by Claudette COVEY
Last updated at 12:55 PM ET on Thu July 20, 2023
Fincantieri, a shipyard located in Monfalcone (Italy), delivered the 69.900-ton gross Explora 1 for Explora Journeys. This is MSC Group’s new luxury brand.
Explora 1’s inaugural seven-day journey from Copenhagen to Reykjavik in Iceland, Lerwick on the Shetland Isles, and Kirkwall on Orkney will depart on August 1, 2023.
Pierfrancesco Vaga, executive chairman of MSC Group’s cruise division, said during the July 20, 2018 delivery ceremony, “Today marks a historic and decisive day in our growth path because it marks MSC Group’s entry into the luxury travel segment.” This segment has strong growth potential, which we believe in and whose standards are something we want to redefine. We will always focus on luxury and excellence.
Explora 1 is scheduled to sail through the waters of Northern Europe over a period of several weeks. “Then, via Greenland, cross the Atlantic Sea to spend the fall in North America and the winter in Caribbean before spending the spring in Hawaii and the US West Coast,” Explora Journeys stated.
Explora Journeys is currently ordering three additional ships, all of which will be in service by 2027.
