MSC Group’s luxury brand Explora Journeys held a coin ceremony of Explora II at Fincantieri’s Sestri Ponente shipyard near Genoa in Italy. The vessel will enter service in August 2024.
The time-honored maritime ceremony saw commemorative coins placed inside the ship as a sign of blessing during construction and good fortune in the future. The event was attended by key executives, including Pierfrancesco Vago, executive chairman, Cruise Division, MSC Group; Michael Ungerer, CEO, Explora Journeys; and Pierroberto Folgiero, CEO, Fincantieri.
Between August 2024 and April 2025 Explora II will sail in the Mediterranean Sea, the Middle East, the Indian Ocean and Africa, covering 82 ports in 26 countries. The ship will be fitted with 461 oceanfront suites, penthouses and residences. It will additionally be equipped with six restaurants, 12 indoor and outdoor bars and lounges, four swimming pools, outdoor decks with private cabanas, nearly 10,764 square feet of wellness and fitness facilities, plus refined entertainment and enrichment.
Separately, Explora I is being built at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy, and will launch Explora Journeys’ fleet in July 2023 with its inaugural sailing in northern Europe. The first of up to six vessels scheduled to join the fleet of Explora Journeys, it will be officially named on July 8 in Civitavecchia near Rome, Italy. The ship will then transfer to Southampton, U.K. for its inaugural journey on July 17 for a 15-night sailing in Northern Europe to Copenhagen, Denmark.
Explora III will join the fleet in 2026, and Explora IV in 2027. If the options are confirmed, Explora V and Explora VI will join Explora Journeys’ fleet in 2027 and 2028, respectively.
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