Amid all the merriment and celebration, the festive season often brings its own unique challenges. Planning pressures, stressful travel and seemingly endless social commitments can leave one craving a holiday from the holiday season. Explora Journeys is proposing an alternative. Its Caribbean cruises offering, festive cruise experience with Explora Journeys, combine seasonal celebrations with a chance for rest and exploration, all while letting somebody else take care of the hosting, driving and cooking.
The luxury lifestyle travel brand is shaped by what it calls an Ocean State of Mind. Explora Journeys’ ships, none built before 2023, have been designed with space and light in mind, offering generous outdoor decks and uninterrupted views. The idea is not simply to transport passengers between ports, but to create the conditions in which they can slow down, take in the horizon and step away from the hectic pace of home.
All guests stay in ocean-front suites, all with sweeping ocean views from private terraces. The ships are in stark contrast to the behemoth floating cities found elsewhere in the sector, allowing for a lower guest-to-crew ratio and a quieter environment. Attention has been given to design details such as sound insulation, natural materials and open circulation spaces, all intended to encourage a calmer rhythm on board.
Food and drink form a central part of the experience. The company offers a variety of culinary experiences with menus influenced by international cuisines, served in restaurants that range from informal to fine dining. At Christmas, traditional dishes are joined by Caribbean flavours and seasonal ingredients. Bars and lounges are arranged to make the most of outdoor space, so that meals and drinks can be enjoyed against the backdrop of the sea. Cultural programmes, live music and activities linked to destinations are also available on board, adding variety to the time spent between ports.
The festive itinerary calls at several Caribbean islands, including Barbados and St Lucia. Each stop offers its own character: the pastel-coloured streets of Bridgetown, the pitons of St Lucia, or smaller harbours where visitors can swim, snorkel or simply walk along the waterfront. Days are designed to feel unhurried. One morning might be spent exploring a market or garden, the afternoon in the water or on a beach. Back on board, the celebrations continue – with seasonal menus and events – but without the effort of hosting or dashing between venues.
“Ocean wellness” is also part of the experience: spa treatments, fitness classes, time outdoors on deck or simply space to switch off. Facilities include hydrotherapy pools, outdoor exercise areas and rooms designed for meditation or reflection. The aim is not just to fill time but to provide opportunities to recharge.
The ships themselves support this sense of health and wellbeing. Wide windows and open decks keep passengers close to the sea and the light. It reflects a wider trend in high-end travel, where privacy and calm are increasingly prized over scale, glitz and glamour.
For some, the chance to celebrate Christmas in a quieter setting – with fewer crowds and more space – is a luxury in itself, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t an oppportunity to uniquely mark the specialness of the season. Traditional celebrations still happen – Christmas dinner, New Year’s Eve toasts – but the setting changes the mood: meals taken outdoors, the turn of the year marked at sea. The smaller size of the ships also allows guests to visit ports out of reach to larger vessels, giving each journey a different character and providing a true sense of how local communities are marking the season.
For Explora Journeys, such experiences are all part of Ocean State of Mind – the pause that comes when the usual routine is left behind, horizons open up and time moves at a different pace. It is not just about the ocean, but about what time at sea makes possible: rest, reflection and a different sense of perspective. For those looking to begin the new year with a renewed outlook, it offers an alternative way to celebrate the season.
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