Look closely at Explora Journeys’ website or latest advertising campaign and you may notice that the MSC-owned brand doesn’t use the word cruise in its marketing. As I toured its newest ship, Explora III, I could see why.
It felt like I was walking into a luxury boutique hotel, with large glass chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, some as long as six metres. The serene shards lit up an Italian marble staircase leading to a vast atrium surrounded by shops selling Rolex watches and Cartier jewellery. It felt like walking through an upmarket Italian piazza in Milan rather than a sunny day in Southampton.
