Up next in 10
Explora Journeys is the new luxury cruise line launched by the Aponte family that also own MSC Cruises, and so many of you have been asking for my thoughts about their ships. And in this ship tour I am going to look at the ship’s hits and misses based on my cruise on their newest ship, the 922 passenger 461 cabin Explora II. I’ll take you round the outside decks, through the dining venues, bars, lounges, and other facilities, including something unusual that only 2 other luxury ships have. And finally, I'm going to show and review the cabins.
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0:00
explorer journeys is the new luxury
0:02
cruise line launched by the a pontto
0:04
family that also an mse cruisers and so
0:07
many of you have been asking for my
0:08
thoughts about their ships so welcome
0:10
aboard i'm gary benbridge and this i'm
0:12
going to look at the ship's hits and
0:14
misses based on my cruise on their
0:16
newest ship the 922 passenger 461 cabin
0:20
explorer 2 i'll take you around the
0:22
outside decks through the dining venues
0:25
bars lounges and other facilities
0:27
including something unusual that only
0:30
two other luxury ships have and finally
0:32
of course i'm going to show you and
0:34
review the cabins from the outside the
0:36
ship looks sleek and modern explorer
0:38
journeys say they're going for a
0:40
yachtlike look i'm not entirely sure
0:42
that they've achieved it but you can see
0:44
where the inspiration comes from so
0:46
let's explore those outside decks the
0:50
ship is absolutely designed for warm
0:51
weather cruising and they've taken an
0:53
approach that increasing numbers of
0:55
modern cruise ships have including
0:56
virgin voyages for example with generous
0:58
amount of outer deck space but it's
1:01
spread around the exterior decks with
1:02
many different spaces and tucked away
1:05
areas rather than large open spaces
1:08
crammed with lounges one miss though for
1:10
me especially for a luxury ship is
1:12
there's no full prominard deck right
1:14
around the ship here is what i actually
1:16
discovered exploring the outside decks
1:19
starting at the top highest and up on
1:21
deck 14 is the sky bar it overlooks the
1:24
rear of the ship it's a beautiful place
1:26
to go on sailaway as they have a dj that
1:28
plays here but also it's a great spot to
1:30
enjoy the views on sunny sea days
1:32
there's also a hot tub up here the first
1:35
of many also on deck 14 is the fitness
1:38
and sports area this is a well stocked
1:40
open air gym here with rowers bikes and
1:43
workout benches which include weights
1:45
they also have two courts for paddle
1:47
tennis and also for basketball down on
1:50
deck 12 you can stroll right around the
1:52
ship if you're missing a prominard deck
1:54
but there's also a walking and running
1:55
track that weaves around most of this
1:57
deck too what about swimming pools there
2:00
are four main ones as well as several
2:02
large hot tubs dotted around the ship on
2:05
deck 12 at the front of the ship is the
2:08
adult only helios adult pool and bar
2:11
which is the only adult area on board
2:13
this is important to note because
2:15
explorer journeys are targeting families
2:18
more than any other luxury line also on
2:21
deck 12 towards the rear are two large
2:23
rectangular hot tubs overlooking each
2:26
side of the ship down on deck 11 is the
2:29
main pool this is the conservatory pool
2:31
and bar it's a goodiz pool with comfy
2:33
seating around it there are also two
2:35
large covered hot tubs on either side
2:38
there's a big screen here where they
2:40
show movies formula 1 and so on
2:43
on deck 10 is the atal pool and bar it's
2:47
at the rear of the ship with seating
2:49
covered areas and a good decentsized
2:53
pool then down on deck 5 is the fourth
2:56
of the main pools this is the stern pool
2:58
and bar it's also at the rear of the
3:00
ship with seating covered areas again
3:02
and an infinity plunge pool it's a great
3:04
space to be on sea days so that's the
3:07
outside decks now let's dive inside the
3:10
ship first the interiors look very smart
3:12
and luxurious the ponte family worked
3:15
with yacht and hotel designers not the
3:17
ship designers that others use and they
3:19
got personally involved in the detail of
3:21
the designs and the decor when entering
3:24
the ship for the first time there is a
3:26
real sense of wow factor as you embark
3:29
on deck four or deck 5 into the grand
3:32
two deck lobby with a feature staircase
3:34
it felt a little bit like what viking
3:35
has done with their statement staircase
3:38
most of the interior venues on explorer
3:40
ships are on these two decks four and
3:42
five and then the rest are up on deck 11
3:45
so let me start with one of the main
3:47
interest that most cruisers have the
3:49
allimportant restaurants and dining all
3:52
but one of the restaurants are included
3:54
within the fair there are six
3:56
restaurants so a lot of choice for a
3:58
small ship luxury cruise line but there
4:00
are also other places to get food at
4:02
various times of the day there's no main
4:06
dining room and there's several
4:08
specialtity restaurants as well the
4:10
alternatives to the main dining room are
4:12
both on deck 4 and they're next to each
4:14
other and neither of these restaurants
4:16
require any booking there's field rouge
4:20
which is a frenchspired international
4:22
cuisine restaurant which is open for
4:24
breakfast and dinner i like to have
4:26
breakfast here and has a really good
4:28
menu range for dinner then there's the
4:30
mediterranean yacht club next door which
4:32
as the name implies focuses on
4:34
mediterranean inspired food it's open
4:36
for dinner every day and on sea days
4:39
it's also open for lunch in both these
4:41
venues the menus do not change but they
4:43
do have daily specials there are three
4:47
specialty restaurants up one deck on
4:49
deck 5 now you're limited to one visit
4:51
per cruise then you can go to them more
4:54
often subject to
4:56
availability first is marvel and co
4:58
which is a european inpired steakhouse
5:00
which as you would expect has pretty
5:02
good stakes and is a great looking venue
5:05
next is my favorite restaurant sakura
5:07
which is an asian fusion restaurant open
5:09
for dinner but importantly it's open for
5:12
lunch on port days it's a really great
5:15
place to go for sushi bento boxes on
5:17
lunch i loved going there for lunch the
5:20
third special restaurant is anthology
5:21
it's an italian special restaurant it's
5:24
expensive it cost me €140 to go there
5:27
plus another €60 if i'd wanted the wine
5:29
pairing for more casual dining there's
5:32
the emporium marketplace up on deck 11
5:34
which is open for breakfast lunch and
5:36
dinner so unlike ultra luxury lines it
5:39
does have a more casual dining option
5:41
for dinner it's a spin on a buffet and
5:44
is more like a food hall with different
5:46
stations themed around things like sushi
5:48
burger pasta and so on much of the food
5:50
is freshly prepared to order and all of
5:52
it is served by the crew it's a great
5:54
venue and a nice take on buffet style
5:58
dining for other food options if you
6:00
didn't have enough already you first got
6:02
kma cafe it's on deck 5 and was one of
6:05
my favorite lounging areas crema cafe is
6:07
a coffee shop it's extremely popular
6:10
especially coffees are included in the
6:11
fair as are all drinks by the way and
6:13
they also have food and snacks based on
6:15
the time of the day and also what's good
6:17
it's open till about 10:00 at night then
6:20
for more snacks there's the geleria and
6:23
crepery near the conservatory pool on
6:26
deck 11 open from roughly midday until
6:29
late afternoon with a great selection of
6:30
telato waffles and crepes you also have
6:34
a great afternoon tea that's served
6:36
every day in the explorer lounge on deck
6:38
11 then of course you can have room
6:40
service and what's good about that is
6:42
you can also order from the restaurants
6:44
if you're ordering in the evening when
6:45
they're open so let's move on to the
6:47
lounges and the bars on the lower level
6:50
of that grand lobby i mentioned earlier
6:52
is the lobby bar it's a greatl looking
6:54
bar and a focal and popular meeting spot
6:56
on the ship around the lobby bar is
6:58
guest relations shore excursions desk
7:00
and the shops more on the shops later
7:03
also on deck four at the front of the
7:05
ship is the journeys lounge this is the
7:07
theater with a large bar here as well it
7:10
has a cabaret theater layout and feel
7:12
rather than being a traditional theater
7:14
it's a beautiful venue hosting the port
7:16
enrichment talks and the evening shows
7:19
one deck up on deck 5 is the stone
7:21
lounge and bar this is where they host
7:23
some of the talks with the smaller
7:24
audiences like the senior officers q&a
7:27
trivia sessions and it's also the
7:28
nightclub after 1000 p.m to find the
7:31
other lounge and bars we need to head up
7:34
to deck 11 where we have the explorer
7:37
lounge this overlooks the bow of the
7:39
ship has windows on three sides and it's
7:41
really great venue for sailing it's also
7:43
the venue where they have that fantastic
7:45
daily afternoon tea that i mentioned and
7:47
in the evening they have live music on
7:49
the port side entrance to the explorer
7:51
lounge is the malt whiskey bar which as
7:53
the name suggests focus on whisies and
7:56
connected to that is a cigar lounge with
7:58
a large cigar selection one of the
8:00
biggest that i've ever seen at sea so
8:03
what are the other facilities on the
8:04
inside of the ship there is a casino
8:07
it's on deck four and while not a
8:09
particularly large casino it has three
8:10
tables including blackjack and roulette
8:12
and a range of slot machines also on
8:15
deck 4 are those shops i mentioned
8:16
earlier these are all very upmarket
8:19
brands in fact on explorer 1 it even has
8:20
a rolex shop you don't have that on
8:22
explorer 2 but you do have other
8:24
high-end brands up on deck 5 is the
8:27
galleria de art art gallery this isn't
8:30
your usual park west cruise ship art
8:32
gallery auctioning artwork but more of
8:34
an exhibition space on explorer 2 this
8:36
was photographs of undersea life by
8:39
hussein ara khan next to that is the mse
8:42
foundation desk mse runs a foundation
8:44
which supports marine welfare and
8:46
various aid groups and this desk inform
8:49
guests about the programs sells
8:51
fundraising merchandise and takes
8:53
donations there is of course a spa with
8:55
hairdresser barber nail bar and the
8:57
usual treatments there's also a
8:59
free-touse thermal spa area which is hot
9:01
beds sauna steam room salt room and
9:03
hydrotherapy pool it's small and could
9:05
be a little bit difficult to get into at
9:07
times though as well as that open air
9:09
gym i mentioned there is a fitness
9:11
center on deck 10 with modern equipment
9:13
it was not large and i did find it could
9:15
get rather busy on c days fitness
9:17
classes are included in the fair on two
9:20
decks are guest laundry rooms these are
9:22
very popular with a couple of washing
9:24
machines dryers and of course space to
9:26
iron on deck 11 is the chef's kitchen
9:29
where they run added charge cooking
9:32
classes connected to the chef's kitchen
9:34
is a dining room where they do host
9:37
occasional special dining events for
9:39
example the captain hosted dinner there
9:41
for around about eight guests once per
9:43
cruise i was actually really fortunate
9:45
to be invited to one on my trip before i
9:48
get into cabins what about that unusual
9:50
venue they have for a luxury ship one of
9:53
the things that explorer journeys has
9:55
that most luxury cruise lines don't is a
9:57
kids club it's called the nautilus club
10:00
and it's for kids aged from six up to
10:02
teenagers of 17 because there's only one
10:04
venue on explorer 1 and two the times
10:06
that they use those venues are divided
10:08
between those two groupings on the next
10:10
ships though they will have separate
10:12
kids clubs by those ages they do run a
10:16
full kids program and they do have quite
10:18
a lot of kids on board in the key school
10:20
vacation and holiday times
10:22
now let's talk about the cabins i
10:26
mentioned there's 461 cabins or with
10:28
balconies and the ship holds 922
10:31
passengers at double occupancy although
10:33
a couple of things to note many of them
10:36
do have sofa beds to accommodate
10:38
families and there are good number of
10:40
interconnecting cabins again with an eye
10:42
for people traveling together something
10:45
that's interesting is that not all of
10:46
them have twin beds that can be made
10:48
into double beds many have fixed queen
10:51
or king-size beds so it's very important
10:53
if you need twin beds that you make sure
10:55
you're booking a cabin that is possible
10:57
to do that they call their cabins homes
11:00
at sea and they have three broad
11:02
categories: ocean terraces pen houses
11:05
and residences let's talk about them in
11:08
more detail ocean terraces are the
11:10
entry-level more standard balcony cabin
11:12
in layout and size they are though a
11:14
good size comparable to other new luxury
11:16
cruise line ships they do have different
11:18
grades from ot1 to ot4 which is
11:21
basically based on location they do also
11:24
have ocean grand terraces which have
11:27
bigger balconies then there are the pen
11:29
houses with the key difference between
11:31
the ocean terraces and the pen houses
11:33
being that those have a separate seating
11:35
area and a separate dining area in the
11:38
higher pen houses grades they also have
11:41
a completely separate bedroom so they're
11:43
effectively one bedroom suit they have
11:46
four types of pen houses regular pen
11:49
houses deluxe pen houses premier pen
11:52
houses and grand pen houses then you
11:55
move up to the residences which are
11:58
larger than the penous they have bigger
11:59
balconies all the balconies have hot
12:01
tubs on them some of them at the rear of
12:03
the ship with wrap round balconies they
12:05
also have butlers or residence hosts as
12:08
they're called in this category are cove
12:11
residences retreat residences serenity
12:14
residences cocoon residences and then
12:17
there's the massive owner's residence
12:19
which also has a large dining room it
12:21
has a plunge pool which faces the rear
12:23
of the ship very glitzy and large all
12:26
the cabins have many amenities including
12:28
fully stock mini bar espresso machine
12:30
kettle refillable water bottles
12:32
binoculars robes premium toiletries and
12:35
so on explore ships really are really
12:37
beautiful they look great from the
12:39
outside they look great and have good
12:40
choices on the inside but to find out
12:42
more about the pros and the cons of
12:45
cruising on explorer journeys join me
12:46
over in this video where i dive into
12:48
that detail see you over there
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