Explora I: Our Suite Life at Sea


I wanna get the important stuff out of the way first: yes, the bed was perfect. Soft sheets, plump pillows, and a proper mattress you actually look forward to collapsing into after a day of sun, sea, and too many vodka martinis. But it wasn’t just about the bed. Explora I has clearly taken the phrase “home away from home” and dialled it up to sleek, ship-shape luxury.

The Suite Setup

We stayed in one of the Ocean Terrace Suites — all suites on Explora I have balconies as standard, which should be law frankly. Ours came with a proper little living area, a very spacious balcony with a lounger and table for two, a huge bed that somehow got comfier by the night, and a bathroom that made other cruise ship loos feel like airport cubicles.


Drawers were plentiful, the walk-in wardrobe was massive (and lit like a mini boutique), and actually big enough to sleep in ( yes, I know this from first hand experience but that is another story entirely). The carpet was thick and soft underfoot, and the whole place was just… calm. No clunky handles, no fussy fittings — just dark wood, soft lighting, plush upholstery and those little design touches that said 'considered luxury' without shouting about it.

There was so much storage. Cabinets, drawers, hidden shelves — everything had a place, which weirdly made me feel like I had my life together. I’ve never wanted to spend so much time in my room before, but this was that kind of suite. You’d cancel plans for it.

Those Little Touches

Explora’s gone full on with the fancy (but not in a gharish, blingy way) . Like wireless charging pads built into the bedside tables (no cable fumbling at 1am), USB ports everywhere, and discreet floor-level lights that switch on if you get up in the night, gently guiding you to the loo without flooding the room. It's the kind of thing you don’t realise you appreciate until you experience it — then you wonder why every hotel in the world hasn’t caught up.

We arrived to find a bottle of chilled champagne waiting  alongside a little cloche of handmade chocolates and cakes. There’s a drinks selection tailored to your preference — you tick off your favourite spirits on a form and they stock your in-suite bar accordingly. Smart.



You also get a daily newsletter left on your bed at the evening turndown service to give you all the info you need and more about what's on the next day— always appreciated — a printed welcome letter and personalised itinerary waiting on the bed when you arrive. The bathroom is stocked with Mandala Blue by Explora Journeys — a bespoke fragrance created with master perfumer Alberto Morillas. It's fresh, a bit spicy, a bit woody, and smells expensive in that “I definitely can’t buy this in boots” kind of way. Easily one of the nicest cruise toiletries I’ve ever had.
In fact, I made the effort to visit the onboard boutique to buy some for myself — but at £120 a pop, I gave it a miss and made do with strategic overuse of the shower gel instead.


The TV was massive — properly cinematic — and even better, I plugged in my Fire Stick and it just worked. No drama, no weird blocks, no buffering. The WiFi on board was good enough to stream our own shows, which feels almost illegal on a cruise ship. If you’ve ever been on a line that makes you jump through hoops to use your own device, you’ll know what a win this is.

If You Really Want to Be Picky…

Honestly? I found it hard to fault the suite. Like, really hard. But if we’re being unnecessarily critical — the mirror in the bathroom wasn’t heated. That’s it. That’s the only thing I could come up with. And even then, I had to actively go looking for a flaw because everything else was THAT well done.



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