After launching service with the Explora I in 2023, Explora Journeys is getting ready to introduce five additional ships over the next five years.
According to Chris Austin, the company’s chief sales officer, the company continues to differentiate itself from the competition in the luxury field as it receives the Explora II next August.
“At the very beginning, we told a very bold story. Many of our travel partners didn’t believe us. Now, they do,” he said, noting that Explora Journeys has created a “category of one.”
Austin said that Explora never aimed to create a “copy of a classic, traditional cruise brand” but something “very special, different and unique” that incorporates the “vision and the dream” of MSC Cruises Group owners to create something entirely new.
Explora Journeys is a family-owned European company, which is also an important point of differentiation in the luxury field, he added.
Unlike other upscale brands, Explora Journeys caters to families as well, he noted, with a complete entertainment program for children.
Speaking during an industry event in Miami Beach last Wednesday, Austin added that the company now needs help to tell this story.
“We need everybody’s support to spread the word, increase our awareness, and tell our story,” he explained.
Austin also highlighted the company’s “Ocean State of Mind,” a concept that permeates different aspects of Explora’s product.
The experience focuses on creating “authentic connections” with mindful choices, as well as highly curated and individualized experiences.
To deliver the concept, the Explora ships feature a large number of public areas and spaces, including 12 outdoor/indoor lounges and bars, 11 different culinary experiences, four pool decks and a 1,000-square-meter wellness center.
In the final stages of construction at the Fincantieri shipyard in Italy, the new Explora II is set to enter service on August 11, 2024.
The inaugural season of the 922-guest vessel is scheduled to spend its inaugural season offering itineraries in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean.
