ONBOARD EXPLORA I — When Pierfrancesco Vago, the executive chairman of shipping giant MSC’s cruise division, told a full house back in October 2022 at the International Travel Show in New York City about Explora Journeys, his new venture set to launch in June 2023, much of the trade sat up in their chairs.

“It is our new, ultra-luxe cruise line,” he said. Vago added that Explora I would be equipped with the latest environmental and marine technologies and designed to go off the beaten track.

After its inaugural Northern European sailings this past summer, Explora I left Reykjavik in early September and crossed the Atlantic, making stops in Greenland and along the Canadian and New England coastlines to New York City.

On Oct. 12, 2023, MSC made it official, with a lavish naming ceremony at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal. Agents, advisors, luxury travel industry leaders, MSC corporate and media, including Travelweek, were in attendance to celebrate the launch by its godmother, Dr. Sylvia Earle, the trailblazing 88-year-old American marine biologist and oceanographer.

Michael Ungerer, CEO, Explora Journeys

“Starting a new luxury brand, with family ownership [the Aponte Vago family is at the helm of MSC] of a company that has 300 years of business behind it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Michael Ungerer, formerly a COO at Carnival Cruises and, since 2019, CEO Explora Journeys, at the press conference prior to the festivities.

With Explora Journeys, he added, the company is fuelling its ‘Ocean State of Mind’ philosophy, from the family’s born-and-raised on the water roots.

Like Ungerer, Chris Austin, the line’s CSO, is also a fairly new recruit with a background in luxe cruising, formerly of Seabourn. But, prior to that, Austin came up the ranks of Starwood Hotels & Resorts. “We asked more than 20,000 travellers and advisors what they wanted in a luxury brand,” he revealed. More often than not, he said, the answer: “A yacht-inspired ship, a ship that has space and choice, and cruise itineraries at a slower pace to allow a greater immersion in the destination.”

Austin noted that Explora I has some of the largest cabins at sea – the Ocean Terrace suites clock in at an average of 35 square metres (377 square feet) – and there are 18 food and beverage options, “yet the ship still feels intimate.”

At just 922 guests and 640 crew, it certainly felt that way while Travelweek was on board. “It feels like a cosmopolitan boutique hotel vibe,” said Austin. The company has leveraged Austin’s hotel background and built on it. The ship’s lobby, for example, really feels like a hotel lobby bar. Elegant, calming, yet still buzzy, the cool beiges, chocolate browns and golds make the space feel rich without a heaviness; a natural meeting place for before-dinner drinks and after-dinner connection. The ensuite bathrooms also impressed, from the walk-in shower big enough for two to the walk-in closet to the comfy sunbed on the suite’s balcony.

Later, when Travelweek sat down with Austin one-on-one, he made it clear that Explora Journeys is committed to the trade. Canada is critically important from a source market, he said.

“We’ve already got two dedicated business relationship leaders, one in Toronto and one in Vancouver. We will staff up in Canada, part of our 2024 strategy, adding a French-speaking component and additional balance to the market, which will lean into Toronto and Montreal,” he said.

Explora I on its way to Copenhagen

But for all travel advisors, Austin believes that Explora Journeys “has written the boldest portfolio promotion terms in the industry, because we’re committed to the industry and committed to the trade. We’re in it for the long haul.” Explora I, he added, is not a one ship wonder, as the company is planning six ships by 2028.

“I think every travel advisor in Canada should be learning more about the brand, betting on us, we can be very successful together, and advisors can earn great compensation; they’ve got a unique product to sell. And, to have the ability to present a brand that maybe their clients don’t know about, it puts them in a very powerful position. So the client is going to say, ‘why don’t I know about this brand?’ The advisor can say, I can tell you about this brand. I’ve seen the brand, I’ve experienced the brand.”

Advisors can inspire with ship visuals, he added, and not mention there’s a new cruise ship. “Instead, they should just send a photo of the lobby bar to their clients and say, ‘I want to tell you about this wonderful new resort.’ We’re proud to be in the cruise industry, but Explora Journeys is far more than that. If you’re going to attract the ‘new’ to ocean travel, you shouldn’t really start the conversation with the word ‘cruise.’”

Travel advisors need to think strategically, and use the assets the company has created, “which are fantastic,” Austin continued, giving credit where credit is due. “And they’re fantastic because we created them through the art of listening to the travel advisor, what they wanted; we didn’t just release something, we had their feedback.”

When the company looked at the industry, nobody was really talking about the ocean, he added. “They talk about the ship and the places they go to. We talk about the ship, it’s an amazing destination in itself, we talk about the ports because that’s where people want to have experiences but we also talk about the ocean.” There’s nothing more calming and relaxing, he added, than water. “The ocean’s our home, we have to protect it and it’s driving that ocean state of mind,” he said.

“We’re brand building, not brand finished, we still have a long way to go. And if we sit down in 10 years time I’d say the same thing; if you’re brand finished, you’ve lost all innovation, all creativity and you’ve become complacent. That’s never going to happen.”

Explora I will spend November 2023 to March 2024 in the Caribbean, will swing to the west coast, including Los Angeles and Vancouver, in spring 2024 and start its 2024 European and North Sea journeys May to September 2024.

Bookings for EXPLORA I’s summer 2024 journeys and its unique Destination Experiences in the Caribbean are now open. More details are at explorajourneys.com. Travel advisors can book their guests through the dedicated digital booking site: www.explorajourneys.com/traveladvisors.