Explora Journeys Caribbean Cruise Review – Day 3: December 14, 2025

Day 3 onboard Explora Journeys’ Explora I, and once again we’re spending the day at sea as we continue making our way toward our first port of call, La Romana in the Dominican Republic, where we’re scheduled to arrive Monday morning at 8:00am.

Yesterday I spent some time answering questions from readers, and today I want to tackle one that I’ve been asked a lot already, which is simply, “How do you like it so far?”

It’s a broad question, but it’s a fair one. And while I’m only on day 3 and with 15 more days still ahead, we all know that first impressions matter. Those early impressions tend to form opinions quickly, whether good or bad.

Keeping it real, my first impression can be summed up in one word: WOW!

So far, I’ve been pretty impressed, and there’s still a lot more to experience. I absolutely love my suite. The food has been great so far. Service has been impeccable. The crew, across the board, has been incredibly friendly, professional, and genuinely engaging. And the ship itself is simply stunning. If I’m being honest, it really does feel like living in a five-star hotel at sea.

Between the décor, the artwork, the overall design, the furnishings, and just how clean everything is at all times, Explora I is consistently living up to what you expect when you hear the word “luxury.” Everywhere you turn, it feels intentional and well thought out.

That said, no cruise experience is perfect, and while none of this is deal-breaking or diminishing my enjoyment, there are two things worth mentioning, both related to dining.

As I mentioned yesterday, there are two restaurants that do not require reservations: Med Yacht Club and Fil Rouge. These are the two venues you’re realistically going to dine in the most, unless you want to lean heavily on the Emporium Marketplace, which is the ship’s elevated take on a buffet. It’s very well done, but I personally prefer sitting down and being served rather than walking station to station.

Then there are two specialty restaurants that require reservations: Marble & Company Grill, the steakhouse, and Sakura, the Asian restaurant. On top of that, there’s Anthology, the $250 per person multi-course Italian dining experience.

If you want to dine at Marble or Sakura, you really need to make your reservation either in advance or as soon as possible once onboard. The reason is simple: once you make one reservation at either of those restaurants, you’re done. You cannot book another reservation for that venue for the remainder of the cruise.

For example, I booked Marble & Company Grill for Christmas night, which means I am now completely locked out of making any additional reservations there. My options at this point are to keep checking to see if they’re accepting walk-ups, which so far has resulted in “we’re fully booked,” or to wait it out and hope something opens up. The other option, of course, is to make friends with the host or stop by the restaurant reservations desk and see what kind of magic they might be able to work.

The other thing worth mentioning is related to Fil Rouge and Med Yacht Club. Since these are the restaurants you’ll likely be dining in the most, the fact that the menus do not rotate can become noticeable on a longer journey like this one. Yes, they do add a featured entrée and usually a starter or two each day to keep things interesting, but the core menu stays the same. Over time, that can start to feel a bit repetitive.

You might be thinking, “Just go to the Emporium.” And sure, that’s an option, but again, I prefer a traditional sit-down dining experience in the evenings. With limited access to repeat reservations at Marble and Sakura, it can start to feel a bit restrictive.

These are minor issues, and I want to be very clear about that. They are not taking away from my enjoyment of the cruise in any meaningful way. But on a long sailing like this, they are things you notice, and I think they’re worth mentioning.

Overall, three days in, I’m extremely happy with this experience. Explora I has made a very strong first impression, and I’m looking forward to seeing how that holds up as we move through the rest of the voyage.

The Chef’s Kitchen: A Hands-On Culinary Experience

Since we’re talking about food, I want to highlight something.  Explora Journeys not only serves great meals – they let you make them too. It’s called Chef’s Kitchen, and it’s a series of hands-on cooking experiences offered onboard.

The Chef’s Kitchen isn’t just a demonstration where you watch someone cook. It’s an immersive, hands-on class held in a private, ocean-front kitchen space where you and up to a dozen other guests actually prepare dishes under the guidance of world-class chefs. You’re cooking real food, learning real techniques, and in many cases using ingredients that reflect the destinations the ship is visiting.

Each session is based around a theme, whether it’s Italian classics, French techniques, Spanish tapas, or ceviche creations from the Americas. You’re not just following a recipe, you’re learning where the food comes from, how to balance flavors, and what makes certain dishes truly stand out.

What makes Chef’s Kitchen especially fun is that it isn’t just a lesson. After the hands-on portion, the experience usually ends with you sitting down to enjoy the dishes you’ve prepared, often paired with wines selected by the onboard sommeliers. You leave not only with a better understanding of how the dish is made but also a pretty satisfying meal.

This experience comes with an extra cost and is not included in your cruise fare, and because only about 12 guests participate in each class, sessions tend to fill up quickly once you’re onboard.

Below is the Chef’s Kitchen schedule from the printed program for the portion of the cruise that has been released so far (through 20 December 2025). I’ll update this once the next schedule drops.

Dinner at Med Yacht Club on Explora Journeys

Continuing on with the food theme, let’s roll right into dinner. Since this was another sea day and the daily activity schedule, which you can see at the bottom of the post, isn’t exactly bursting with wall-to-wall activities on Explora, I spent most of the day doing exactly what this ship encourages you to do. I bounced between different outdoor venues, soaked up the views, and enjoyed a few cocktails until it was time to head back to the suite and get ready for dinner.

I pulled another early dinner tonight since I had yet another tasting experience lined up later in the evening. I walked over to Med Yacht Club around 7:45pm and was seated immediately without any wait. My server came over, introduced himself, explained the evening’s featured dishes, and almost instantly a bread basket appeared in front of me. I’m over bread, but bread is clearly not over me. I’d love to say we’re breaking up soon, but let’s be honest, that’s just not going to happen.

I started the meal with the Acorn-fed Ibérico de Bellota ham “Cinco Jotas” D.O.P. Jabugo, which is essentially the holy grail of Spanish ham. This is what’s often referred to as Pata Negra, made from free-range Iberian pigs that are fed a diet heavy in acorns, giving the meat its rich, nutty flavor. It was served simply as a plate of thinly sliced ham with a few small breadsticks, and honestly, it didn’t need anything else. Sinfully delicious is the only way to describe it.

Next up was the grilled halloumi cheese salad, which was exactly what I was in the mood for. Halloumi is a semi-hard cheese traditionally from Cyprus that doesn’t melt when grilled, giving it a light crispy exterior and a soft, salty interior. This version was paired with roasted peppers, marinated zucchini, cherry tomatoes, arugula, Kalamata olives, and a Greek yogurt-lemon sauce.

For the main, I went with something I don’t order all that often: fish. But when Dover sole is on the menu, it’s basically a non-negotiable. On Explora, it’s filleted tableside, and their version comes “alla puttanesca,” with roasted cherry tomatoes, olives, capers, lemon sauce, and chive potatoes. When the dish arrived, it was presented in a copper pan and deboned right at the table by my server. From the very first forkful, it was something special. The fish was light, delicate, and incredibly flavorful.

I also ordered a side of the stuffed pasta of the day, which happened to be osso buco ravioli. Having already had the osso buco earlier in the cruise, I had a pretty good feeling about these, and they did not disappoint. The filling was rich and they were finished with the same sauce used for the osso buco, which brought the whole dish together perfectly.

Once again, it was a winning meal. Attentive but not intrusive service, a relaxed atmosphere, and absolutely no feeling of being rushed. In fact, I started getting a little nervous about the time since I had an important appointment at 9:00pm, but I managed to wrap things up just in time for what came next…

Cognac & Cigars

Tonight’s late-night stop was the $110 Cognac and Cigar Tasting, held once again at the ship’s Malt Whisky Bar, which also includes a dedicated cigar lounge. This experience was hosted by Emmanuel, the same bartender who led last night’s Whisky and Chocolate pairing and who clearly knows his stuff. You can see the full list of beverage-focused experiences offered onboard below, but this one immediately caught my attention.

For this event, we were tucked into the cigar lounge itself, and it ended up being just two of us and Emmanual, which made it feel incredibly personal. Emmanuel kicked things off by walking us through the history of cognac, how it’s made, where it comes from, and why it’s different from other spirits. Cognac, as he explained, is a type of brandy that must come from the Cognac region of France and is distilled from specific white grapes, then aged in French oak barrels.

He also broke down the different classifications, which was helpful even for someone like me who doesn’t normally drink cognac. VS, or Very Special, means the youngest spirit in the blend has been aged at least two years. VSOP, or Very Superior Old Pale, means a minimum of four years. XO, or Extra Old, now requires at least ten years of aging, though many are aged much longer. As you move up, the spirit becomes smoother, richer, and more complex, but also significantly more expensive.

As part of the experience, we were smoking a Davidoff Grand Cru No. 2 cigar, which paired beautifully with the cognacs being poured. The tasting included three selections: Hennessy VSOP, Hennessy XO, and the star of the night, Hennessy Paradis, which is both incredibly delicious and incredibly expensive. Each pour was discussed in detail, with Emmanuel explaining the flavor profiles, aging, and what to look for as you sip.

All three were excellent in their own way, but Hennessy Paradis really stood out. It was smooth, layered, and dangerously easy to drink. While I wouldn’t call myself a cognac person by any stretch, paired with the cigar, it became a genuinely enjoyable experience. More than anything, I appreciated learning the history behind the spirit and understanding what separates one style from another.

I’ve got another tasting lined up for Monday night, and that one is all about gin, so stay tuned for more on that as this cruise continues.

After this wrapped up, it was time for one more nightcap before calling it a night.  We’re currently sailing towards the Dominican Republic where we are schedule to arrive first thing in the morning for a full day ashore!  More from the DR tomorrow, and as always, thanks for following along.

Daily Schedule

Personal Day-By-Day Explora I Cruise Review: