Explora deck plans: what is on each deck, ship by ship

That is the pattern on every hull in the fleet. Explora I and II are identical ships, 461 suites apiece, the same venues on the same decks. Explora III is the newer hull launching summer 2026, 463 suites, seven restaurants instead of six, and a handful of venues the first two don't have. The deck logic carries across all three, which is the useful part: learn one and you can read the others.

I sailed Explora I with my family across more than one Mediterranean voyage, so the read on how each deck actually feels is first-hand for I and, by near-identical sister-ship analogy, for II. The deck-to-venue assignments are from Explora's own published deck plans. Below is each ship in turn, then where I would put a suite.

Explora I

Explora I launched in 2023 with 461 suites, all oceanfront with private terraces, up to 922 guests at a guest-to-host ratio of about 1.25 to 1. Roughly eleven guest decks, numbered 3, 4, 5, then the suite block 6 to 10, then 11, 12, and 14. There is no Deck 13 by name, the old maritime superstition, so the total you see quoted depends on how a source counts the technical levels.

Here is the spine. Deck 3 is the working deck, low and out of sight, with the Marina tender platform. Deck 4 is arrival, shopping, the lobby, the Casino, the 210-seat Journeys Lounge stage, and two restaurants: Med Yacht Club and Fil Rouge, plus the extra-fee Anthology. Deck 5 carries the rest of the dining, Marble & Co. Grill and Sakura, the Ocean Wellness spa reported at over 700 square meters, and the aft Astern lounge and pool where the evening energy concentrates. Decks 6 to 10 are nothing but suites. Deck 11 is the indoor-leisure crown: the Emporium Marketplace food hall and the glass-roofed Conservatory Pool. Deck 12 is the adults-only Helios sun deck up forward. Deck 14 is the sports deck at the very top.

Four pools, and not one sits next to another. The Astern Pool aft on Deck 5, the Atoll Pool aft on Deck 10, the Conservatory Pool indoors on Deck 11, the Helios Pool forward on Deck 12. That spread is a big part of why a 922-guest ship reads calm rather than crowded. There is no big production-show theater, by design: the Journeys Lounge runs nightly cabaret-style entertainment and the rest of the evening lives in the lounges.

Next: Explora I, deck by deck, the full anatomy → · the Explora I ship page →

Explora II

Explora II launched in 2024 as the identical twin of Explora I: the same 461 suites, the same six restaurants, the same nine culinary venues, the same layout on the same deck codes. Suites on 6 to 10, dining and the show lounge low on 4 and 5, leisure up on 11, 12, and 14. If you have read the Explora I plan above, you have read Explora II's. I've sailed her near-identical sister, so that is from walking the layout, not just reading a deck plan.

The differences are the launch year and the godmother, Rosalba Giugni, the marine conservationist who founded Marevivo. Nothing on the deck plan that affects your trip changes between the two hulls: the same Conservatory Pool under its retractable glass roof on Deck 11, the same aft Astern cluster on Deck 5, the same included Marble & Co. Grill and Sakura. Because Explora II is the newer and less-hyped of the pair, it sometimes prices a little more keenly for the same suite on comparable dates, so when an itinerary exists on both, it is worth checking each.

Next: the Explora II ship page → · Explora III vs II →

Explora III

Explora III launches summer 2026 as the most significant ship in the fleet since the line started, and its deck plan is where the changes show. It carries 463 suites, all with private terraces, at the same 1.25 to 1 guest-to-host ratio, with roughly 17,570 square meters of public space, more than Explora I and II, and seven restaurants instead of six. It is also the first LNG-powered hull in the fleet. The suite-block-in-the-middle, leisure-above, dining-below logic holds, so the way you read the ship does not change. What changes is what sits in a few of those spaces.

The venue deltas are worth knowing before you choose a hull. Shore Club on 11, a beach-club-style restaurant at The Conservatory, replaces the Gelateria & Crêperie that I and II carry, and it is included in the fare. The Chef's Table by Explora Journeys and The Cellar wine bar are both new to III and IV, and both carry an extra charge. The Owner's Residence is reimagined by designer Patricia Urquiola in a different layout and finish from the one on I and II, which I am reading off the deck plans rather than from aboard, so the specific configuration is worth confirming before you commit. The spa and fitness areas are reworked into a single connected space rather than the separate zones on the earlier hulls.

If your dates are flexible into late 2026 and the new venues or the Urquiola design are a real draw, III is the one to hold for. If you want to sail sooner or your itinerary only exists on the earlier ships, I or II is the call, and for most mid-tier suites the hardware difference between the hulls is real but modest.

Next: the Explora III ship page → · Explora III vs II, the decision → · all the ships compared →

Where to put your suite

A deck plan tells you where things are. It does not tell you where to sleep, and that is the part that actually changes your week. Mid-ship and mid-deck is the calmest, steadiest combination on any of these hulls: away from the Deck 11 food-hall traffic above and the aft Astern music below, and least affected by motion, because a ship pivots around its middle and the bow and stern move most in a seaway. A high suite on Deck 10 sits right under the pool deck; an aft suite low in the block can sit over the late-night lounge. The full suite-by-suite read, which categories earn their premium and which two are quietly oversold, lives on the suites comparison.

Send me your dates and the suite tier you're considering. I'll have live pricing in your inbox within two hours, no call required, and I'll tell you which deck to book on for your specific sailing.