Cruise Ship Reviews

EXPLORA III is, in our opinion, the strongest evolution of Explora Journeys so far.

After previously sailing aboard both EXPLORA I and EXPLORA II, we boarded EXPLORA III during her inaugural season with a very different perspective from a first-time guest. We already knew the restaurants, the service style, the suites and the overall Explora concept. What we wanted to understand was what had actually improved.

The answer is more than we initially expected.

EXPLORA III keeps most of what we already loved about the first two ships while introducing a better flowing Lobby and Crema Café area, the new Shore Club, a completely redesigned Helios area and several smaller changes that make the ship feel more refined.

Not everything is better. The new wellness area is one example where, for us, EXPLORA I and II still have an advantage.

This review is based entirely on our own experience onboard and comparisons from sailing all three Explora Journeys ships.

MSC Magnifica offers one of the most unusual MSC Yacht Club experiences in the fleet.

Rather than being designed with the Yacht Club from the beginning, this older MSC ship has been extensively updated with a completely new Yacht Club area, including a new Top Sail Lounge, private sundeck, pool, One Bar & Grill and dedicated suites.

We sailed aboard MSC Magnifica as a family shortly after experiencing the new Yacht Club and spent a full week exploring how well this modern luxury concept works when added to an existing ship.

The result is an interesting mix: some areas feel every bit like the contemporary MSC Yacht Club experience we know from newer ships, while other parts remind you that the Yacht Club has been integrated into a ship that was originally designed very differently.

This guide is based on our own journey, photographs, videos and experiences onboard.

Legend of the Seas was one of the most energetic family cruise experiences we have had.

We joined a special preview sailing as a family, travelling with our two teenage daughters and staying in an Infinite Family Balcony Stateroom. That gave us a chance to experience the ship not just as a new Royal Caribbean vessel, but from the perspective of a family trying to understand whether Icon Class really works for everyone at the same time.

What impressed us most was not simply the size, the waterpark or the number of restaurants.

It was how well everything fitted together.

Teenagers could spend time around Thrill Island and the water slides. Adults could disappear to quieter areas such as The Hideaway or Central Park. Everyone could find food they liked, and then the family could naturally come back together later.

The preview sailing also gave us unusually good access to film and explore the ship in detail. Some elements, including the fireworks and launch celebrations, were specific to the premiere atmosphere and should not be expected on a normal sailing.

Based on the experience we had in a standard stateroom, we would rate Legend of the Seas extremely highly as a family ship.

EXPLORA I was our second Explora Journeys experience, following our first journey aboard EXPLORA II.

That made this cruise particularly interesting for us.

The first time we sailed with Explora Journeys, almost everything felt new: the food, the space, the service style and the freedom of life onboard. When we later boarded EXPLORA I in Lanzarote for a short four-night journey, we wanted to find out whether that first experience had simply been unusually good — or whether Explora Journeys could actually deliver the same standard on another ship.

The answer was remarkably clear.

EXPLORA I felt almost identical to EXPLORA II.

The same relaxed atmosphere, the same dining philosophy, the same spacious feeling and the same sense that you could structure the day almost entirely around what you wanted to do.

Our four nights were far too short to experience everything properly, but they confirmed something important for us: our first Explora journey had not been a one-off.

We returned to MSC World Europa and its Yacht Club after having sailed the ship before.

This second experience was significantly better.

The ship itself had not suddenly changed, but our experience had.

The service inside Yacht Club was faster, warmer and more personal. Several crew members remembered us from previous sailings, the atmosphere felt calmer and more social, and we had a much better understanding of how to use everything the Yacht Club experience offers.

That made a real difference.

MSC World Europa is still a huge, energetic resort-style ship outside the Yacht Club, with busy public areas, large pool zones, bars, entertainment and the impressive World Promenade.

But behind the Yacht Club doors, the experience becomes completely different.

That contrast is exactly what makes this ship so interesting.

For the ship and Yacht Club experience itself, we would rate this sailing 10/10.

EXPLORA II was our introduction to Explora Journeys — and it became far more than simply another cruise.

In March 2025 we boarded EXPLORA II in Miami for our first-ever Explora Journeys experience and our first transatlantic crossing. Over 14 nights and 15 days, we travelled from Miami through the Caribbean before crossing the Atlantic to Madeira, Porto and finally Lisbon.

It was also our longest cruise at that point and gave us enough time to experience EXPLORA II properly: the restaurants, bars, pools, wellness facilities, entertainment, sea days and the slower rhythm of life onboard.

We paid for the journey ourselves and originally travelled simply because we wanted to understand what the Explora Journeys concept was really like. By the time we reached Lisbon, it had become one of our most memorable cruise experiences and the beginning of a much deeper interest in the brand.

This guide is based on our own journey, photographs, videos and experiences onboard EXPLORA II.

VIVA ENJOY was my first-ever river cruise, and I boarded with one big question: would river cruising simply be too slow for me?

I normally spend my time on ocean-going cruise ships where the ship itself can be a major part of the destination. VIVA ENJOY turned that idea around.

Here, the ship is not the main attraction. The scenery, the cities and the feeling of continuously travelling through the landscape are.

What surprised me most was how much I enjoyed that difference.

The pace was slower, but the days still had a natural flow. I could wake up in a new city, walk ashore, return for lunch, watch the river pass by and later arrive somewhere completely different.

VIVA ENJOY did not replace ocean cruising for me, but it changed my view of river cruising.

Our rating: 7/10.

MSC Seaview gave us one of our strongest MSC Yacht Club experiences so far.
We spent seven nights onboard in the Mediterranean, staying in an Interior Yacht Club Suite and using the ship exactly the way Seaview seems designed to be used: outdoors.
The Yacht Club sundeck was the best we have experienced on MSC so far, the Top Sail Lounge became one of our favourite places onboard, the entertainment inside Yacht Club was unusually strong, and the overall atmosphere felt lively, social and fun.
Seaview is smaller than MSC World Europa and you notice that in the public spaces, but it also feels more intimate, more connected to the sea and more focused on outdoor living.
For us, this was a strong 9/10 experience.