Explora Journey's Explora 1

[maggie.1008]

I just came off the Explora Journey's Explora 1. There will be 5 more ships by 2028.This is a luxury line, and the price point is from $600 to $1000pp pn.

Our cruising history is 68 cruises. Half on Celebrity and half on the luxury and Premium lines. We consider X to be the best of the Mass cruise lines.

We were in a Premium Penthouse Suite, and I think about the same price as a Royal Suite on X. 

We have only been in Sky and Celebrity suites on X so I can`t compare anything above that level. We consider AQ cabins a good value,

 but X suites have increased so much that we decided to go back to try the luxury lines. 

 

I have been waiting for Explora Journey 1 to sail since it was being built in Italy. My expectations were very high! Well, they exceeded my expectations. 

The ship and cabins are beautiful. Food and service wowed us. Granted the ship holds 900 passengers and we were only half full. They have their second ship coming out in August, so I think they may have had extra crew onboard to train. It felt like the ratio was 1 to 1.

Explora Journey`s is owned by MSC shipping company but is nothing like the Mass MSC CruiseLine. 

 

Happy to answer any questions as I know Jim, Iian and others have been interested. This is an all-inclusive line, and we had a hard time spending our OBC. 

They do run sales so keep your eyes open on their website.  Cheers, Heather

 

 

[ChilledGecko]

That's good to know, thanks Maggie!

We are on EJ I in September and EJ II in January and are hoping for good things when compared  to Celebrity. 

Bang for buck seems to be favouring EJ if you prefer Celebrity Retreat cruising.

We are on Celebrity in a few weeks and I suspect it will be the last, for a while at least...

Cheers Kevin 

[peanut head]

Thank you for posting.  Can you give more details regarding restaurants?  Are excursions also included?

[maggie.1008]

Yes, we are going on the Edge to Alaska in August and after that I will be booking Explora whenever I can. 

[maggie.1008]

The excursions are not included but we always do our own thing when it comes to tours. 

They have five different restaurants that are included and one pay for. We didn`t go to the pay one because we don`t really enjoy the 5 course meals anymore. 

All beverages are included except the super high end. That is the same as the other luxury lines. 

The website goes into detail about the comp restaurants if you are interested.

[commodoredave]

Cruised aboard Explora I in early March. Our experience was great. It's a beautiful ship with very good food and service. We chose a regular balcony cabin rather than a suite as we tend to spend far less time in the cabin on warm weather cruises -- this was the Caribbean.

We are back on X next week in Bermuda in AC. 

I would go back on a luxury line before booking the Retreat on X as I believe there isn't enough vaue there, especially on older ships. 

[George C]

Is there butlers like MSc yacht club which also had great service , including free WiFi and premium drink package, but specialty restaurants are not included. 

[maggie.1008]

Explora has free Wi fi, all beverages (except super high end) 

Butlers only in the high-end Residents suites. Our Stewardess / Host could help us with anything we needed. 

[maggie.1008]

They also have a Dyson hair dryer in the dressing room. I believe there is one in every cabin. I want one now, I think they are about $500. 😳

[ksmcali]

Thank you for the comparison!  I've been keeping up with Explora Journeys with some curiosity about the line since its so new.  It's good to understand how they stack up against Celebrity. 

 

[MarEll1]

Thank you fur your post @maggie.1008

We are not terribly experienced cruisers, and with one exception all have been on Celebrity.

How was the entertainment in the evenings? We went on Regent to Alaska last summer and were bored stiff after dinner. We are not big nightlife people, but listening to the same pianist in the lounge every night got old very quickly.

Also, how was the service in the restaurants? We found it very inconsistent on Regent and really missed the personal service we’d had in Luminae. And the sommeliers  seemed to just push the “featured” white and red wine of the day and had no interest in suggesting wines to pair with our meals, 
I’ve been interested in Explora but after our Regent experience we’re not sure that small ships are best for us right now. Our next cruise we are back to the Retreat.

Anyway, I’d appreciate your thoughts.
 

[maggie.1008]

I think if you were board on Regent then you will probably feel the same on Explora. Very classy and mellow vibe. It’s more like a 4 Seasons or Ritz Carlton land hotel.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

I had a reservation on this ship which I had to cancel.  I was charged a $200 fee to cancel.  I've heard good things about their ships, but that cancelation fee put me off.

[Jim_Iain]

Thanks for posting.   I've started researching Explore.    I really had not heard of them until I saw them in HNL.    Your review makes us even more interested.

 

[maggie.1008]

Jim, I think you and Iian would really enjoy. 
The only Cons are the bathroom is small with only one sink but a large walk in shower.

Entertainment is on the mellow side. We were in bed early in Hawaii so maybe things picked up later in the evening. 
Otherwise we loved it. 

[billc23]

1 hour ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

I had a reservation on this ship which I had to cancel.  I was charged a $200 fee to cancel.  I've heard good things about their ships, but that cancelation fee put me off.

What does Celebrity charge to cancel a cruise? I know if I move a sailing there is a $100 per person fee.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

3 hours ago, billc23 said:

What does Celebrity charge to cancel a cruise? I know if I move a sailing there is a $100 per person fee.

 

Celebrity does not charge a cancelation fee if one cancels many, many months in advance as I did.  Your being charged a fee probably means you booked at a nonrefundable rate.

[billc23]

5 minutes ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

 

Celebrity does not charge a cancelation fee if one cancels many, many months in advance as I did.  Your being charged a fee probably means you booked at a nonrefundable rate.

Thanks. They charge me $100 per person to move a sailing and, I think, the full deposit to cancel with a non refundable rate. 

[MarEll1]

6 hours ago, maggie.1008 said:

I think if you were board on Regent then you will probably feel the same on Explora. Very classy and mellow vibe. It’s more like a 4 Seasons or Ritz Carlton land hotel.

Could you expand on this a bit?What type of entertainment was there in the evening?

[maggie.1008]

There was a lovely piano player and a young man who sang. Another man played the piano and sang later in the evening. 
Around 10pm there was a dj in one of the lounges.

During the day they had several enrichment speakers.

As I posted before, Explora is more like a Four Seasons or Ritz land hotel.

if a lot of activity and entertainment is important to you then there are many other lines that may be a better fit. 

[paulh84]

Would you consider Explora as an actual luxury line or more of a small premium line like Oceania or Azamara? I was considering Explora for an upcoming cruise but went with RC Yachts instead. It seemed like the consensus was Explora falls quite a bit short of a true lux line like Silversea or Seabourn. 

[maggie.1008]

I feel Explora is definitely as good as Seabourn, Silver Sea, Regent or Crystal. They all have their strong points, depending on your preference. 

[mnocket]

I've also been interested in trying EJ.  My problem has been their itineraries.  They tend to be short and not particularly interesting.  I'm hoping as they add ships, the itineraries improve.  That said, I'm a bit concerned that they seem to be suffering from low occupancy.  

[maggie.1008]

They plan on having 6 ships by 2028. I’m sure there will be many more choices. 
Now they have many back to backs so you can have a longer cruise with different itinerary. 
At this point in our lives it’s more about the ship, so Explora suits us.

[MarEll1]

2 hours ago, maggie.1008 said:

There was a lovely piano player and a young man who sang. Another man played the piano and sang later in the evening. 
Around 10pm there was a dj in one of the lounges.

During the day they had several enrichment speakers.

As I posted before, Explora is more like a Four Seasons or Ritz land hotel.

if a lot of activity and entertainment is important to you then there are many other lines that may be a better fit. 

Thank you. A lot of activity isn’t important but we’d like more than the same choice every single evening like we had on Regent.