Explora Journeys Caribbean Cruise Review – Day 16: December 27, 2025

Day 16 on Explora Journeys, and we’re officially in wind-down mode. We’ve got two full sea days ahead of us as we make our way back to PortMiami on Monday morning. This has been a very port-heavy itinerary. Outside of the first two full sea days at the very beginning of the trip and these final two at the end, every single day has been a new port. That’s great if you love waking up somewhere new every morning, but after two weeks of dock, walk, wander, repeat, slowing things down and just enjoying the ship feels, well… fantastic!

Since today is a sea day and there’s not much to report on it’s the perfect time to talk food. Because let’s be honest, what is a cruise without food?

Explora I doesn’t have a massive lineup of restaurants like some mega ships, and in Explora Journeys own words, dining here is built around flexibility, quality ingredients, and letting guests eat when and how they want, without rigid schedules or formal dining nonsense. And for the most part, that holds up.

Med Yacht Club and Fil Rouge on Explora Journeys

There are two restaurants onboard that most closely resemble a traditional main dining room experience on other cruise lines: Med Yacht Club and Fil Rouge. Neither requires a reservation, although you can make one in the app if you like structure in your life. Med Yacht Club is inspired by Mediterranean coastal cuisine, while Fil Rouge leans French, with dishes inspired by different regions of France.

Here’s where Explora does things very differently than most cruise lines. The menus in both of these restaurants do not rotate nightly. They stay the same throughout the entire cruise. What changes is that each evening they usually offer a featured starter and a featured entrée that rotate daily. If you’re someone who likes consistency, this works. If you’re someone who wants a completely different menu every night, this might feel limiting.

Between the two, Fil Rouge was hands down my favorite. I ate there multiple times and consistently had very good meals. Med Yacht Club, unfortunately, had one truly disappointing dinner on my second visit, and that experience pretty much shut the door on any desire to go back. It’s hard to recover from a bad meal when you know the menu isn’t going to change.

Marble and Company Grill on Explora Journeys

If neither of those spots is calling your name, Marble & Co. Grill is the ship’s steakhouse and is open for dinner only. This is traditional steakhouse stuff: steaks, seafood, classic sides, that kind of stuff. I ended up eating here more than anywhere else on the ship, and overall it was very good, with only a few rare missteps (including one tonight, which I’ll get into later).

The Marble menu doesn’t change either, although they frequently offer a featured starter or occasionally a special addition to an entrée. Reservations here are pretty much mandatory, and this is where Explora’s reservation system can get annoying fast. If it’s Monday and you make a Marble reservation for Friday, you cannot make another Marble reservation until that Friday reservation is used. Same rule applies to Sakura. Yes, it’s frustrating, it limits flexibility, and it’s something you need to plan around early in the cruise.

Sakura on Explora Journeys

Sakura is the ship’s Asian restaurant and is probably the most talked-about venue pre-cruise. It offers a dinner menu focused on pan-Asian dishes along with a separate sushi menu, which is also available on select days for lunch. There’s a regular dining room and a sushi bar, which can sometimes be easier to get into without a reservation.

Here’s the reality check though: the sushi served at Sakura is the exact same sushi available at the Emporium Marketplace (buffet) during lunch and dinner. So unless you specifically want to sit at a sushi bar, there’s nothing here you can’t already get elsewhere on the ship, on your own schedule. For me, Sakura ended up being the most disappointing restaurant onboard.

Emporium Marketplace Buffet on Explora Journeys

Now let’s talk about the Emporium Marketplace, which is Explora’s version of a buffet, although calling it a buffet doesn’t really do it justice. This is a market-style dining venue with multiple stations for fresh seafood, sushi, pizza, pasta, carving meats, burgers, salads, and more. Everything is plated and served to you. There is no self-service food here at all, and in many cases, items are cooked fresh while you wait.

One very important thing to note: the Emporium is not open all day. It serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner during set hours, and outside of those windows, there is no food available there. If you miss the window, you miss the window. This is something to pay attention to in the daily planner so you don’t find yourself wandering around hungry and confused.

That said, the quality and consistency here is fabulous, and for many guests, the Emporium could easily handle most of their dining needs throughout the cruise.

One thing I genuinely appreciate about dining on Explora is that all food is included, except for one very special spot, Anthology.  There are no upcharge menu items, no premium steaks, no “pay extra for this cut” nonsense. What’s on the menu is what you get, without a bill.

When the Emporium is closed, and you’re just looking for something light, Crema Café fills the gap. This is the ship’s coffee bar and it offers pastries, cookies, finger sandwiches, panini, and charcuterie before dinner, along with other small bites throughout the day. It’s not meant to replace a meal, but it absolutely saves you when hunger hits at an awkward time.

Anthology on Explora Journeys

The one restaurant that sits at the very top of Explora I’s dining list is Anthology. This is the ship’s fine-dining Italian experience and the only restaurant onboard that comes with a cover charge. Dinner here is $160 per person, with an optional wine pairing that adds another $70 per person, so this is not a casual “let’s see what’s open” kind of meal.

Anthology is a small, intimate space with seating for around 50 people, and the experience is a multi-course tasting menu designed by Italian chefs, with a heavy focus on premium ingredients and presentation. While it’s not technically marketed as a chef’s table, that’s really the closest comparison. Courses are small, beautifully plated, and meant to be savored rather than rushed, and depending on pacing and table size, dinner can easily run two to two and a half hours. This is not the place to book if you’re trying to squeeze in a show right after.

What sets Anthology apart isn’t just the food, but the overall experience. Service is very hands-on, the sommelier plays a big role if you opt for the wine pairing, and each course is explained as it’s delivered. You’re not just being fed, you’re being guided through the meal. Some courses absolutely shine more than others, and not every dish will be a home run for every guest, but the level of execution, creativity, and attention is on a completely different tier compared to the rest of the ship.

If you’re the type who enjoys long, drawn-out tasting menus, appreciates high-end ingredients like wagyu and caviar, and likes the idea of wine pairings chosen for you, then it’s a worthwhile splurge at least once during the cruise. If you’re more of a “give me a great steak and a cocktail and I’m happy” person, Marble & Co. will probably fit just fine without the added cost.

For me, Anthology felt like a true special-occasion restaurant. Not something I’d do multiple times on one sailing, but something I’m glad I experienced, and you can read my review of dinner on Christmas Eve, here.

And finally, there’s 24/7 room service. You can dine in your suite or on your balcony any time of day or night, and once again, there are no additional charges for room service either.

So that’s the food situation on Explora I in a nutshell. Not a massive number of venues, but thoughtfully executed, mostly consistent, and refreshingly free of nickel-and-diming.

Legendary Super Tuscany Lunch at Anthology on Explora Journeys

Now, speaking of Anthology, today they hosted a special events that happens once per cruise: the Legendary Super Tuscan Lunch. This one runs $260 per person and includes a five-course meal paired with Super Tuscan wines. It’s held in Anthology and lasts right around two hours. And before I go any further, there’s one very important thing I need to mention upfront that I did not know until I was physically walked to my seat: this is a shared-table experience.

If you love meeting new people, you’ll probably enjoy that.

If you’re me, and you prefer to eat in peace and not have to make small talk with strangers who you will never see again, this is… not ideal.

That aside, this is a lot of food and a lot of wine. If you’re thinking about doing this lunch, skip breakfast. And depending on how things go, you may want to rethink dinner as well. Once everyone was seated, the cellar master and sommelier introduced themselves, explained how the lunch would work, and walked through what wines were being poured and why.

The first course paired Ferrari Perlé Milledesimato with toasted whole wheat bread and salmon gravlax. The salmon was fresh, lightly marinated, and this course didn’t feel heavy, and the wine was bubbly and easy to drink. I’m not going to pretend I picked up on a dozen tasting notes. What I can tell you is that it tasted clean, refreshing, and didn’t smack you in the face right out of the gate.

Course two brought out Tignanello with a porcini mushroom risotto. The risotto was rich, creamy, and very filling, and the wine had noticeably more body to it. Still smooth, but clearly stepping things up a notch.

The third course featured Brunello di Montalcino paired with parmesan-crusted chicken. This was probably the most “safe” course of the meal. However, the chicken was overcooked and dry, but the wine tasted warm, smooth, and very drinkable.

Course four featured Ornellaia paired with Beef Rossini. Beef tenderloin, Madeira sauce, seared foie gras… this was the heavy part of the lunch. The beef was incredibly tender, and even tho I’m not a fan of foie gras, it did add some extra richness but I couldn’t eat more than a few bites of it. This was the boldest wine pairing so far.

The final course paired Sassicaia with a dark chocolate and blueberry dessert. The dessert wasn’t overly sweet and neither was the wine, which helped keep things balanced, and at this point you’re ready to be rolled out of the restaurant and right into bed.

So was the Legendary Super Tuscan Lunch worth it?

If you enjoy long, structured wine lunches, don’t mind shared tables, and want something that feels like a true “event,” then yes, this is probably right up your alley. For me, I’m glad I did it once, but it’s not something I’d rush to book again.

And yes… dinner was absolutely optional after this.

Dinner at Marble and Company Grill and Wrap Up

Since that was a whole lot of food talk, let’s wrap it up with a quick note about tonight’s dinner at Marble & Company Grill, because unfortunately this was the first time the place actually let me down.

I ordered the Ibérico de Bellota roasted pork rack, which I’ve had before and it was cooked perfectly. Tonight I went with it again and asked for it medium rare. What showed up at the table looked the part, but eating it was another story. It was tough as nails and somehow also dry, which is kind of impressive in the worst way possible. After a few bites I was done.

My server immediately noticed something was up and sent the manager over. He apologized, which was appreciated, but then followed it up with, “You should have gotten something else, the pork isn’t that good.” Wait, what. That’s not exactly something you want to hear. If the pork isn’t that good, maybe don’t keep it on the menu, or at least don’t admit it.

So yeah, I called it a night, skipped dessert, and headed out.

Tomorrow is the last day of the cruise and we’ll be spending it at sea. In tomorrow’s report I’m doing the overall wrap-up of this trip and my honest take on Explora Journeys after 17 days onboard.

As always, thanks for following along.

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