4 Nights A Journey of Moorish Citadels & Flamenco rhythms Cruise

Fantastic Trip on Explora 2

As frequent satisfied MSC Yacht Club cruisers we were excited to learn of the Explora Journeys line offered by MSC. If you are a Haven, Yacht Club, Retreat etc. type person you are going to like this offering. Essentially it is the Yacht Club/Haven/Retreat experience on a larger ship. The ship is stunning with elegant finishes and beautiful art. It feels right sized. At capacity it can carry about 900 guests. The crew to guest ratio is advertised as 1.25 to 1. It was never hard to get service in the restaurants, bars or at the pool. Guests were mostly older (55 plus) but there were a fair number of younger couples, the older folks tended to be American with the younger crowd mostly European. There were unconfirmed sightings of a few children but I did not see them with my own eyes. All cabins have balconies, and a standard cabin is large. Cabins have plenty of storage, all have a bed and a sofa. There is separate closet area with a vanity mirror that you walk through to get to the bathroom. You will find chilled champagne waiting to help you with unpacking. Once finished I was quite pleased with my clothing organization. There are night lights in the nightstands that turn on when your feet hit the floor, nice touch. Also, the heated floors and night light in the bathroom were appreciated features. The room didn’t get as cool as I would like but closing the sliding door to the closet/bathroom area helped the room to cool down a bit more. Feeling settled we went out for a delicious dinner (more on the food later) and a few martinis I plopped into the bed and immediately drifted off to sleep. As the Gin wore off I woke up to find my balcony door groaning loudly with every movement of the ship. I tried all the usual fixes, open it, close it, lean against it, try to shim it with the daily program. No luck the door continued its protestations. I lied awake cursing the door until daylight and then made a bee line to guest services. They were great, maintenance was in my room in 10 minutes. He tried all my tricks to no avail but having tools he was able to mount a more focused assault on the insubordinate door. This mainly consisted of wedging screwdrivers and other metal objects into vulnerable areas in the door frame. After 15 minutes the maintenance man realized that he was defeated, the door seemed to laugh at him as he retreated to guest services to report his humiliation. Trusting that guest services would make this right we decided to visit the gym on 10 and squeeze in a quick workout. We found it well equipped with free weights, machines, three bikes, a rower, two striders and two treadmills. For you Pilates people (Pilatians?) the presence of two full sized reformers should make you feel guilty enough to work out a few times on the trip. As a bonus there are three rowers three bikes and some of those little workout boxes outside on deck 14. As we worked out plodding on the treadmill and banging our free weights on the floor I commented to my wife how happy I was that my room was not under the gym, the noise must be terrible. We took a couple of laps around the walking track on 12 and then headed back down to guest services to learn our stateroom fate. Knowing the ship was not completely full I was hoping to get bumped to a massive suite. This did not happen but Anna the manager was great. She found a nice room for us 4 doors down the hall from our current room right under the Gym. While I appreciated the gym proximity the banging and trudging coming from above would certainly make my naps less enjoyable. We rejected this room and they found another on the other side of the ship. Finding it to be a quiet room we accepted it. They even offered to move all our stuff for us. We declined but the staff helped us anyway with our hanging clothes. They gave us a bottle of wine for our troubles which helped ease the pain of the second unpacking. The new room proved to be a great location. It is the last room on the hall. Turn right and you are at the pool on 10, up one flight buffet, gym across the elevator lobby. The free laundry was just down the hall. Prime real estate to be sure. It was about lunchtime, so we headed up to the Buffet on 11. Wow…. Sushi daily, salads made to order, fresh handmade pasta with elevated sauces, pizza, cheeses, ceviche the choices were extensive, and the food was excellent. In the evening the buffet has oysters and crab claws. We cancelled two of our reservations just to eat in the buffet for dinner. It is a little unclear but the “main dining” restaurants are the Med Yacht Club and Fil Rouge on 4. Their menus are similar and the food and service in both was good. Sakura is Asian themed with a great Sushi selection and other dishes that did not disappoint. We had two dinners here and one lunch. Anthology is the up-charge restaurant with really nice ambiance and a wine pairing that was delicious. The steakhouse Marble and Co. was delicious. Overall, the food was better than even what I have had in the Yacht Club on MSC or the Haven on Norwegian. The service was always excellent. As with any MSC ship don’t miss the Gelato on 11. Lots of options for after dinner drinks. Lobby bar on 4 is not cozy but it is nice and sleek. The Explora Lounge on 11 has a singer/pianist/string music and is dark and loungy. The Whisky Bar is fun for upgraded cocktails (get a drink with the smoke bubble). The Astern Lounge is the after dark gathering place for the young folks to laugh and point at the dancing skills of their elders. The Astern lounge bartenders were the best on board. As bourbon people we were a little disappointed by the selection of Bullet, Makers, Woodford and Jack. You could pay and upcharge for Woodford Double Oaked. Despite this we were able to find something drinkable without too much difficulty. We had excellent weather with lots of opportunities for pool lounging. There are three outdoor pools on board and one indoor outdoor. While all bars are not near pools all pools are near bars. Bar staff will make sure that you don’t become dehydrated as you bake in the sun. Helios pool on 12 is “adults only” which is an unnecessary designation on this ship. It can be a bit windy up there depending on conditions and speed of the ship. The pools on 10 and 5 are both nice. There was not a lot of chair sharking going on and for the most part there were always loungers available. There are also loungers all around the deck on 12 with some in shade and some in sun depending on your preference. The indoor/outdoor pool tended to be overrun by the senior citizen crowd and could get a little raucous. While small, the casino proved quite effective at separating me and my money. At first glance there were two blackjack tables, a roulette table and various slots. If you ask nicely they will convert a table to Ultimate Texas Hold-em. If you are a serious gambler looking for Vegas at sea you will be disappointed. I would recommend Haven/Yacht Club/Retreat where you get a full-sized casino with a small ship feel. Stressed from my casino losses I decided to seek peace in the Spa. The thermal area is free and effective at melting away your stress. The steam room, Finnish sauna, salt room, whirlpool and heart stoppingly cold showers with special scents will help you forget the tiny casino. If that does not do it the spa offers massages, facials, nails and other beauty treatments. Price for these services was in line with other luxury lines and a little more than what I have seen on NCL, MSC and RC. What about the ports? As always these are what you make of them. Most of the time I am just as happy to enjoy the empty ship while everyone is ashore sweating in the heat. When we tendered it seemed that we anchored a ways out necessitating a 20 minute lifeboat ride to shore. Not my favorite way to spend 20 minutes. This is a great ship and from what I can see a great cruise line. Ship awesome, staff great, food great at a good price. Overall, I would highly recommend for any traveler looking for an upscale experience.

Best service ever received anywhere!

Been on several cruises and this one was the best ever for service, food and accommodations on board! If you go to the Marketplace and pick a table, the servers will e asking you if you want water (still or sparkling) or something else to drink. When you get up to leave, they will be cleaning your table before you get 10 steps away. I can't say enough about the room, food, service, friendly servers, ease of getting off and on the ship and fact that everything is included with only a few extra experiences requiring any extra money. I would have liked to see one sports bar on the ship as it was football playoff time, but the only way we could watch was on a tablet or laptop over WiFi which is great by the way). I know its a classy ship but one sports bar please. Also, while the entertainment was enjoyable, it was lacking in my opinion. They had a group of 6 singers that performed every night. They were good, not great. They could have had 3 or 4 and had a comedian or magician or some skits or something. And while you can always fins a poolside lounger, you can't always find one at the pool you necessarily want to be around. There was still some lounge hawking by some because there was a group that wanted to hang out together all the time. All in all though, it was an amazing experience. I'm ready to book another, although maybe not to the caribbean, kind of tired of that.

Best Cruise Ever

The Ship: Beautiful, clean, easy to navigate. Plenty of space to sit and enjoy a drink or read a book. We cruised at about 82% capacity and it still felt like we were on a private yacht. The Cabin: We were in Cabin a basic OT1 which is the lowest price on the ship. It was more than adequate in size and the layout was great. The heated floor in the bathroom was awesome. A large single sink with lots of storage room, and a large shower with dual heads and a bench. Toiletries (shampoo etc.) were nice, but not the best we’ve had. A Dyson hair dryer was much appreciated. The toilet design was great and it was the best flushing toilet we’ve ever had. Entertainment: Each night there was a highlighted show in the Journeys Lounge. These shows were awesome every night and far better than what we were expecting based on reviews. The venue was never full so seating was always available. The bar service was provided by waiters who constantly walked about the room looking to serve. There was a fair amount of other musical entertainment in different lounges and areas around the ship, and several karaoke nights as well. Dining: Far and away the best we’ve ever had on a cruise ship. However, if the ship is more than half full you’ll probably only get to dine at a reasonable time once during your cruise at Marble and at Sakura. If you’re lucky, you may get a second visit at 8:45pm. But fear not the Fil Rouge, Med Yacht Club and the Emporium Marketplace always have seating available. We loved all 5 restaurants except for Med Yacht Club which had a menu that was not attractive to us. And yes, it’s true, unlimited cold water lobster tails each night in the Emporium. Drinks and Bar Service: While drinks were always available both at the bar and from servers who were everywhere, we found the mixed drinks not as good as on other ships. No idea why. Fortunately, the bartenders were happy to take instructions from guests as to how they wanted drinks made. As for the wine list, we were not impressed. Very limited selection of complimentary wines by the glass and even the extra cost wine selection was lacking. Not a single bottle of German Riesling on the entire ship. Pools and Hot Tubs: There were plenty of them and they were not crowded. The hot tubs on the open decks weren’t very hot. Hot tubs by the conservatory pool were semi-hot. The hot tub in the wellness spa area was very warm but still not hot. Of course none of the pools are heated. Lounge Chairs: As you find on virtually all ships, the “best” chairs were claimed early in the morning and “reserved” for the entire day by placement of a book or a flip-flop. Regardless, there were always plenty of lounge chairs available both in the sun and in the shade. Staff: By far the friendliest and most efficient of any cruise we’ve been on. Excursions: A word of caution. The Explora sponsored excursions sell out way in advance. This despite what I would consider to be very high pricing, Spa Treatments: We didn’t have any, so no comment. In-Cabin Entertainment: The usual (few) MSC TV channels. At least they had Fox News. Occasionally they would show the NFL playoff games but you really had to channel surf to find them. Quite a large variety of free movies. Captain’s Announcements: As is true of most cruises, we could only understand a few words here and there. Fellow Passengers: As expected, older and pretty quiet. Less than a dozen children on our cruise including teens. We tend to keep to ourselves, but did have nice conversations with guests at next table at dinners. Embarkation and Debarkation: By far the quickest and easiest of any cruise we’ve been on including the MSC Yacht Club. Final Thoughts: Best cruise we’ve ever been on. Book soon because they are raising prices at a rapid pace.