Explora Journeys vs MSC Yacht Club
A Family Affair – from MSC to Explora Journeys
Having sailed both MSC Yacht Club and Explora Journeys, I can tell you some of the unique aspects of each, but first a bit of info about the lines’ owners… The Aponte family started in shipping some 50+ years ago, and have been quite successful; you’ve probably seen those large container ships with “MSC” on their sides. Or perhaps the MSC logo that adorns Formula 1 race tracks.
The family eventually expanded the business to include large cruise ships (StarLauro) in the late 1980’s (4000+ passengers), sailing primarily in Europe to start. As the cruise industry grew exponentially, MSC was one of the first lines to reserve some areas of their ships for passengers looking for an elevated/luxury experience, the “Yacht Club.”
A little over 2 years ago, the Aponte family added the Explora Journeys brand, differentiated via the new names and smaller ships (max 922 passengers, but an expanded amount of space per passenger) focused SOLELY on a RELAXED luxury experience. This entrance into the luxury ship market has not been without its hiccups, as the first and second ship rollouts haven’t been without challenges (cancellations, new staff, land-based process and technology glitches), however this new line of ships has the support of the broader brand of MSC experience to rely on and that counts.
My accidental introduction to MSC Yacht Club
My first experience with MSC Yacht Club was a bit of a fluke. Imagine booking a balcony on a ship that can hold 4500+ people, and then being offered the Yacht Club equivalent (sightly larger balcony with perks) via a bidding process. Knowing that a low bid was unlikely to win the Yacht Club Balcony cabin, I pegged the top of the bid rage. I was pleasantly surprised (a month later) to get confirmation that I’d won the bid. The total cruise cost was just under a standard fare for Yacht Club normally.
This was likely because this was a JANUARY cruise (11 nights) out of Brooklyn, NY. We were heading roundtrip with port stops in Port Canaveral, Costa Maya, Cozumel, and MSC’s “private island” Ocean Cay in the Bahamas. It was a cold cruise, as the only WARM stops (>70 degrees Fahrenheit) were in Mexico. But I did get a chance to sample the Yacht Club.
Explora Journeys – the Luxury Line we’ve been waiting for!
My experience with Explora Journeys was different. I booked the lowest suite class (it’s an “all suite”/balcony ship with NO interior cabins and larger cabins with high-end amenities like heated bathroom floors and Dyson blow dryers). I proceeded through the check-in process, encountering a few glitches along the way, including website and application technology issues and unclear processes regarding dining and spa reservations. This cruise started in Panama City, Panama, traversed the Panama Canal, stopped in the San Blas Islands, Cartagena and Santa Marta, Columbia, debarking in Miami, Florida. All but the last are NOT common ports.
Similarities between MSC Yacht Club and Explora Journeys
The Yacht Club on MSC and Explora Journeys experiences provide many of the same amenities, for example, a pillow menu, complimentary bar setup within your room, and complimentary access to certain areas of the onboard spa. But the Yacht Club has a few differentiators: A (shared) butler for each Yacht Club cabin (Explora has cabin hosts/hostesses), a separate lounge, outdoor pool, and hot tub area from the rest of the ship (the privilege of the 300-400 Yacht Club passengers), while Explora has 4 different pools and 8+ hot tubs spread out over several decks.
Some of the Key Differentiators – The Food
This is a KEY differentiator for Explora, as they have FIVE Included dining options (think included “specialty dining”): French (Fil Rouge), Mediterranean (Med Yacht Club), Pan Asian (Sakura), a steak house (Marble & Co) and one that might be considered a “buffet.” The caliber of the food and service throughout Explora is WELL above the standard MSC ships. The Yacht Club had their Yacht-Club-only dining room and an afternoon tea, then the options outside of the Yacht Club, of the standard main dining and buffet.
The food and service in the Yacht Club were much better than even the specialty dining options onboard, but still not on a par with Explora. Also, Explora has the afternoon tea as well and a coffee bar, Crema, that is included. I regularly saw more than 50 people congregate, typically in the afternoon when everyone wanted that shot of caffeine. There are also several lounges and bars on both MSC and Explora, however only the Yacht Club Lounge and Pool Bar are segmented from the rest of the passengers on larger MSC ships.
Because Explora has a smaller number of passengers and a hefty square-meter-per-passenger size, it “feels” much more open, and there are ALWAYS small nooks that you can find to relax and stare out at the sea with no company. On MSC’s larger ships, you leave the Yacht Club and enter more of a “party scene” with LOTS of people vying for seats at the lounges and for bartenders’ attention, ergo Yacht Club’s sanctuary-within-a-ship description. For MSC Yacht Club and Explora, standard premium drinks are included throughout the ship, as well as high-speed Wifi and gratuities.
Entertainment Variety
The Yacht Club have reserved seating in the large theater on the MSC ships, and the entertainment leans toward broadway/popular music from the 1960s+, with 1-2 lounge acts a few times each night, as well as large screen movies around the pool, a pool DJ, and all WELL-attended (crowded?) given 4000+ people on the ship. Explora is more of a “club” atmosphere, with different venues having a few shows a night, including a pianist (jazz/classical) in the lobby bar, one or two experienced singers singing top pop tunes in the Explora Lounge, a duet of guitar players singing more soft rock/folksy tunes in the Journeys Lounge, and a DJ spinning dance music for 2 hours each night.
The Intangible Experiences of Ports and Shore Excursions
Another key differentiator for Explora Journeys ships is their ability to visit (and not overwhelm) smaller ports; many of the larger ships are limited to ports that can accommodate their size. Explora is also marketing its cruises as “Unique Escapes” to “Unique Destinations” for this reason.
While MSC Yacht Club passengers have access to the same shore excursions as the rest of the larger ship passengers, on Explora the shore excursions have been renamed to “Destination Experiences”, as they are more in depth, with smaller tour sizes with deeper immersion into the history and culture of the port and area. One other MAJOR difference are the luminaries that Explora brings onboard to describe the ports and experiences; for the Panama Canal cruise that I went on, the luminary had traversed the Canal 28 times and provided an EXCELLENT just-in-time history and overview of the mechanics of the canal as our ship traversed the canal.
Final thoughts on Explora Journeys vs MSC Yacht Club
The cabins have higher finishes on Explora, the ships are definitely newer, the FEEL is of a luxury resort, ALL of the Explora staff (not just a select few) are trained to a higher level of service, and ultimately, Explora will be “slightly more” $$ than MSC Yacht Club.
The key difference is in the experience. As a completely NEW line, Explora has had some core passenger communication issues which are slowly being ironed out (e.g. they are communicating better the timing on making dining reservations and how to select and pay for Destination Experiences). Throughout the process, being a travel advisor on the cabin record (no price difference to have a TA involved) helped me quickly navigate and resolve issues for me, and NOW, for my clients. Ultimately, I found the ONBOARD service, food, experience superior on Explora.
