The Ultimate Guide to Explora Journeys: A European Hotel That Happens to Float

A cruise line for people who don’t do cruises

Every decade or so, somebody shakes up luxury travel. In the ’90s it was small ships. In the 2010s it was the expedition boom. This decade, it’s a family with three centuries of shipping history who looked at the top of the cruise market and decided it wasn’t relaxed enough.

The Aponte family owns MSC, one of the biggest cruise companies on earth. They noticed that a lot of wealthy travelers were choosing Aman and Four Seasons over ships because they disliked the fixed schedules, the dress codes and the feeling of being processed. So they didn’t build a cruise line. They built Explora Journeys, a floating European hotel, and it’s working.

Explora has been named best luxury cruise line in Cruise Critic’s Best in Cruise Awards two years running (2024 and 2025). Its president, Anna Nash, came from Aman. And a lot of the travelers asking us about it now aren’t first-timers; they’re loyal Regent, Silversea and Oceania guests wondering whether to switch. That question gets its own article: why seasoned luxury cruisers are switching to Explora. This one is the lay of the land.

Full disclosure: Erin and I haven’t sailed Explora ourselves yet. That changes in March 2027, when we’re hosting a group on Explora III. Until then, this guide comes from our clients who have, Explora’s own team, and a lot of reading of the fine print.

The “Ocean State of Mind,” minus the marketing

Explora’s tagline is “Ocean State of Mind,” and it’s more than a slogan. It sets the pace of the whole trip.

Itineraries lean on longer port calls, late departures and overnights, so you can have dinner ashore or see a city after dark instead of sprinting back to the gangway at 5pm. There are more sea days than on a port-a-day itinerary, too, because the ship is meant to be somewhere you want to spend time, not just a hotel that moves.

If your idea of a great cruise is a new port every morning and a shore excursion every afternoon, that slower rhythm may not suit you. If you’ve ever come home from a cruise needing a vacation, it probably will.

The fleet: three ships now, six by 2028

• Explora I launched in July 2023.
• Explora II followed in September 2024.
• Explora III was delivered in July 2026 and sailed its maiden voyage from Barcelona in August. It’s the first in the fleet to run on liquefied natural gas, and at about 72,800 gross tons it’s bigger than its sisters while carrying about the same number of guests.
• Explora IV is due in 2027, Explora V in December 2027 and Explora VI in August 2028.

Each ship has 461 suites and carries about 900 guests, with roughly one crew member for every 1.25 guests. That’s bigger than the “yacht” lines and bigger than any Regent or Silversea ship, but the public space per guest is generous, and there are pools, lounges and 12 bars spread around the ship, so it rarely feels busy. Think boutique resort, not mega-ship.

Where they sail: the Mediterranean and Northern Europe in summer, the Caribbean and beyond in winter, and new ground every year. Explora III opens the line’s first Alaska season in May 2027, its first Asia season follows in 2027–28, and there’s a 128-day world journey on sale for 2029.

Suites: every single one has a terrace

Explora calls its suites “Homes at Sea,” and for once the hype is mostly earned. The entry category, the Ocean Terrace Suite, is 377 square feet including a 75-square-foot terrace. There are no inside cabins and no oceanview windows. Every suite has floor-to-ceiling glass that opens onto a private terrace.

Inside, expect a walk-in wardrobe, a proper vanity, an espresso machine and a bathroom you won’t have to turn sideways in. Move up to the Penthouses and Residences for separate living and dining space, bigger terraces, butler service in the top categories, and on the largest Residences, a private whirlpool. The top suites on Explora III run past 3,000 square feet.

Our take: because the entry suite already has the terrace, it’s a real choice rather than the compromise it is on many lines. We usually steer people to it and put the savings into a better itinerary, unless they want more room to spread out on a long voyage.

Dining: no main dining room, no buffet line

Explora skipped the traditional cruise dining model entirely. There’s no assigned seating and no main dining room. Instead there’s a set of restaurants that each run like a place you’d book on land, and you eat when and with whom you like.

The names vary a little by ship. On Explora III, the lineup is:

• Fil Rouge, the elegant all-rounder, with a menu that travels with the itinerary
• Med Yacht Club, Mediterranean seafood and sharing plates, beach-club style
• Sakura, pan-Asian, from sushi to Thai
• Marble & Co. Grill, the steakhouse
• Emporium Marketplace, the casual option, with cooking stations where chefs make things to order instead of a steam-table buffet
• Shore Club at The Conservatory, new on Explora III, poolside under a retractable glass roof
• Anthology, the tasting-menu restaurant with rotating guest chefs, and the one that costs extra (€165 per person, plus €70 for the wine pairing)

Add Crema for coffee and pastries and 24-hour in-suite dining. The Chef’s Table and The Cellar, a 12-seat wine room, are paid experiences too.

What’s included, and what isn’t

This is where brochures blur the line, so here it is plainly.

Included:

• Unlimited drinks, including fine wines, Champagne and premium spirits
• Every restaurant except Anthology, plus 24-hour in-suite dining
• Wifi
• All gratuities
• Group fitness and wellness classes, and the spa’s thermal area
• Port shuttles into town where the ship docks away from the center

Extra:

• Shore excursions (Explora calls them Destination Experiences)
• Spa treatments
• Anthology, the Chef’s Table, The Cellar and the rarest wines
• Flights. Explora’s optional Sky & Sea fare bundles economy flights, a hotel night and transfers; premium cabins are up to you.

That puts Explora roughly level with Regent and Silversea on what happens on board. The big difference is ashore: Regent includes unlimited shore excursions, and Explora doesn’t. On a port-heavy trip, price the excursions before you decide which line is cheaper.

Wellness, and plenty of room to move

Ocean Wellness, the spa, runs about 7,500 square feet indoors and out, with nine treatment rooms, a thermal suite and a beauty salon. The gym is separate and big for a ship, and there’s a program of yoga and mindfulness classes, often held outside. The thermal area and the group classes are included; treatments aren’t.

Who sails Explora

The crowd is younger than you might expect. Explora says the average guest is 56, noticeably younger than on the lines it competes with. You’ll see linen shirts and good sunglasses, not tuxedos. The dress code in the evening is “elevated resort-casual” for the whole voyage, which mostly means no sportswear, caps or flip-flops at dinner.

Kids are welcome from six months old, and the Nautilus Club runs programs for ages 6 to 17. Explora aims to cap children at about 100 per sailing, and they cluster on summer and holiday departures. Off-season, there are often hardly any on board. If you’d rather not share the pool either way, Explora III’s Helios Pool is adults-only.

Who shouldn’t book it: anyone who wants a truly small ship, anyone who sails Regent for the included excursions, and anyone who wants ice and penguins. Explora has no expedition ships. For Antarctica or the high Arctic, start with our expedition cruise line comparison.

Explora Club: status that travels with you

Explora’s loyalty program, Explora Club, has five tiers from Classic to Diamond. From Silver up, you get 5% off future sailings, and the perks build from there: extra laundry, spa and excursion credits at Platinum, and at Diamond, a week at sea for two once you reach 400 nights.

If you already have status elsewhere, Explora will match it once in your lifetime, from lines including Regent, Silversea, Oceania, Crystal, Ponant, Scenic, the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, Princess and Celebrity. It also matches MSC Voyagers Club, which has its own match from mainstream cruise lines and hotel programs, and that’s a surprisingly easy back door into Explora Gold. Our Explora Club review has the tiers, the conversion chart and the MSC route, step by step. Weighing a switch from another line? Our free Explora Switcher’s Briefing puts the full status-match chart and the honest who-shouldn’t-switch list in 12 pages.

Greener by design

Being brand new helps. The ships can plug into shore power where ports offer it, so their engines can stay off while docked. They carry a RINA Dolphin notation for reduced underwater noise, which matters to whales. Explora III and the ships that follow it burn liquefied natural gas, which cuts local air pollution significantly compared with marine fuel oil.

How to book it well

Choose the itinerary, then the ship. The ships share the same formula. Explora III is the newest, with the Shore Club and the Conservatory pool, so it’s the one I’d favor when the itinerary works, but don’t bend a trip around a ship.

Move early on firsts. Alaska in 2027 and Asia in 2027–28 each launch with a single Explora ship. That’s a limited number of suites for seasons people have been waiting for.

Match your status before you sail. Benefits only apply to a sailing if the match is approved before you board.

Book through an advisor. Explora bookings through us typically come with $150 per person in onboard credit through our Virtuoso partnership, and depending on the sailing we can sometimes add more. If you fall in love on board and rebook there, the booking still stays with us.

Try it with us

If you’d like to judge Explora for yourself, with people who’ll tell you honestly what we think, join Erin and me on our week in the Caribbean aboard Explora III, Miami to Barbados, March 14–21, 2027.

Or tell us where and when you’d like to sail and what you’ve loved (or hated) on other lines, and we’ll find the right Explora journey and price it properly. Request your quote here, or if you’d rather talk it through first, start here.