Brand New Luxury Cruise Operator, Explora Journeys, Enters The Industry In 2023
Explora Journeys—a new luxury cruise line by MSC, has released its itineraries for 2023 and 2024 as the cruise line launches worldwide.
Their maiden vessel will visit 132 ports in 40 nations in its first year alone—including unique destinations such as Greece, Saint Pierre, Kastellorizo, and Martinique.
The sailings, which start from May 2023, span from six nights to forty-four nights across the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, the United Kingdom, Iceland, Greenland, Canada, South America, and Hawaii.
The CEO of Explora Journeys, Micheal Ungerer, said: “Our ambition is to reflect the desire of today’s and tomorrow’s luxury traveler and their curiosity for remarkable exploration,”
“We have created a collection of journeys that offer the perfect blend of celebrated destinations and lesser traveled ports…”
The cruise line’s new website allows passengers to book their trips directly. Previously, travelers could only book through specific travel advisors.
Here are the destinations Explora Journeys will visit in 2023 and 2024:
1. The U.S. East Coast And Canada
Between September and October 2023, Explora Journeys will set sail throughout New York City, Newport, Boston, Saint John, Gulf of St. Lawrence, and Quebec City.
There’s also an extended journey calling at La Baie, Baie-Comeau, Havre-Saint-Pierre, Charlottetown, and Halifax.
2. The Caribbean
Explora Journeys will visit 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 and the Grenadines), and Oranjestad on their Caribbean itinerary.
They also have a Panama Canal Passage. It will call at Bridgetown, Kralendijk, Willemstad, Oranjestad, Cartagena, Puerto Limon, crossing off the Panama Canal and Panama City along the way. All Caribbean vessels take place from November 2023 to March 2024.
3. The United Kingdom
In August 2023, Explora Journey’s maiden ship will travel from the Scottish Lochs and the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. The cruise will call at Southampton, Newcastle, Oban, Liverpool, Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Stornoway.
In addition, an extended UK journey will include Fort William, Kirkwall, Portree, Lerwick, and the Shetland Islands, with the Faroe Islands and Reykjavik added to the list.
4. Iceland And Greenland
Explora Journeys will begin its annual Iceland and Greenland itinerary in September 2023.
The cruise line will call at Reykjavik, Akureyri, Isafjordur, Prins Christian Sund Waterway, Paamiut, Nuuk, Qaqortoq, Strait of Belle Island, Sydney, Saint John, and New York City.
5. The Mediterranean
Explora Journeys will set sail in the Mediterranean from May to June 2023. Their maiden journey will include Barcelona, St Tropez, Calvi, Rome, Fiskardo (Kefalonia), Istanbul, and Athens. The Mediterranean Grand Journey itinerary includes the same ports, but it also includes Patmos, Bodrum, Kastellorizo, Santorini, Mykonos, Gozo, and Ibiza.
The Mediterranean and Western European destinations include all the above and Malaga, Cadiz, Portimão, Lisbon, Porto, St. Jean-de-Luz, Bordeaux, Saint-Malo, and Honfleur.
6. Northern Europe
From July to August 2023, Explora Journeys will visit the Norwegian Fjords and Arctic Circle. They will call at Southampton, Kristiansand, Hellesylt/Geiranger, Ålesund, Molde, Trondheim, Svartisen Glacier and Arctic Circle, Narvik, Honningsvåg, and Tromsø.
The ‘Northern Europe Grand Journey’ also includes Leknes – Lofoten Islands, Brønnøysund, Flåm, Bergen, Stavanger, Skagen, Copenhagen, Rønne, Helsinki, St. Petersburg, Stockholm, Visby, Riga, Klaipeda, Gdansk, Copenhagen, Göteborg, Oslo, Stavanger, Hamburg, Rotterdam and Bruges.
7. South America
From January to February 2024, Explora Journeys will call at Bridgetown, Devil`s Island, Fortaleza, Salvador De Bahia, Rio de Janeiro, Pôrto Belo, and São Paulo.
Pacific Coast destinations planned from March and April 2024 are Quepos, San Juan del Sur, Puerto Quetzal, Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Astoria, Victoria, and Vancouver.
