I've been telling my friends for weeks now, “if you’ve ever dreamed of sailing on an all-suites, all inclusive, luxury cruise line but thought you couldn’t afford it- now is your chance!” There are so many new players in the luxury cruise market segment; new cruise lines and new ships are being added every month. This rapid expansion has led to an aggressive price war to retain loyal clients and win new passengers. And guess who wins in a price war? You do!
Here is a great example. Explora Journeys is a brand new all-suites, luxury line that is dedicated to pampering their clients with elegant ships, 5-star resort style service, interesting and unique ports of call and the very best food at sea. We have sailed on Explora Journeys twice recently and we agree, their food is the best at sea!
Explora 1 holds 922 guests and the ship is designed to look and feel like a luxury European boutique hotel – and it really does. Here is the Lobby Bar on the ship. One of my favorite places to meet our friends for a drink before dinner and talk about our day while listening to beautiful live piano music. Once you get on the ship- you put your wallet away. All food and all beverages are included, as is the wifi. They use Starlink which provides fast internet service. Since we need to be able to run our business from anywhere on the planet- we were delighted to find out that Starlink lives up to the hype of being fast and reliable at sea.
All the entertainment is included and it is top quality. They invite experts in various fields onboard to give lectures and those "luminaries" are often seen during the cruise hanging out with guests, sharing fascinating conversations a drink or a meal. They have outstanding live entertainment during the day and shows at night. Although they do not have the traditional Broadway style shows, we found their variety of entertainment thoroughly enjoyable.
Explora 1 has 5 amazing dining venues- all included- Sakura (Asian), Fil Rouge (French), Med Yacht Club (Mediterranean), Marble and Company (steak and seafood), Emporium Marketplace (very upscale European food market), plus the Crema Café (coffee drinks and light snacks) and a Gelato and Creperie outdoor dining cafe. I loved the hazelnut gelato with fudge topping.
If you are celebrating something special, you may want to splurge and reserve a night at Anthology where the guest Michelin starred chef will create a fabulous 7 course dinner for you. Go ahead and add the wine pairing. Both the chef and the sommelier will visit your table throughout the evening to explain what you are being served and make sure you are enjoying every moment. That evening is a bit spendy (about 200 euros each for the dinner and wine pairings) but we thought it was totally worth it!
Love to cook and the idea of taking a cooking class from a top chef sounds awesome? You could enjoy the Chef’s kitchen where you can take a cooking class with the chef and then enjoy sharing the meal together as a class – and, you get to keep the recipes and the apron. One of our group members took a cooking class and had a ball.
The small, yacht style ship is intentionally designed to go into the smaller ports where the big ships can’t go. Here is a great example of a fascinating itinerary: dreaming of seeing the Parthenon and Acropolis, taking your picture in front of the gorgeous blue domed churches in Mykonos and Santorini, standing where Paul preached in Ephesus? How about - Athens to Athens. Sept 27-Oct 5, 2024. Athens, Mykonos, Santorini, Patmos (where the apostle John wrote the book of Revelation), Volos, Syros, and Ephesus (visit where Paul preached to the Ephesians.) Prices for this all-suites, all-inclusive 8-day journey begin at $4400 per person, double occupancy. (See what I mean about price? Wow!) And, until April 30- you get 400 euro credits per stateroom to use on board (can you say Spa treatment?)
You can check out Explora Journeys’ unique and itineraries here: www.explorajourneys.com. Then give us a call.
We are ready to help you plan your next fabulous adventure.