REVIEW EXPLORA 1 CRUISE

THE BRIEF

I hadn’t been cruising in quite some time. This one was going to be on a brand-new ship called Explora(launched in 2023) heading out to the Caribbean. I was looking forward to giving it a try. I had heard very good things about it.

The ship features over 400 cabins with private balconies, all of which face the ocean. It’s only 248 meters (814ft) in length and is designed to give guests that private yacht feel. My ship typically carried about 600 people on board. With 640 crew, you were bound to have great service.

The room and the balcony were of good proportion and, in my experience, bigger than similar luxury-branded cruise lines.

The main pool forward had a big screen TV and a comfortable seating area. There was jucuzzies and hot tubs around the sides also. A convertible glass roof for those nasty days at sea was built in above.

It was Christmas time, and the crew had decked out the ship appropriately. The ship was trimmed out with beautiful marble and chandeliers everywhere.

As you would expect, there were plenty of bars interspersed throughout the ship to relax in. One of the benefits of this cruise was that everything was included. There were no extra charges for anything and no limits on how much you could have.

The food was delicous and there was something different served every day at the Emporium. It was the buffet restaurant that I frequented. Several other fine restaurants were available by reservation if you were so inclined.

THE DEBRIEF

This cruise, like most luxury cruises these days, was expensive. The difference with Explora, and one that I found to my liking, was that everything was included. There were no extra charges for anything, and I felt I was getting my money’s worth. This inclines me to give them credit for providing a superior product. There were a few annoying things in the setup. Not enough for me not to give this experience a great review.

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