The latest luxury expedition cruise line to join the industry will offer voyages to Iceland, South America, and Hawaii in 2023 and early 2024.
MSC Group's Explora Journeys has scheduled cruises to those regions, as well as the U.K., the Mediterranean, Greenland, Northern Europe, Canada, the Caribbean, the U.S. East Coast, for when its first vessel, MSC Explora 1, debuts in May 2023.
The new line is part of MSC Group, which operates MSC Cruises.
The itineraries range in length from 6 to 44 nights and feature a mix of 132 ports across 40 different countries. Included on that list are 2 ports that are new to cruise-ship calls: Saint Pierre (Martinique) and Kastellorizo (Greece).
Explora 1 is currently under construction at the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone (Italy). Her 2023-early 2024 schedule includes:
- May-June 2023: the Mediterranean, including calls in Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Portugal, France
- July-August 2023: Northern Europe, including calls in England, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Poland, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium
- August 2023: the United Kingdom, including calls in England & Scotland
- September 2023: Iceland & Greenland, including calls in those countries, Canada and the U.S.
- September-October 2023: U.S. East Coast & Canada, including calls in New York, Newport, Boston, Saint John, Quebec City, La Baie, Baie-Comeau, Havre-Saint Pierre, Charlottetown (Prince Edward Island), Halifax
- November 2023-March 2024: the Caribbean, including ports in Florida and the Keys, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts, the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, Antigua, Barbados, Turks and Caicos, Colombia, Panama, Aruba, Panama Canal crossing
- January-February 2024: South America, Pacific Coast & Hawaii, including calls in French Guiana, Barbados, Brazil, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, ports in California, Canada, Hawaii.