Explora Journeys unveils its first year of sailings for debut vessel EXPLORA I and introduces new website

Geneva, Switzerland, 24 February 2022 – Explora Journeys, the new luxury lifestyle travel brand of the MSC Group, today unveiled its first year of Journeys – for its first of four vessels, EXPLORA I from summer 2023, with a promise to take its guests to a harmonious mix of both well-known and off the beaten path destinations.

The Inaugural Journeys Collection covers Northern Europe, the UK, Iceland, Greenland, Canada, the U.S. East Coast, Caribbean, South America and Hawaii.

Sailings start from 6-night journeys and culminate in a 44-night Grand Journey - EXPLORA I, in its inaugural year, will visit  over 132 ports in over 40 different countries, including two destinations, Kastellorizo, Greece and Saint Pierre, Martinique that have not been visited by cruise ships before.

Michael Ungerer, the CEO of Explora Journeys, commented “This is one more step forward in our development of a truly defining and highly desired, luxury lifestyle brand. It’s another step completed in our go-to-market approach. Having launched initially exclusively to Travel Advisors, we are now delighted to give our guests the option to book their journeys online, should they wish to do so.

“Our ambition is to reflect the desire of today’s and tomorrow’s luxury traveller and their curiosity for remarkable exploration. We have created a collection of journeys that offer the perfect blend of celebrated destinations and lesser travelled ports, both seen from a new and original point of view to inspire and excite our curious, discerning guests and the next generation of luxury travellers.”

Explora Journeys provides a seamless and efficient booking process for guests who can choose their preferred way to book either via their preferred travel advisor, contacting an Ambassador at the Explora Journeys` Experience Centre or reserving their dream journey now also online through Explora Journeys’ website.

Mr Ungerer added, “EXPLORA I and our subsequent three ships will allow guests to enjoy a more immersive, authentic experience and a slower pace of travel.  They are designed to offer refined yet effortless luxury with the opportunity for exploration and transformation, offering our guests the chance to experience what we call an ‘Ocean State of Mind’ – a mindset that can be achieved when we escape to the ocean, relax, create memories and reconnect with what matters most in our lives.”

Explora Journeys aims to transform ocean luxury travel through a synergy of beautiful ships and immersive, remarkable itineraries to provide its guests with the opportunity to discover further, travel deeper and linger a little longer at each destination.

Whether that’s treading the cobbled streets of Europe’s hallowed capitals and exploring the ancient Acropolis; navigating the crystalline cool of the Norwegian fjords sailing to the Svartisen Glacier. Or lolling beneath Hawaiian waterfalls and soaking up the sun kissed shores of Brazil’s buzzing Rio de Janeiro, Explora Journeys plans to offer exclusive access far beyond the classic luxury ocean experience.

EXPLORA JOURNEYS` DESTINATIONS Summer 2023 – Spring 2024

NORTHERN EUROPE

July – August 2023: Inaugural Norwegian Journey:

EPIC FJORDS AND ARCTIC CIRCLE

Southampton, Kristiansand, Hellesylt/Geiranger, Ålesund, Molde, Trondheim, Svartisen Glacier and Arctic Circle,  Narvik, Honningsvåg, Tromsø 

Northern Europe Grand Journey:

Southampton, Kristiansand, Hellesylt/Geiranger, Ålesund, Molde, Trondheim, Svartisen Glacier and Arctic Circle, Narvik, Honningsvåg, Tromsø Leknes - Lofoten Islands, Brønnøysund, Flåm, Bergen, Stavanger, Skagen, Copenhagen, Rønne, Helsinki, St. Petersburg, Stockholm, Visby, Riga, Klaipeda, Gdansk, Copenhagen, Göteborg, Oslo, Stavanger, Hamburg, Rotterdam, Bruges, Southampton.

UNITED KINGDOM

August 2023: Inaugural United Kingdom Journey:

SCOTTISH LOCHS AND THE MILITARY TATTOO

Southampton, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Invergordon, Stornoway, Oban, Liverpool, Glasgow

Extended United Kingdom Journey:

Southampton, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Invergordon, Stornoway, Oban, Liverpool, Glasgow, Fort William, Portree, Kirkwall, Lerwick - Shetland Islands, Thorshavn - Faroe Islands, Reykjavik

ICELAND & GREENLAND

September 2023: Inaugural Iceland & Greenland Journey:

ARCTIC GEYSERS, CALVING GLACIERS AND FIERY LANDS OF ICE.

Reykjavik, Akureyri, Isafjordur, Prins Christian Sund Waterway, Paamiut, Nuuk, Qaqortoq, Strait of Belle Island, Sydney, Saint John, New York City

Extended Iceland to North America Journey:

AN EXTENDED JOURNEY FROM ICELAND & GREENLAND TO HIGH- LATITUDE AMERICA

Reykjavik, Akureyri, Isafjordur, Prins Christian Sund Waterway, Paamiut, Nuuk, Qaqortoq, Strait of Belle Island, Sydney, Saint John, New York City, Newport, Boston, Saint John, Gulf of St. Lawrence, Quebec City

USA EAST COAST & CANADA

September - October 2023 Inaugural North American East Coast Journey:

ATLANTIC PROVINCES AND CANADIAN MARITIMES

New York City, Newport, Boston, Saint John, Gulf of St. Lawrence, Quebec City

Extended North American East Coast Journey:

New York city, Newport, Boston, Saint John, Gulf of St. Lawrence, Quebec City, La Baie, Baie-Comeau, Havre-Saint-Pierre, Charlottetown, Halifax, New York City

CARIBBEAN

November 2023 – March 2024: Inaugural Caribbean Journeys:

 A YACHTSMAN`S PARADISE

Miami, Key West, Spanish Town, Deshaies, Falmouth Harbour, San Juan

BRITISH ISLES, CREOLE IDYLLS & MIAMI MAGIC

San Juan, Gustavia, Basseterre, Samana, Ocean Cay, Miami

Panama Canal Passage:

Bridgetown, Kralendijk, Willemstad, Oranjestad, Cartagena, Puerto Limon, Crossing the Panama Canal, Panama City

Caribbean Destinations:

Miami, Key West, Spanish Town, Deshaies, Falmouth Harbour, San Juan, Gustavia, Basseterre, Samana, Ocean Cay, St. John`s (Antigua and Barbuda), Castries, Bridgetown, Roseau, Kralendijk, Willemstad, Saint-Pierre, Kingstown, Grand Turk (Turks and Caicos), Santa Marta, Cartagena, Colón, Soufriere, Bequia (Saint Vincent an the Grenadines),  Oranjestad

SOUTH AMERICA, PACIFIC COAST AND HAWAII

January - February 2024: Inaugural South American Journey:

CELEBRATING TWO CARNIVALS IN BRAZIL

Bridgetown, Devil`s Island, Fortaleza, Salvador De Bahia, Rio de Janeiro, Pôrto Belo, São Paulo

March – April 2024 Pacific Coast destinations:

Quepos, San Juan del Sur, Puerto Quetzal, Puerto Vallarta, Ca bo San Lucas, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Astoria, Victoria, Vancouver

April – May 2024: Inaugural Hawaiian Journeys:

HAWAII`S VOLCANOS & THE MAGIC OF KAI

Vancouver, Hilo, Honolulu

“NO KA ‘OI” OF HAWAI’I

Honolulu, Lahaina, Nawiliwili, Victoria, Vancouver

Extended Hawaiin Journey:

AN EXTENDED EXPLORATION OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS

Vancouver, Hilo, Honolulu, Lahaina, Nawiliwili, Victoria, Vancouver