This fledgling cruise line wants to become the world's ‘number one luxury brand'

'How many weeks are you onboard for?'
It was my first evening on board, and already the third time I'd been asked. This time it was Torren, a well-dressed Danish guest, posing the apparently common question.
He and his wife, Suzanne, were enjoying their second week on Explora II, he told me – while Elise, a solo traveller from Toronto, had booked to stay onboard for a further fortnight after our cruise from Barbados to Puerto Rico concluded.
Meanwhile, Elena and Thomas, a late 30-something couple, told me they were 'just doing a week for now,' as they'd left their young son with his grandparents.
Clearly, Explora Journeys – the new ultra-luxury arm of the MSC Group, founded by Italian shipping family Aponte Vago – has won a legion of fans since its inception in 2021, something evidenced both by my onboard encounters, and the slew of awards the brand has scooped up.
Keen to see if it lived up to the hype, I joined Explora II (the line's unimaginatively named second ship, launched in 2023), for four nights – a number that garnered sympathetic expressions from Torren, Thomas, Elena, and Elise – as she sailed a weeklong Caribbean voyage.
Despite the 922-passenger ship's bland name – Explora III, Explora IV, Explora V, and Explora VI are slated to follow over the next few years – she looks, it must be said, anything but.
Explora 11's exterior is an elegant navy, and from a distance, the vessel resembles a superyacht (perhaps not a surprise, given that its aquiline profile was crafted by veteran British yacht designer Martin Francis).
Step onboard, however, and it's like walking into a five-star resort.
There's a glittering white-and-gold, double-height Lobby Bar with a back-lit drinks wall; open air Sky bar; bespoke artwork by Emilio Isgrò and Yves Dana dotted around the decks; ​​four Insta-worthy swimming pools – one with a retractable rooftop; numerous hot tubs; and upmarket shops in the shape of Piaget, Panerai, Cartier and Buccallati.
Elsewhere, the cabins are all suites – starting at a spacious 35 sq m for an entry-level 'ocean terrace suite', the category I opted for. Enormous – almost as large as my south London flat – despite the entry-level badge, with a king size bed, Frette linens, Steiner binoculars, a walk-in dressing area featuring a powerful Dyson hairdryer, marble bathroom with underfloor heating and bespoke Mandala Blue toiletries; and a separate living area leading to a terrace, complete with supremely comfortable Manutti daybed.
Guests who successfully manage to leave their neutral-hued suites (a challenge in itself) can opt to detox in the spa – where a 60-minute intensive muscle release massage (£194) saw the knots in my neck expertly worked out by Gineesh's nimble hands – or extensive workout areas filled with swanky Technogym equipment, before retoxing in the ship's 12 bars and six restaurants.
Over a coffee in ​​Crema Cafe – the heart of Explora II that's invariably packed with guests gossiping, tucking into freshly baked cakes, and tapping away on laptops – general manager, Marco van Belleghem, proudly informed me that 'the feedback from the guests for our food has been unbelievable.
'We get so many positive comments. Unlike other cruise lines, we only have individual restaurants, each with their own identity and all included in the fare.'
The most casual dining venue is Emporium Marketplace – an upmarket buffet which became my go-to spot for lunch (think salads, stone-baked pizzas and every kind of pasta imaginable).
Marble & Co, meanwhile, is the ship's smart steakhouse (lobster and Black Angus beef on tap, so to speak), while the menu at Med Yacht Club has a Mediterranean flavour, and French-inspired Fil Rouge serves dishes such as fish soup and prawn risotto.
The pan-Asian Sakura, however, was the stand-out. Here I sat at the sushi counter with a fellow solo traveller, Susan from Wisconsin, and grazed on plump gyoza and a tender, crunchy seaweed salad – while watching the chefs at work in the open kitchen.
There's an extra charge (£118) for 'elevated Italian fine-dining' restaurant Anthology, which I wasn't willing to pay. However the newly retired Susan, who took herself 'as a treat', raved about the service, and the seven course Italian menu which included a radicchio risotto she claimed was 'superior to anything I've eaten in a top London or New York hotel.'
Susan – like Torontonians Andrea and Paul and so many other guests I spoke to – was new to cruising, and attracted to Explora II for what it is not: blaring night clubs, blingy casinos, and petty extra charges (even tips are included).
Instead these guests – educated, well-travelled and appreciative of fine living – relished the low-key evening entertainment (a pianist tinkled at a Steinway in the lobby bar, while West End veteran Zoe Tyler received a standing ovation in Journeys Lounge), sense of space and impressive ratio of 1.25:1 guest-to-crew (or 'hosts', as Explora calls them).
Van Belleghem positively beamed when I relayed all this to him over coffee. 'We're not trying to attract passengers from other cruise lines,' explained the affable Dutchman – who spent 16 years working for Holland America and also enjoyed a stint on land in the Netherlands at a small hotel chain.
'Our owners, the Aponte Vago family, have created a very unique product. I mean, Explora II doesn't even feel like a ship, does it? We are completely different from any other cruise line.'
Arguably none more so than MSC Cruises, Explora Journeys' big (MSC World America will be able to accommodate a whopping 6,762 passengers when it launches in April), bold and bling-tastic older sister.
'Absolutely,' he agreed. 'But where Explora Journeys differs is that we're not just another luxury cruise line: we're one that's here to transform the way people think about cruising.'
One of the ways the brand is trying to do this is by focusing on e​​xperiential travel – Explora uses the word 'experiences' rather than 'excursions' – visiting lesser-known ports, and then staying longer.
'On our last cruise, we called at the ABC islands. In Aruba and Bonaire, we stayed until 9pm; and in Curaçao we were there until 11pm,' shared Van Belleghem. 'We want our guests to experience the various destinations we go to.'
In St Lucia, I signed up for Explora's 'Scenic west coast hike with a chocolate tasting' experience (£100): a hike along the Tet Paul nature trail to see the island's icons – the Unesco-protected Pitons, a pair of pointy peaks on the south-west coast – with charismatic local guide, Vina, followed by a tree-to-bar tour that took us through the whole process of cacao production (from grafting a tree to tasting the pulp and roasting the beans to make a bar).
In Bequia, I opted to explore independently and followed the path from Port Elizabeth to Lower Bay – a beautiful stretch of pale gold sand that I had almost entirely to myself.
But it wasn't all smooth sailing – there were small wrinkles, amongst them that my suite was serviced once a day rather than the promised twice, and that I had to leave a note requesting the shower gel dispenser be refilled.
First-world problems, I know, but if Explora wants to fulfill its aim of becoming – as Van Belleghem told me – 'the number one luxury brand in the world', then these are issues that will need to be ironed out.
Fix them and – judging from the hive of activity I observed at the future cruise desk – the line's future looks as bright as the Caribbean sun.
Essentials
Kaye Holland was a guest of Explora Journeys (0800 031 8935), which offers a Bridgetown to San Juan sailing from £3,200 per person, including an ocean terrace suite, drinks, meals, Wi-Fi and gratuities. Excludes flights.

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