Explora II Cruise - February, 2026

Day 1 – Boarding in Miami

Wednesday, February 4

          On Wednesday morning, we had the included breakfast downstairs at the Hampton and then packed up and checked out.  Even though there were only two ships in port today (Explora II and Virgin's Scarlet Lady), both Lyft and Uber seemed to be pricier than I remember.  Uber was slightly cheaper, so we choose an XL ride at about $25 for the 4-mile trip. 

          We arrived at Terminal AA/AAA (the new MSC terminal) at 10:56, dropped off our bags, entered the terminal, and completed check-in at 11:09AM.  I should mention that our check-in time listed on our passes was 1:00PM.  No one ever looked at our boarding passes or mentioned a check-in time.

          TIP:  While waiting in the boarding area, you can connect to the ship's Wifi to make dinner reservations at Fil Rouge and Med Yacht Club.  However, in order for the Explora app to work correctly, you must put your phone in Airplane mode and only turn on Wifi (if cellular service is still activated, you will not have full functionality with the app).

          At 11:27AM, the all clear to board was given and we were invited to board by seating rows (we were in the 4th row back).

          We stepped onboard at 11:32AM and were immediately greeted by waiters with trays of champagne (like the by-gone days on Celebrity).  We walked around a bit on Deck 5, then went to tour the spa.

          Here are the spa package prices:

          We discovered that the couples suite package we were interested in was $850 per person.  I'm sure the treatment is fantastic, but we "noped" right out of there and moved on to get lunch.

          By now, the Emporium Marketplace was pretty crowded, so we opted for the Explora Lounge:

          I didn't manage to capture pictures, but we had the spring rolls as an appetizer and then both had club sandwiches.  It was a relaxed and peaceful setting and the food was delivered in about 20 minutes.

          Pictures of Miami from Deck 14:

          By 2:00PM, they announced that our rooms were ready, so we made our way down to Deck 6.  This is suite 6042:

          Even though this is our first cruise with Explora Journeys, I took advantage of their status match program.  I had previously used my Hilton Honors Diamond status to match to MSC Diamond.  For this cruise, I then was able to use my MSC Diamond status to match to Explora Club Platinum.  These baseball caps are the Platinum member gift:

           TIP:  You are required to put a card into the slot just inside of your suite door to power the lights (and also, importantly, the plugs and USB ports!  Without the card inserted, your devices will not charge).  However, this does NOT need to be your Journeys card.  I kept the room key from our Hampton Inn stay and used it in the slot with no issues:

          Here are the electrical and USB ports around the suite:

          Our original departure time of 5:00 was slightly delayed, but by 6:00PM, we were underway:

          After sail-away, we spent the rest of the evening walking around and getting acclimated to the ship, then grabbed some dinner at the Emporium Marketplace (which I will cover later).

Final step count for Day 1: