The delivery of EXPLORA I, the first ship for the luxury lifestyle brand of the MSC Group, took place on July 20 at the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy, where the construction of the 63,900 GT vessel began over two years ago.
The ship’s maiden journey will depart August 1 from Copenhagen for a seven-night sailing to Reykjavik in Iceland with visits en route to Lerwick, Shetland Islands and Kirkwall, Orkney.
The new ship cost over $737 million, which represents just the beginning of a total investment plan of $3.7 billion for the four Explora Journeys ships on order.
“Today is a historic day, and represents a decisive step in our growth path, because it marks the entry of the MSC Group into the luxury travel sector,” said Pierfrancesco Vago, Executive Chairman, Cruise Division, MSC Group.
“This segment has strong growth prospects, in which we strongly believe and whose standards we aim to redefine, focusing as always on excellence and luxury.”
Michael Ungerer, CEO, Explora Journeys added, “This traditional maritime moment marks the most important milestone for Explora Journeys as we will finally be able to showcase our highly anticipated, extraordinary new ship.
“We have pushed the boundaries of innovation and design to create a ship that embodies our commitment to excellence. With the delivery of EXPLORA I our vision to provide unparalleled luxury experiences has become an incredible reality.”
Following its maiden voyage, the luxury ship will spend several weeks in Northern Europe, offering a range of different itineraries, both on and off the beaten path, and will then cross the Atlantic Sea via Greenland to spend the autumn in North America, the winter in the Caribbean and spring on the US West Coast and Hawaii before returning to Europe in Summer 2024.
Explora Journeys says non-conventional arrival and departure times combined with overnight stays in port will allow it to offer guests a slower pace of travel.
Rendering of the EXPLORA II. (photo via Explora Journeys) (Photo Credit: (photo via Explora Journeys))
EXPLORA II is currently being built at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Genoa Sestri Ponente, Italy and will come into service in August 2024. EXPLORA III will become the first of two LNG-powered vessels to join the Explora Journeys’ fleet with a 2026 delivery date followed by EXPLORA IV in 2027.
All vessels will be equipped with the latest environmental and marine technologies, including selective catalytic reduction technology, shore power plug-in connectivity, underwater noise management systems to help protect marine life, and a comprehensive range of onboard energy efficient equipment to optimize engine use to further reduce emissions.
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