8pm, which meant we had no issues securing our favorite dining times (anything between 6.30pm and 7.30pm may be a little trickier unless you get first dibs).

Most of my cruises have been solo - I actually enjoy having the freedom to make my own schedule. This time would be different, and, as a result, we decided to check out the LGBT mixer at 6pm in the Explora lounge - there was also a solo travelers meetup happening at the same time.

Located at the front of the ship on deck 11, the lounge was a beautifully designed space with ample, inviting sofas that were perfect for groups of two to eight people. Our group started small, but we soon had to bring in more chairs. Maria, an Explora employee, sat with us to help break the ice and it was a lovely experience - made even nicer by the free flowing alcohol (my choice: the Fashion Colada, an interesting take on the famous Piña Colada. Max had the spicy margarita, which was mango flavored, and still raves about it to this day).

Explora cruises do not have a strict dress code, and when we boarded, people were in various levels of relaxed wear - certainly stylish but not overdone. We noticed a change when we got to the Explora lounge. Our fellow passengers had kicked it up a notch: out were the shorts, in were the linen shirts. We found out later there is an informal policy to dress up a little less casually after 6pm, and shorts-and-t-shirt me felt a little self-conscious for a while (but not so much after downing my second Fashion Colada).

The Explora lounge on deck 11 of the Explora I ship.

We could have stayed a while - this was a fun group of LGBT folks and allies, but I wanted to hit the gym, which closed at 8pm, so we excused ourselves around 7pm and went back to the room to dress down even further.

Explora’s fitness center was an interesting concept: on top of a smallish gym on deck 10, equipped with top of the line Technogym equipment (similar to the Virgin Voyages one, except that one is much bigger), there is an additional fitness area with rowers and bikes on deck 12, that happens to be outside. It’s actually quite a good idea, especially on Caribbean itineraries where weather is perfect to enjoy this.

Its white, powdery sand felt like we had entered “paradise island” as a search term in a virtual reality headset.

We worked out for an hour, took a shower, and showed up a little early for our 8.45pm reservation at the Med Yacht club, a restaurant serving “sophisticated beach-side Mediterranean” fare.

I consider the Virgin Voyages ships as the best at sea for space design - their restaurants are usually well thought through, expertly designed and manage to be both specific to each food concept yet subtly reminding you it’s a Virgin experience - there is a sense of cohesiveness to the shapes and color palettes that’s quite masterful.

The rowers outside on deck 12 on the Explora I ship.

It was too early to tell if the same would be true on Explora, but I was a little underwhelmed by the decor in the Med Yacht Club, which felt very grey and beige, corporate and bland, where I would have expected a lighter palette, with white and blue given a bit more prominence. There was nothing wrong with the restaurant overall, but in its quest for quiet minimalism, I think it slightly missed the mark. I enjoyed the seating arrangement, however, as it was more intimate than Virgin’s, where diners can sometimes feel like they stepped into a crowded Manhattan restaurant.

The food was excellent. We had a few tapas as appetizers, and both the ham and the cheese croquettes were delicious. The pata negra ham delivered, but the Spanish tortilla disappointed us. The texture wasn’t quite right and the flavors could have been a little more present.

My main dish was a sea bass à la Provençale, served with ratatouille and petals of tomato purée. While it looked a little sorry to be there, the dish was actually delicious, the mix of flavors perfectly balanced and the fish cooked how it needed to be. The Riesling served with it probably helped.

Throughout the meal, a few people waited on us, and although everyone meant well, you could tell the crew could have used a little more cross communication. We were asked the same questions twice a few times, our waiter didn’t remember our wine selection, and the pata negra appetizer appeared after our plates had been cleared and the table ready for the main course. It was nothing dramatic, especially because everyone was graceful, but it felt like something easy to course correct.

I was vaguely interested in checking out the Sky Bar where the ship DJ would play “dance hits” from 10.30pm, but I was too tired, and actually went to bed pretty quickly after dinner was over. I would find out over the next few nights an Explora cruise wasn’t really made for night owls anyway. 

Shoal Bay beach in Anguilla.

Day 2 - Anguilla

I woke up early - not sure why, but it had nothing to do with the boat, or the bed. Savvy sailors know the waters around Puerto Rico are usually choppier than elsewhere in the Caribbean. It could have been that. It could also have been the temperature in the room, which we found hard to adjust, and which went from too cold to too hot to - eventually - just fine over the course of the night. The bed was a dream to sleep in. I was up at 6.30am, and decided to explore the boat.

Virgin’s galley is open 24/7, while Princess’ opens at 6.30am. On Explora I, however, I was probably the first guest awake, and absolutely nothing was open. The coffee place on deck 5 opened at 7am, and the Emporium at 7.30am.

I found a spot at the back of the ship, on one of the terraces by the Emporium, and started writing.

The tendering station on Anguilla’s Shoal Bay beach.

Max and I went for breakfast at the Emporium around 9am - by that time, it was busy, but it didn’t feel too full. We found out later that day the ship was carrying 660 passengers out of a potential maximum of 922, which partly explained this.

We got out to discover Anguilla around noon. The island has tried to keep its tourism focused on the high-end side, and discourages mainstream cruise lines from visiting by not actually having a cruise dock. As such, we anchored at the edge of Sandy Ground Cove and took a tender boat to get to shore.

We could have stayed on Sandy Ground beach, which was gorgeous, but the plan was to check Shoal Bay beach. Consistently mentioned in top 10 Caribbean beaches listicles, it was located on the northeastern side of the island, about 20 minutes away from Sandy Ground by taxi (USD 46 round trip, cash only, many taxis were available by the pier, and we agreed on a pick up time with the driver for the return).

If there was a quintessential Caribbean beach, it could indeed be Shoal Bay: its white, powdery sand and bright blue waters, spoiled by very few tourists, felt like we had entered “paradise island” as a search term in a virtual reality headset.

The Helios pool at the back of the Explora I ship on deck 12.

We picked the beach club at the Manoah hotel to drop our things and enjoyed the quiet surroundings from there. Service was a little underwhelming, but we were in no rush to do anything, just watching the water and the occasional pelican passing by (two beach chairs and an umbrella, USD 75, which come with two iced bottles of water and plush beach towels).

We had a delicious cantaloupe salad for lunch, in the shade, at the Manoah restaurant, along with five other people in a space that could welcome about ten times that, so there was nothing that could really disturb the peace of this slow beach day.

After lunch, we decided to walk east on the beach for a bit and I am glad we did: towards the end, the sand area narrowed and the waters reached up to the roots of the sturdy sea grape trees bordering the shore. It made for a great setting and nice pictures.

Shoal Bay beach on Anguilla.

We came back to our beds and yes, did venture out in the water, which was predictably so warm and inviting we stayed in it way too long, and had barely enough time to dry before catching our ride back to the ship (our taxi driver, who had probably seen his share of oblivious tourists before, sternly warned us he didn’t want “wet butts” on his seats, so we felt strangely vindicated having planned some drying time before jumping in his car).

At the pier, we were among the last to board what might have looked like an early last tender, as the Explora team was packing everything they had on the beach (from a tent with drinks and face towels to their extensive branded signage) and bringing it on the boat with us.

Getting a lounger at the Astern pool is as hard as getting front row seats at a Taylor Swift concert.

After a productive gym session and a shower, we went down to Fil Rouge, expecting “a global tasting tour of French-inspired international cuisine”. We weren’t disappointed - by the food, that is. The menu was impressive, sophisticated without feeling like it was trying too hard, and from the foie gras to the roasted beet carpaccio, the sole meunière to the lamb chops, the whole meal was worthy of a $200-a person bill in San Francisco (Max’s words). Wine pairing, complimentary on Explora, was excellent as well.

Where the restaurant didn’t deliver, and funny enough, we had experienced the same thing at the Med Yacht Club next door the night before, was on service. We waited quite a long time to get menus and put our order in, had to ask for the wine list twice, our drinks didn’t come at the same time, our food order was slightly messed up. Throughout the dinner, waiters would come by to check on us, which was nice, but I would have liked them to deliver on actual service and not just on checking on us. It was obvious the staff was overwhelmed and they were doing their best, but it seemed like overall, their pacing and organization needed to be reviewed.


Day 3 - Antigua

As a new habit, I guess, I got up early and went down to work while the ship was waking up. It was past 7am so the ship’s cafe was open and I was able to write while sipping on an Illy latte. I hate to say this but I find their espressos to be on the bitter side - it was enjoyable nonetheless.

Max wanted to do a sunset cruise and Explora offered an excursion just like this in Antigua. The last time we did this together, my phone got splashed with too much seawater and became unusable. I guess there was a part of him that expected this to happen again so he could make fun of me for five more years (spoiler: I was very careful, nothing happened). This meant we had a free schedule until 4pm.

Antigua is a beautiful island, and is famous for having 365 beaches, one for every day of the year. That being said, I don’t find St John’s, its capital, to be the most beautiful city in the Caribbean, so we had a leisurely stroll through its streets in the morning, checked out the cathedral from the outside - it was being refurbished - and went back to the boat to enjoy a little R&R.

A beach in Antigua, seen from our sunset cruise catamaran.

It was our first time lounging by a pool - there are four on the ship. We picked the one that everybody said was the most stunning, the Astern pool, situated, as its name indicated, at the aft of the ship on deck 5. It’s an infinity pool that let us enjoy the view from the back of the ship, and it was indeed, a gorgeous sight.

Like everything else on the ship, it was beautifully designed, and featured two rows of super comfortable day beds to lounge on. The pool was busy but it didn’t feel crowded, like every other part of the ship, probably because the ship wasn’t sailing at full capacity, but also because it felt like it was designed with this in mind. Read Explora reviews online and you’ll feel like getting a lounger at the Astern pool is as hard as getting front row seats at a Taylor Swift concert. It was actually nothing like that.

Loungers have shade on all sides but the front, which meant we got some sun but we never really felt too hot - and whenever we did feel the heat, the pool was steps away. The Astern pool isn’t a very deep pool, but it was great to chill in.

We went up to deck 11 to have lunch - the Emporium was open until 2.30pm, and by 1.45pm, it was still somewhat busy but again, it was super easy to find a table, right by a window. I used to think the buffet - on any cruise line - was the restaurant where I would enjoy eating the least. It felt more like a convenience than an actual experience. This voyage, however, made me change my mind. The food at the Emporium, was incredible, day after day - to the point that Max really wanted to eat there more than at any other restaurant - and this wasn’t because the food at other places wasn’t good.

The Astern pool on the Explora I ship.

The Emporium was set up with various different small stations, with perfectly laid out food options, from pizza to bread (called Boulangerie), to cheese to a sushi stand. I had a fish soup, but this time, unlike at Fil Rouge, it was an actual French bouillabaisse with fish chunks and it was extraordinary. I never expected to enjoy a traditional French soup so much on a cruise ship, no matter how luxurious.

We went back to our cabin to chill for a bit - I worked a bit on the balcony table while Maxime was pretending to read but was most likely asleep.

At 4pm, we got on a large catamaran, conveniently docked right by our ship, along with about 40 people, and cruised along the Antiguan coast for a while. It was a fun way to discover the island - the rum punch probably helped. While it was billed as a sunset cruise, we saw no sunset whatsoever but made a few friends along the way. My phone never got splashed. Small victories.

One of my reservations getting on a luxury ship for the first time, was whether I was going to enjoy the crowd. After all, it was going to be quite different from my other travels, which are simpler and less sophisticated (but very rewarding in many other ways). I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, the crowd was moneyed and we could tell from the outfits we saw people wear (I felt I had landed in a live version of a Massimo Dutti campaign ad), the life experiences or the careers we heard about, but I never felt anyone was there boasting about how amazing they were. There was a sense of understatement that made the whole thing enjoyable. We may have rubbed shoulders with the rich-and-not-famous, but we never felt like we couldn’t connect with people.

Explora I docked in St John's.

We went back to the boat around 6pm, went to the gym - a must given how many calories we had ingested during the day, and got ready for Sakura, the pan-Asian restaurant where we had an 8.30pm reservation.

I was surprised to see the restaurant so busy at this hour, but over the previous days, had noticed the crowd was much more European than expected for a Caribbean cruise between two American ports - the waiters at Fil Rouge the day before had actually told us the quieter time to eat was 7 or 7.30pm.

In any case, we were seated right away. The menu looked appetizing and was made for sharing, with small plates arriving fairly quickly. We weren’t wowed by the food as much as at Fil Rouge or the Emporium. If I am being perfectly candid, it felt like the food had already been made and plated hours before, and only heated just before being brought to us. My miso black cod main dish was delicious, however. We just didn’t enjoy the restaurant as much as the other ones. This was one Max told me he didn’t want to go back to.

After walking off the dinner on the running track, we went down to browse the (surprisingly affordable) clothing options, got a night cap in the form of a Bailey’s on the rocks, and went to sleep around 11pm.

The Gustavia harbor in St Barths.

Day 4 - St Barths

I wrote a full article on our day in St Barths that you can read here.

I woke up early on day 4 - it seemed like a constant on this cruise, but there was a part of me that enjoyed feeling having the ship all to myself, as we were slowly sailing towards St Barths. Or was it St Barths? As I got out of the room and got up to deck 11 to grab a few pictures of the sea, I felt something was off. St Barths looked awfully big, and I could see tall condo towers in the distance.

After checking my GPS and chatting with a couple walking by, the true story came out. There had been a medical emergency during the night, and the ship had had to make a detour to St Maarten for an ambulance to pick up a sick guest. When I woke up, we had just left the St Maarten cruise port and were on our way to St Barths.

A street in downtown Gustavia, St Barths.

We got to the famously posh, tiny French island about an hour late and dropped anchor in the bay in front of Gustavia, the capital. We avoided the rush of people trying to make it to their shore excursions and left the boat around 10am. The plan was to spend the whole day on the island, but we had been pretty much disconnected from the outside world since getting on the cruise a few days before, and didn’t realize until we were on shore that we had arrived in St Barths on a Sunday. St Barths is legally and culturally French, and that meant almost all stores were closed, Gustavia pretty much a ghost town.

It was still fun to walk down perfectly maintained streets lined up with luxury stores that wouldn’t have looked out of place on Rodeo Drive or Madison Avenue. Gustavia was nothing more than a big village, with less than three thousand inhabitants, but it punched way above its weight in terms of upscale tourism, and it showed in its albeit deserted streets.

We walked to Plage des Grands Galets and wandered back to the boat, had lunch, lounged by one of the pools, and went back out around 2.30pm.

The initial plan had called for a hike in the afternoon, and we decided to honor that, the sun feeling less intense by then. It was somewhat of a hassle to get a taxi at the port - it was Sunday after all, and there were hundreds of ship passengers being ferried all around the island, but one eventually showed up and brought us to Plage des Flamands, a sheltered cove in the north of the island that was also famous for its Cheval Blanc hotel, the ultra-luxe chain from French luxury group LVMH.

Colombier beach on the eastern side of St Barths.

We walked along the beach until its end and then took a rocky coastal path alongside tortoises to get to the secluded Plage du Colombier. Accessible only by foot or by boat, the beach was surrounded by small, green hills on three sides, making it seem like our own protected private retreat - we were not alone on it, but there were no more than fifty people total.

We stayed there for a while, enjoying the descending sun and a now perfectly warm temperature, until it was time to walk back towards les Flamands. We stopped at the Cheval Blanc and had a drink while watching the sunset, and took a taxi back to the port.

St Barths, with its special aura, was going to be the highlight of the cruise, and it didn’t disappoint. I just wished I had remembered we’d be there on a Sunday and we might have altered our plans, or managed our expectations.

White Bay on Jost Van Dyke island, near Tortola, BVI.

Day 5 - Tortola

Day 5 was tough - we had to get up at the ungodly hour of 6.30am to be ready and off the ship at 8am and catch our excursion taxi to Frenchman’s Caye, a tiny island linked to Tortola by a bridge, from where our catamaran tour to Jost van Dyke island would be starting.

I had visited Tortola a few weeks before on my way to San Juan on a Virgin Voyages cruise, and had already toured Road Town, the capital, as well as the island as a whole, so I didn’t feel like it would make sense to do this again. Max loves sailing and bought the idea of checking out Jost van Dyke, so off we went.

The sailing was organized by Aristocat Sailings, a local company. I liked that this wasn’t an official, overpriced cruise-sponsored outing, although I would say most of the people with us came from our ship. It didn’t have to be this way, as two other ships were in port that day, the Norwegian Epic and the Royal Caribbean Brilliance of the Seas. We left the dock at 9.30am on a decent-sized catamaran that had room for at least twice as many people, which was super comfortable.

The ride was super pleasant. The two-person crew, James and Maddie were lovely and friendly. We quickly hoisted the sails and aimed first at a small island between Tortola and Jost van Dyke, Sandy Cay. Previously owned by the Laurance Rockefeller estate, the island has been a national park since 2008, and showed as a picture-perfect tropical island when we got close to it: pristine, with a white-sand beach, gently waving palm trees and surrounded by bright blue, almost transparent waters. The sea color reminded me of an ink I used for my pens at school when I was a kid growing up in France, called Bleu des Mers du Sud (Southern-Seas Blue). It was a vivid turquoise color that looked like the color of the sea in far-away tropical islands, and was probably the first item that activated my wanderlust, back then. That color is now called Inspiration Blue, which is a great way to kill my own (inspiration).

We spent about 45 minutes on Sandy Cay, missed the one-trail going through the 14-acre island, as we were too busy taking photos of the incredible beach, and swam back to the catamaran to sail to our final destination of the day, Jost van Dyke, a much bigger island located about 5 miles (8km) north of Tortola. It is said that its name comes from the 17th-century Dutch pirate Joost Van Dyke, and you’ll hear this countless times on the island, but the story is fuzzy, and there are no definitive proof this is how the island was named.

I felt I had landed in a live version of a Massimo Dutti campaign ad.

In the mean time, we dropped anchor super close to JVD, near White Bay beach, on the southern side, and ate a good lunch prepared by the catamaran crew, before swimming to shore (we could have paddled) to spend some time on another incredible-looking beach. This time was much more crowded - people love to come here for the day and hang out at one of the bars dotting the shoreline, the Soggy Dollar being the most famous of all of them.

It took about an hour to sail back to Tortola, and after another cab ride, we were back at the cruise ship pier around 4.15pm, with time to spare before the last tender boat, set for 5pm. I ran to the gym, worked out for a bit and then joined Max at the Marble & Co. Grill, the ship’s steakhouse.

At this point, I wasn’t expecting to be surprised, and indeed, the restaurant delivered a typical Explora experience: well-meaning, cheery waiters, somewhat average service and really good food. We ordered wine from the by-the-glass menu, which was included in the fare, and the pairings were perfect. Like all the other venues, Marble & Co. could have used a little bit more of a design personality to keep it upscale but also make it a bit more memorable.

The smoking area by Crema Cafe on deck 5 on Explora I.

Days 6 & 7 - at sea

I love days at seas - they’re a great excuse to do absolutely nothing, put your phone on do not disturb mode and pretend, for a little bit, the world beyond the seas around you doesn’t exist. We slept in, took our time having breakfast, spent some time by one of the pools we hadn’t yet been to, and basically took it easy for the whole day.

The pool we tried on day 5 was the Helios pool, an adult-only pool located at the back of the boat, on deck 12, basically 7 decks above the Astern pool. The pool itself was a little smaller than the Astern but deeper at about 5.5 feet deep (1.7 meters), and with just a few day beds laid out around it, felt quite intimate. The pool area itself was quite large but many of the (comfortable) lounge chairs looked to the sea, away from the pool.

Service was inconsistent but the drinks delicious, almost dangerously so. Our chairs didn’t have an umbrella, but some did, so we spent most of our pool time in the late afternoon, when the UV index was lower, and it was such a nice way to spend a few hours on the ship.

The Sky Bar on the top deck of the Explora I ship, with St Maarten in the background.

After a gym session and a light dinner at the Emporium, where I tried the oysters, a kind of food I never imagined I would indulge in on a ship (they were excellent), we went up to deck 14 for a night cap. The Sky Bar was actually the highest bar on the ship, and, with a DJ spinning cool tunes, it felt like a great place to end the day with a cocktail or two.

What stayed with me

I really liked my first Explora cruise. I enjoyed the upscale experience of a beautifully designed ship, delicious food among a sophisticated crowd. I didn’t love the voyage, however. There were too many service mishaps to justify the luxury label, and ultimately, the vibe was a little too flat for me. I could see myself enjoying one again, if the itinerary was right, with friends who like to have an easy time and don’t like to go out dancing every night - to be fair, this is probably Explora’s main target.

Practical information

(Everything you could possibly want to know about Explora cruises - updated December 2025)

In a nutshell

Explora Journeys, a luxury line from the MSC group, aims for a more upscale target group than its sister brand, competing with the likes of Regent and Silver Seas. It’s a great, high-end experience that is definitely a step above every other cruise line I have ever tried, although it feels like the experience isn’t well-oiled yet - the customer experience in every single eatery feels like it could use a little fine tuning.

In any case, Explora is a great choice for a laid back, luxurious cruise in fabulous, understated settings and delicious food.

The tendering dock on the Explora I ship.

What’s included in the fare

For cruisers in a regular cabin, the main difference with premium or mainstream cruise lines is that almost everything is included in the fare, from all specialty restaurants (except one) to main alcoholic drinks to premium WiFi or fitness classes.

There is an upcharge for fancy alcohol (if you want to go above and beyond a good champagne, for instance, you can pay your way to a premium bottle of Dom Pérignon), for one-on-one fitness lessons, and the ship’s exclusive Italian restaurant, Anthology.

Our classic suite on deck 7 on Explora I.

The room

We booked the lowest room category available, an Ocean Terrace Suite on deck 7. At about 377 square feet (35 square meters), it felt a little bit bigger than a regular sea terrace cabin on a premium cruise line like Princess or Virgin Voyages. Overall, the room’s furnishings were very upscale and, in line with the ship’s design vision, very understated, almost blandly so.

The bed was king-size, and although this was very much an appreciable upgrade, I felt it took over the whole room, leaving very little space to pass by. It was heavenly to sleep in however. Overall the room felt just a little small. I was expecting this “suite” to feel bigger. Beside the bed there was a small lounge area with a tiny two-person sofa, separated from the bed by a shelf filled with actual books (a nice touch) but it felt like it needed a little more space to breathe.

One of my pet peeves with the rooms was that there was no area to work. On every cruise ship I had ever sailed before this one, the room featured a desk area. Not there. There was a ledge on the opposite side of the bed that you could store things on, but it was almost too narrow to be used as a desk, and the room didn’t have a chair anyway.

A classic suite bathroom on Explora I.

The highlight of the space, for me, was the terrace. Unlike premium cruise lines, it was actually a space nice enough to spend a lot of time on. First, the actual table with chairs that I wished was inside was out there, and that meant, weather permitting, I was able to work outside. Then there was a lovely sofa to hang out on, a much comfier experience than Virgin’s hammock or Princess’ sun chairs.

The bathroom was luxurious with a white-marble finish and a heated floor. The shower was very spacious, especially compared to my go-to cruise line, Virgin (which is known for having some the smallest bathrooms in the industry), the towels plush and plentiful.

One thing I absolutely hated was the fact the room’s general switch was activated by a cruise card. This meant if none of us were in the room, the power would turn off, and whatever was charging (computer, phone) would stop doing so until we were back in the room. I tried to replace the cruise card with a random credit card but it wouldn’t work. This felt like a pretty big design flaw.

The restaurants

Overall, the food on the ship was excellent, miles above Princess or Celebrity quality, and a step above Virgin Voyages. What was perfectible throughout the ship was the service. In almost all of the restaurants, the lack of organization did the experience a disservice. Several people would come to check in on us and our orders, but actually failed to deliver what they were supposed to. The sommelier wouldn’t show up. Our wine orders were sometimes mixed up. Some food items were missing. Everyone was well-meaning, and the staff members were always super pleasant. We could tell they were doing their best, but were overwhelmed - or perhaps training was an issue, as the ship was only two-thirds full.

The croquettes and tortilla appetizers at the Med Yacht Club on Explora I.

Med Yacht Club

We dined there on our first night and it set the tone for the whole cruise. I felt we ate in a well-appointed corporate boardroom more than in a restaurant. If I couldn’t fault the ship’s designer for the understated vibe of the ship’s decor, I would argue that restaurants are where you can get a little more free to get away from a neutral color palette, that (sorry) negatively colored our experience. The food was very good, not exceptional, but rather enjoyable, and I liked the seating plans which left space between tables, so we never felt we had to listen to our neighbors conversations (something I always felt on Virgin).

Fil Rouge

The ship’s French restaurant and our best experience outside of the Emporium. Service was spotty (a constant) but the menu very well curated, the flavors sophisticated, and the wines pairing very solid. A special mention to the foie gras entrée, which, according to Max, was excellent. This is the one restaurant Max noted would have cost $200 a person in San Francisco, and I had to agree.

Sakura

A big disappointment for us, probably because we had read so many good reviews about it. It felt like almost all dishes were plated and ready to go in advance, and were only heated to be served at the table. The appetizers came to us suspiciously quickly and were lacking in flavor. My main course was really good, and again the alcohol service was 10-minutes behind the food service - something I would hope a luxury cruise line would know how to fix quickly.

Marble and Co grill

The ship’s steakhouse was nice but suffering from the same ailments as the other eateries: a cold, almost bland space design, slow and inattentive service, redeemed by really good food, but ultimately forgettable for me, not a big steak fan.

The outside seating area of the Emporium, at the back of deck 11 on Explora I.

The Emporium

This was the highlight of the complimentary food offering on the ship. Aside from an excellent presentation and a very clean, easy to follow layout organized in different sections (grill to pastries to pizza, etc), the food quality and variety was amazing. I also appreciated that everything was handled by an attendant - as opposed to every cruiser picking the tongues to help themselves with. It was a big plus from a hygiene perspective.

The breakfast stations had everything you could possibly imagine, from the traditional American breakfast to an omelette station to a crepe station with a homemade Nutella-like spread that was allegedly extraordinary, to freshly-pressed juices.

The lunch and dinner menus were even more expansive, with a dizzying array of options that made me want the cruise to last twice as much time to sample them all. Special mention to the cheese section, offering regional French cheese virtually unheard of on American soil (hello, Pont-l’Evêque) and the seafood section, where lobster tails were available on several days. I even had oysters on a ship, a first for me (and they were absolutely worth it).

Crema Cafe on deck 5 on Explora I.

Crema Cafe

A lovely coffee place with ample seating, this was another miss from a service perspective. First, the cafe only opened at 7am. If you’re trying to get a coffee earlier than this, you’re out of luck. Second, even when the space was barely occupied, orders would take a while to get to a table. I had to remind the waiting staff a few times I was still waiting for something I had ordered minutes before that didn’t require any kind of prep (think a little bit of chocolate that just needs to be transferred from the display to a plate and brought to the table).

The coffee was from Illy, and was good enough, but too acidic for my taste (in fairness, I love light and smooth espressos, and that’s not Illy’s forte). A lot of milk alternatives were offered, as you would expect.

The outside fitness area on deck 12 on Explora I.

Fitness on the ship

Explora I counts with two fitness areas. The first one is a classic gym on deck 10. It felt a bit small, but perhaps I was Virgin-biased, as the cruise line’s ships have what I consider to be the best gym at sea (it’s big, well-designed, with specific areas for cardio and strength training, has a lot of equipment, and is open 24/7). There was a sign that maximum occupancy was 15 people, and on a ship designed to fit more than 900, it felt like it could get crowded easily.

One of my fellow gym-going cruisers noted that Explora’s passengers may not be the fitness-obsessed kind, and I would have to agree with that observation. The gym was never really busy, but the lack of equipment was an issue for me. There was no cable machine, the free weights stopped at an absurdly low level, and only two adjustable benches were available to work out.

I don’t see myself as a gym rat, but like to go regularly, and this felt like a gym in a small premium hotel, not on an exclusive, upscale cruise ship. This was one of the reasons why I wouldn’t see myself on a longer Explora cruise. After 7 days, I was done with every single exercise I could possibly do with the tools made available to us.

On deck 12, another fitness area was set up as an outside cardio training post. It was cool to be able to row or bike under the sun, when it wasn’t too hot, and while the boat was sailing, the breeze up there felt wonderful.

The stops

Sandy Ground beach in Anguilla.

Anguilla travel tips

The Eastern Caribbean Dollar (ECD) is Anguilla’s official currently and is pegged to the USD, so US dollars are also widely accepted.

There aren’t a lot of ATMs on the island (and none on the ship, another regrettable miss) so make sure you have enough when you board, to avoid a necessary detour through Anguilla’s main settlement to get greenbacks.

Getting to Shoal Bay from Sandy Ground (where most small cruise ships drop anchor); a cab from the pier costs USD 46 round-trip - agree on a pick up time with your driver to head back, which will be easier than chancing it when it’s time to go. There were no taxis waiting at Shoal Bay when we were ready to leave, and Uber isn’t available on the island. Travel time to and from Sandy Ground beach is approximately 20 minutes.

Manoah hotel Beach club on Shoal Bay beach: USD 75 for two beach chairs and an umbrella for a full day of use. Beach chairs come with a thick, comfortable mattress and plush, colorful towels alongside two bottles of iced water. Everything can be paid cash, or card with a 15% service charged added, along with local taxes. The hotel abuts the beach’s main entrance, but the eastern edge of its beach club is away from any noise, so it felt super relaxing. We saw less than ten people walk past us the whole time we were there.

Antigua travel tips

This wasn’t my first stop in Antigua. Since I had basically driven through the whole island once, didn’t feel like doing it again. This time, we stayed in St John’s, the docking point for cruise ships.

Like Basseterre in nearby St Kitts, St John’s isn’t an especially beautiful island capital, save for its cathedral, which is currently being restored. It has a big tourist port with all the duty-free shops you could imagine, and little else. This is an island where looking at excursions makes sense. Antigua prides itself in having 365 beaches, one for each day of the year, and I would encourage anyone getting to the island to check them out rather than stay in port.

The sunset cruise we booked was arranged via Explora, and cost us $160 a person, with drinks and snacks included. This felt a bit expensive, but a similar experience was going for $135 on Viator.

Shell beach in Gustavia, St Barths.

St Barths travel tips

I wrote a full entry on St Barths, since I really enjoyed the island and felt it could have its own place on this blog. You can find it here.

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