Our Luxury Travel Manager, Alana, recently sailed from Istanbul to Genoa for 7 nights onboard Explora Journeys. After a smooth flight from Adelaide with Emirates into Istanbul, Alana and her friend were ready for the cruise!
Explora Journeys is a luxury cruise line that hosts great dining experiences, shore excursions and exciting destinations. With a maximum of 922 passengers onboard, it means no crowds or long waits. See our Explora Journeys cruises here.
Check-in and Boarding
The cruise check-in process with Explora Journeys was seamless. The first line which was the meet and greet and bag drop area was only 5 minutes long. The location was underground and Explora had their own entry point to a common area where people were being directed to different cruise lines. From here we were greeted by a staff member who gave us tea or water and went to a private area to run through boarding procedures, passports, credit card details etc. We then went through security check and passport control which did take a little longer to get onto the ship (around 45 minutes). Overall, a great check-in process.
Staff and Service on Explora Journeys
Onboard, I think it’s safe to say it was the best hospitality I’ve ever had from any cruise line. The staff were extremely observant, non-invasive and very lovely.
In the common areas, all staff were exceptional, having a great sense of humour and happy attitude. This really brings the vibe up of the whole ship! The wait staff throughout the restaurants were also really professional and quick. They truly went above and beyond for my friend and I onboard- whether that be a friendly chat about the menu or being accommodating when we were struck with some trouble.
Cabin Details
We were in an Ocean Terrace Suite which is the lead-in category for Explora Journeys. The cabin had plenty of room including a sitting/lounge area and outside we had our table and one full day/lounge style bed. I found this plenty sufficient for a lead in category.
I was also really impressed with the bathroom which had a full-size walk in shower as well as a closet area too. The bed was by far the best I have slept in on a cruise ship! Details like these make for an amazing time. In our suite, we also had Champagne, a bottle of gin and a bottle of red wine in our cabin upon arrival including a full mini-bar.
Our cabin steward was lovely and when we needed him he seemed to be right outside our cabin door! We encountered one issue with our beds being together instead of being separate. He said he’d get our cabin fixed up later that night when we went to dinner and he did it straight away. I was so happy about the detailed service from our steward. The Wi-Fi worked very well for us at all times and could easily upload photos to social media- which can sometimes be a problem on cruises.
Amenities Onboard Explora Journeys
Facilities and amenities onboard Explora Journeys were top-notch. There were plenty of pools onboard which were of course a necessity in the hot Mediterranean sun. The Main Pool was perfect if you wanted to actually swim but there were also three smaller pools to lounge around in. Plus, plenty of hot tubs which I didn’t try out because the weather was too warm. A good thing to note is that two of these pools are adults only. Having said that, there were not too many children onboard, and they were mostly older teenagers.
I loved the amount of bar and lounge areas, also day beds around the pools and top decks. It means there are a variety of places to relax or get-together with other people on the ship. Although it was harder to get a day bed at the main pool, there were plenty of other areas around the ship you could set up at. Inside the ship, the decor was sleek and elegant, not over the top, but a casual and relaxed style. This transcended into the outside of the ship too, with a relaxed yet lively atmosphere.
Facilities
The spa facilities were absolutely brilliant, as the wellness centre was next level! I was happy to do a session in the salt room and experience the hot stone beds, sensory showers, steam room, sauna and sauna pool. There are also massages available which I didn’t have, and it’s good to note that pricing for those is quite high. The gym was on the smaller side but what I loved about it was they had proper RPM bikes and also had some out on one of the decks to ride outside. There was honestly nothing better than having the calm sea breeze whilst enjoying exercising on the deck.
My friend wanted to attend a yoga class however they only took 10 people per class and they were booked out straight away, which was a bit disappointing. We provided feedback to Explora Journeys that they either need larger classes or more classes provided when health and wellness is a huge part of why people travel now. The theatre was a great size and the main entertainer they had onboard was exceptional.
Entertainment
Explora Journeys had something for everyone onboard. They had a world class singer in the main theatre over a couple of nights and he was brilliant. They ran quizzes at night which were fun. They had a piano player, a Cellist and a house band onboard performing.
They had a DJ every night and this was the absolute highlight of our night, every single day. He was brilliant and played music based on the region we were in. He then went downstairs after dark to be the late night DJ. There was also a silent disco one night which was a massive hit onboard and a lot of people attended this.
Dining Onboard Explora Journeys
Dining is always my favourite part of luxury cruises and I must say it was the absolute highlight of this experience. There are about nine different types of culinary experiences onboard, including speciality dining and in-suite dining. I decided not to attend Anthology because it’s one of the more expensive restaurants onboard, and the others were just as good.
These other four specialty restaurants were exceptional. Two of them you could attend every night with no reservation being Yacht Club and Fil Rouge. The other two reserved restaurants were Marble & Co and Sakura and we could attend once each during a 7 day cruise. Both were outstanding, exceptional quality and had wines to match in all restaurants. There was no need to purchase anything off a surcharged list, you could also get Champagne in all venues.
When you were not fine-dining you could eat at Emporium Marketplace which we attended for breakfast, some lunches and the occasional dinner. This is a really elevated experience as well. It’s not buffet style, but you go up and pick what you want from the display and they prepare the last steps in front of you. It’s full service so there is no touching any food items. Some of the things that I thoroughly enjoyed here were fresh seafood, there was a sushi and sashimi station, ceviche station, pasta and pizza station. You could get salads made, there were cheese platters and meat stations set up with all your condiments. There was a burger station and then a run of international cuisines, a locally changing section depending on the region we were in. Also there was a full dessert bar area. We didn’t try room service or order anything to our suite but you could order off any menu and have it served in your suite with no charge.
Atmosphere
Modern, elegant in design, each venue truly unique- it felt more like a hotel with fine dining restaurants than a traditional cruise ship. The demographic onboard seemed to be around the 40-60 age group, all lovely people and out for a good time. The mix was vast but everyone seemed to have similar attitudes onboard that loved life and experiencing everything in a relaxed way.
Overall, Explora Journeys was an outstanding experience from start to finish. From the decadent dining, to sleek facilities and great service and people- it was exceptional. I would highly recommend sailing the Mediterranean with Explora Journeys. Chat to one of our Tour + Cruise specialists to learn more.
