a luxury cruise ship with a kids' club?

When you picture "family cruise," you're probably thinking waterslides, mini golf, long lines for mediocre chicken tenders. Now picture "luxury cruise"... maybe some caviar, spacious staterooms, glittering gowns... but surely not sticky kids asking for their third ice cream of the day.

What if I told you the perfect blend of both exists? That you can have relaxed elegance and fine dining, while your kids grab fresh pressed burgers and soft serve with their friends? That your cabin can be spacious, your bathroom floor heated, your linens sumptuous, while your kids are welcome in the pool, on the pickleball court and in the gelato line?

"But I'm not a cruise person!" you insist. "I don't want to be stuck on a boat with thousands of people!" What about with 100-900 people in the same space in which other ships cram 2000+? With long port days full of culture, cuisine, adventure, history, archaeology & art?

Still no? Fine, then. Go ahead and see three to four countries in a week while only unpacking once, being sure that your kiddos always have access to beige food, on-demand childcare and a steady stream of friends!

You can only do that on a cruise, whether that's a private charter or a mass market budget boat. If you're not up for an ultraluxe private charter, Mr. Not a Cruise Person, let me share with you the epic Mediterranean island-hopping adventure we took as a family of four this summer on Explora Journeys.

First, the itinerary.

We'd already done a Greek isles-focused cruise out of Rome, so we were familiar with the embarkation port of Civitavecchia. From there, the ship stopped on the Amalfi Coast, in Sicily, two ports in Sardinia, Menorca and ended in Barcelona. No need to hard sell that one!

We booked connecting verandahs, the smallest and least expensive cabins on the ship. At 377 sq ft, they're larger than the balcony concierge cabins on Disney Cruise Line and mini-suites on Princess. And they're gorgeous.

Each room sleeps 3, but almost all of the rooms on the ships connect; this is very unique for luxury cruise ships. If you want to take your family on one of the amazing luxury lies like Seabourn, Silversea, Ponant, Regent Seven Seas, the connecting rooms exist, but book 18+ months in advance if you want one. On Explora, they're common, and with almost 800 square feet between us plus connected balconies, we felt like we were in a luxury city hotel (but with a much better view).

Check out my horrible videography skills on this room tour:

Explora II has just over 450 suites, 6 amazing restaurants, 5 heated pools, 12 bars and lounges, and... wait for it... A KIDS' CLUB. That's right, a space specifically FOR YOUR CHILDREN. ON A LUXURY CRUISE SHIP.

This is the best photo I have since I didn't want to snap pics of other people's kids!

The Nautilus Club hosts supervised activities for children ages 6-17, from cupcake decorating classes to free throw contests on the basketball courts to group dinners, crafts, foosball, pool, VR and video games. It's no Oceaneers' Club -- Disney Cruise Line has a lock on the kids' club game for sure -- but compared with other luxury cruise lines, it's downright amazing. Annie ate dinner with them almost every night while we tried different dining venues. Owen won the cupcake decorating contest. I got some time to work (I mean read the book that I brought because I promised myself I wouldn't work! ha); Matt got some time to visit the (also amazing) spa. And in between?

A boat day along the Amalfi Coast, an adventure to Mt. Etna, beautiful beaches in Taormina, Nuragic ruins in Sardinia, a surprise beach day in Corsica thanks to high winds necessitating a last minute port change, and the amazing streets and shorelines of Menorca, the locals' favorite among the Balearics (scroll through!).

I hope to do separate posts on each day, eventually. We took private tours with local guides (always my preference over cruise ship offerings) and really loved the trip. We visited three different countries and unpacked once (okay, twice, since we stayed the night prior to the cruise at the beautiful Hotel De La Ville in Rome!).

Anyway, back to the ship. All my photos and videos are here in my Instagram highlights, but I wanted to highlight a few things we loved.

The pool decks were varied and lovely. Some were partially covered, hot tubs were everywhere, loungers were plush and not crammed on top of each other. We slept until almost 10 am (!!) on our one sea day, so we did have trouble finding pool chairs that day, but we simply put our stuff down, got in the pool, and then grabbed a Bali bed when someone left.

Check out the highlights linked above for videos of the really cool indoor/outdoor gym that we did not use because being Team Carry-On Only means no room for sneakers. If you're not the work out on vacay type, this infinity pool on the aft of the ship is for you!

Matt spent a lot of time at the gorgeous spa (see highlights!), and we tried as many restaurants as we had time for! All but one is included, and we loved the Japanese spot, the steakhouse and the Mediterranean, especially this perfect semifreddo.

We also loved their made-to-order marketplace, which replaces the bane of every cruisers' existence... the ship buffet. Annie ate here almost every night (we did convince her to go to Sakura with us), and we probably had dinner here 3 of the 7 nights because it was delicious and easy and casual. How casual? Well, the only time I felt out of place on the ship was when my son decided to grab a burger in his PAJAMAS. Which would be totally normal on Disney or other large cruise lines... not so much on a luxury ship! I tried to get him to change, but... on vacation, I pick my battles!

Sakura might've been our favorite spot. First, it's beautiful, and second, the extensive sushi and sake menus were big hits. And of course, I love a beautiful dessert.

The only thing we didn't love about the entire experience wasn't the ship's fault. We were originally scheduled to dock at two ports in Sardinia, Alghero & Cagliari. We were most excited to visit the home of Italy's best white sand beaches, well-preserved ancient ruins and gorgeous Blue Zone countryside. So our first day we had planned with a fantastic local guide to explore ancient ruins, a small winery in the countryside and the church in Cagliari. On the Alghero day, we had scheduled a boat charter for a boat and beach day through the national marine reserve. Well, when we got back on the boat at the end of our Cagliari day, we found a note at our door saying that our port had been changed to Ajaccio, Corsica, due to weather.

Now, if you know me, you know I'd pick Italy over France 1000 times out of 1000. And we were SO bummed not to see the beautiful northern coast of Sardinia. But Alghero is a tender port, and high winds were going to make it impossible to take the small boats to shore.

I scrambled to try to find something to do with Matt & the kids' first trip to France! Ajaccio is a stone's throw from the northern tip of Sardinia, so I thought maybe we could find a last minute charter and see some of it anyway. But none of the charter captains were willing to go out... so we walked the main thoroughfare in Ajaccio, which was fun, and then took a cab to Capo di Feno, an absolutely gorgeous beach. The kids learned a lesson in cultural differences in beach attire that day! The weather was perfect, but the waves were big. We watched the surfers and relaxed.

Our final night, we were tired from exploring the beautiful island of Menorca. Annie decided to have one last dinner with the kids' club, and Owen joined us at the steakhouse, Marble & Co.

Service here and at every other food & beverage venue throughout the ship was excellent. We are fairly easy to please in this respect and prefer unobtrusive service. I don't want my underwear folded, but I don't want to wait a half hour to get a water refill, either. The staff here were all very good at their jobs.

So, in short, I would definitely recommend this for families with older children (we did see a toddler and a baby on board, but there are better lines for this age group) who think they don't like cruises but do love luxury hotels and delicious food. Explora attracts a LOT of first-time cruisers because it truly functions as a floating resort instead of the crowded Conga-line madness people associate with cruising (I've done it, and find it hilariously fun, but it ain't for everyone, that's for sure).

My only criticism might be that the kids club is not "secure" in the same way that Disney Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean and other lines are. On DCL, we've left the kids on the boat to walk around Oslo and to do a jet ski tour in Croatia, and felt comfortable doing so because we knew that they couldn't leave the area and that the staff were very well trained. On Explora (and on our Norwegian Cruise Line Hawaii trip, to some extent), you may have one staff member hanging out in the club, and there's no gate to prevent a kid from just getting annoyed and leaving. There's a sign in sheet, but it's really more of a suggestion. My 12 year old loved this, and it was mostly older kids stopping by to play some foosball before heading to the pool together. But our daughter, who was 6 during our cruise and who is NOT a runner... well, we felt comfortable leaving her during dinner time, but we wouldn't have gotten off the boat or left her for 4 or 5 hours without checking in. So if your kids are on the younger side, you might want to stick with concierge on Disney Cruise Line a bit longer.

The only reason we aren't currently booked on another sailing is because we're doing a couple of hotel hopping trips in 2026... we've grown so accustomed to seeing lots of beautiful places and unpacking once that our upcoming trips to Peru, Egypt and Kenya are probably going to make us long for the ease of this floating luxury hotel!

I am a preferred partner with Explora Journeys and can offer exclusive perks and onboard credit... and in 2027, Explora IV will be sailing in Alaska! I can help you pick out the perfect itinerary for your family, just get in my inbox!