Ahoy, fellow travelers! A few weeks ago, we set sail on an unforgettable odyssey through the sun-kissed Southern Caribbean, courtesy of the beautiful Explora I, the crown jewel of the newest luxury cruise line, Explora Journeys. From the divine dining experiences at sea to the exclusive port itinerary, this blog post is your VIP ticket to it all. So, grab your imaginary captain’s hat and join us on this virtual voyage where every moment was nothing short of extraordinary. Bon voyage!
The Evening Before
We began our trip by following our #1 rule of cruising – always flying into the embarkation port at least one day before! With all of the craziness of flights lately, we would rather be safe than sorry, so we always give ourselves some extra time and grab a hotel the night before embarkation.
For this trip, our embarkation port was Miami, and we used Chase Ultimate Rewards points to book a room at the Hyatt Regency. Typically we prefer to stay at the Intercontinental, but after comparing prices, we couldn’t pass up the point transfer deal we came across!
Embarkation Day (AKA Day 0)
Explora Journeys assigned us an embarkation time of 1:00pm, so we used our morning to walk downtown Miami, grab some breakfast, and finalize our content plan for the next 10 days.
After that, we were off to check-in, which was a BREEZE. We transitioned through the entirety of check-in (bag tag/drop, security, actual check-in, and gangway walk) in under 10 minutes – a record for the Maxwells! Everyone was so kind & helpful, and we were greeted with a glass of champagne upon boarding. 10/10 check-in experience!
Once on board, we immediately went to check out our room, an Ocean Suite – which is the base level suite aboard Explora I. We were absolutely floored with how nice our cabin was – spacious, well-decorated, modern, and with a sizeable balcony, we were more than comfortable during our stay. Each room even contains a Dyson hairdryer – something Courtney was very excited about!
After checking out our room, we began our self-led ship tour, visiting each and every common space onboard. As expected, all of the spaces on the ship, including restaurants, bars, pools, and everything in between, were stunning. That evening, we ate at Med Yacht Club, the Mediterranean restaurant onboard, and had a fabulous meal before heading to bed to prep for a fun day in Key West!
Day 1 – Key West
This port day lasted from 8:00am-4:00pm. We decided to leisurely get off of the ship, as we both had previously visited Key West. We began our morning by playing some pickleball, hitting the gym, and sitting down for an amazing made-to-order breakfast in the Marketplace. The Marketplace is different than a typical cruise ship buffet, containing high-end offerings, CRISPY bacon (if you know you know), and so many choices! Throughout the week ahead, many fried eggs, omelets, and crepes were consumed!
Once off the boat (this process was easy-peasy), we walked up and down Duval Street, ate a scrumptious lunch at Caroline’s Cafe, stopped by Sloppy Joe’s and Dante’s, and of course, HAD to buy a piece of key lime pie from Kermit’s Key Lime Shoppe!
After a fun day of bopping around the city, we got back onboard the ship to get ready for dinner at Marble & Co, the steakhouse. This meal was amazing as well, with Courtney ordering a filet and Austin ordering a ribeye, accompanied by yummy appetizers and sides like lobster bisque and potatoes with cavier!
Day 2 – Sea Day
Our first sea day aboard Explora I did not disappoint! We again began our day with pickleball, a workout (using the outdoor gym this time), and breakfast in the Marketplace before diving into some morning and afternoon work out on our balcony. We actually ended up missing lunch in the Marketplace this day (it ends at 2:00), so we ordered room service instead. The array of choices provided by room service is extremely plentiful, and we felt that the quality was great! After finishing our work for the day, we transitioned out to the Astern pool to enjoy the rest of the afternoon and watch the sunset. We then got ready for dinner and ended our evening at Sakura, the Japanese fusion restaurant on board, which ended up being our favorite restaurant on the ship! Everything we ate at this restaurant was absolutely amazing, but the lobster pad thai was the highlight.
Day 3 – Sea Day
Our second and final sea day of this sailing – we began our day the same way as the past few days, with a pickleball session, a workout, and breakfast in the Marketplace. We again spent late morning on our balcony cranking out some work, but decided to transition out to the Astern pool a bit earlier today. Since this pool is right next to Sakura, we were actually able to order a bento box to enjoy on our daybed instead of eating in the restaurant! We enjoyed the sunset at the pool deck once again, then got ready for dinner, this time at Fil Rouge, the French restaurant. Unsurprisingly, the food at this restaurant was fabulous as well, consisting of choices such as escargot, caviar, lobster, and veal Wellington.
Each and every evening, Explora I offered a few different options for entertainment, including live music via piano and full band shows, featuring a different type of music each night. However, our dinners tended to run late due to our preference for later dining times, and we went straight to bed most evenings!
Day 4 – Spanish Town, Virgin Gorda
This port day lasted from 10:00am-6:00pm. Having previously visited The Baths at Virgin Gorda a few years ago on an excursion, we knew we had to return! After our same morning routine, we hopped off the ship and grabbed a local cab, who drove us 10 minutes over to the entrance of The Baths. It’s worthy to note that the small hike to reach the first beach, as well as moving through the Baths, requires a moderate activity level, with a few steep portions and climbs. Once at the first beach, we took in the beautiful scenery and jumped in the water before moving through the actual Baths, granite rock formations that have created caves and pools throughout the area.
Once reaching the end of these rock formations, there is another large beach with a snack bar, where we grabbed a casual lunch and a drink, meeting friendly passengers also aboard Explora I as well as others visiting the island. We spent some time here before cabbing back to the cruise port. Back on board, we watched the sunset at the pool, got ready for dinner, and had yet another fantastic meal at the steakhouse, Marble & Co, before heading to bed after a long and adventurous day.
Day 5 – Gustavia, St Barth
This port day lasted from 8:00am-11:00pm. Once again we began our day in a similar way with a sweat and a yummy breakfast at the Marketplace, before tendering over to the island via one of the lifeboats since the ship was too big to dock. We spent our first hour exploring the city of Gustavia, which contains tons of high-end shopping such as Dior, Cartier, and Rolex. We also walked over to Shell Beach, a beautiful beach close to the marina, accurately named for its crazy amount of shells, before stopping by Le Select bar to throw up one of our stickers on the wall!
We spent the remainder of the afternoon at Nikki Beach, a popular beach club, where we rented a daybed with new friends and enjoyed delicious food and drinks. We stayed on the island for sunset, before tendering back to the ship for a casual dinner at the Marketplace. We had been impressed by breakfast in this space each day, but dinner was even better! The Marketplace had so many options for dinner, from made-to-order wok meals, to fresh made-to-order pasta, and even a raw bar and lobster tails. That evening, the main event of the ship was a Masquerade, complete with beautiful hand-made masks for the guests, live music, and dancing!
Day 6 – St John’s, Antigua
This port day lasted from 7:00am-6:00pm. After a quick breakfast, we spent our Thanksgiving on this beautiful island, new to the both of us and now one of our favorites! Fun Fact – Antigua actually has 365 beaches, one for every day of the year. We knew we wanted to see as much of the island as possible, so we booked a circumnavigation tour with Adventure Antigua, and we absolutely LOVED it! This tour lasted from 8:45am-3:15pm, and included a stop by Stingray City, one snorkel stop / history lesson about the area, and two beach / swim stops, one with lunch and rum punch / water included. We didn’t feel that that the excursion was over-crowded (like so many are), and we would highly recommend it!
After the excursion, we took some time to fly the drone around the area before making our way back onto the ship. We spent the remainder of the afternoon in our favorite spot onboard – the Astern pool – to grab a drink and watch the sunset. We were unaware that Explora would be offering a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, so we had previously made reservations at Sakura, which we ended up going to anyway. Since this Thanksgiving was non-traditional already, we decided to end it in a non-traditional way – with sushi! (and the lobster pad thai, of course) This was definitely one of our favorite days of the trip!
Day 7 – Deshaies, Guadeloupe
This port day lasted from 8:00am-8:00pm but … we actually stayed on the ship for this one. I know, I know – you should NEVER waste a port day, but after three adventurous port days already and two ahead, we knew we needed a break to catch up on some work and enjoy the ship! So, we did just that – we took the morning to play some pickleball, get a good workout in, and eat some yummy breakfast in the Marketplace. We then checked out some of the open penthouses and residences on board, and filmed an entire ship tour, which you can find here!
We ate our very first lunch in the Marketplace, and were again extremely satisfied with the amount of choices and overall quality of everything we had. We used the remainder of our afternoon to relax by the Conservatory pool, during which we experienced the most beautiful rainbow either of us had ever seen! We ate dinner at the Med Yacht Club for our second time, this time with a group of new friends from the trip, and had another fantastic meal of tapas and seafood.
Day 8 – Basseterre, St Kitts
This port day lasted from 7:00am-6:00pm. After a morning workout and a quick bite at the Crema coffee lounge, we decided to spend our day at the beautiful Park Hyatt, which we booked through Resort for a Day. We took a local cab (shout out Mr. G and the Green Machine), and stopped at a lookout point halfway to get some pictures and pet some monkeys, before making it to the resort. The Park Hyatt is absolutely gorgeous, with multiple large pools and a massive private beach, but be aware – the food and drinks are quite pricey!
After a few hours of exploring the property and relaxing by the pool, we made our way back to the ship to then get ready for our amazing 10-course dining experience at the Michelin star restaurant on board Explora, called Anthology. This menu consisted of courses such as caviar, venison carpaccio, lobster bisque, and so much more! We absolutely felt the quality of this meal was unmatched, and everything was delicious. (Note: Anthology is the only restaurant on board with an additional fee).
Day 9 – Castries, St Lucia
Our final port day onboard Explora! This port day lasted from 9:00am-6:00pm. Originally, we had the idea to take a cab to the Pitons and the Tet Paul Nature Trail, however, after some last minute research and discovering those things were actually a 90-minute drive, we 180’d our plans and instead just chose to explore the nearby shops / bars in the port, grabbing a drink and researching an excursion company to use for our Group Cruise aboard Explora I in February!
We transitioned back to the ship and enjoyed the remainder of the afternoon at the Astern pool, taking in the views as well as the beauty of the ship one last time. We ate our final dinner in our favorite restaurant onboard, Sakura, ordering favorites such as the crispy duck, lobster pad thai, and sushi rolls.
Day 10 – Disembarkation in Bridgetown, Barbados
Annnnddddd our journey has finally come to an end. We disembarked Explora I around 9:00am after grabbing a nibble in the Marketplace and a coffee in the Crema lounge. Since our flight wasn’t until 4:00pm, we decided to spend a few hours at the Hilton in Barbados with a day pass. After a little more time in the sun, we packed up our things and headed to the airport, flying into Miami and eventually back to our home airport of Greenville-Spartanburg.
Final Thoughts
We had an absolutely amazing experience aboard our first trip with Explora Journeys. This cruise line will definitely be making waves in the luxury cruising industry in the coming years, and we are thankful that we got to have such an awesome experience first-hand! From the kindest staff members, to the beautiful architecture throughout the ship, to the delicious dining experiences onboard, and finally a fabulous port itinerary, Explora Journeys set the bar high for any cruising experience to come.
Specific Highlights From Our Trip
- The made-to order options in the marketplace, ensuring the freshest meals at all times
- The exercise options onboard, including an indoor and outdoor gym, fitness classes, spin bikes overlooking the ocean, walking track, and pickleball / basketball courts
- Four pools and more than enough lounge chairs and daybeds for everyone on board
- The roominess of the cabins, including a balcony for even the base level rooms
- A Dyson hairdryer in each and every room
- Four amazing included specialty dining options (no “main” dining rooms)
- One Michelin star restaurant available for an additional fee
- The friendliest staff of any cruise ship we have ever been on
- One of the best port itineraries we have ever experienced
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