This ship has not been delivered
It needs saying before anything else. EXPLORA IV is still under construction
at Fincantieri and her entry into service is announced for early 2027. She will
run on liquefied natural gas, like EXPLORA III.
And yet departure dates are already on sale on this
page: seventy-seven in 2027 and twenty in 2028. A few lines appear twice in the listing, so the distinct inventory is shorter. It is the largest duplicate gap in the fleet.
What that means for you
Selling before delivery is the norm in this sector, not an exception. But a
yard schedule sometimes slips, and when it does it is the guest who rebooks the
flights, the hotel nights and the time off. Two precautions are worth taking:
cancellation cover, and changeable air tickets.
No detailed specification has been published for this hull: no tonnage, no
length, no number of suites. We will not borrow her sisters' figures to fill
the gap. What is established is the schedule and the propulsion.
If you want to leave sooner
Three ships in this fleet are already sailing and sell the same formula:
EXPLORA III, delivered on 23 July 2026,
EXPLORA I, in service since 2023, and
EXPLORA II, since September 2024. Your advisor can
compare their itineraries with the ones announced here.
The MSC group's luxury brand
Worth knowing before you compare: Explora Journeys belongs to the MSC group.
The same group as the mainstream cruise line everyone knows, but it is not the
same fleet, not the same ship, and not the same way of travelling. Six hulls
ordered in one go from Fincantieri in Italy, all built on the same principle:
few guests, a great deal of space, and a fare that covers almost everything.
A guest who knows MSC through its large family ships does not expect this.
A guest who discovers Explora without knowing where the brand comes from cannot
work out how a house founded in 2023 ordered six ships in a single stroke.
Both deserve to be told.
Suites only, each with a terrace
There is no inside cabin on these ships, no porthole cabin, no entry
category you will be advised to avoid. Every cabin is a suite, and each one has
its own private terrace. It is a constraint the brand set itself in the first
drawings, and it explains why these hulls carry so few people for their
size.
The exact number of suites per ship does not agree from one source to the
next, so we do not quote it. What is established is the above: not a single
cabin without a terrace.
What is included, and what is not
This is the most generous formula in our catalogue after Regent, and it
cannot be guessed at.
Included: gratuities, drinks — wines, spirits, cocktails,
soft drinks, coffees and teas —, Wi-Fi, port taxes, access to the spa and its
facilities, shuttles into town, and every restaurant but one.
Not included: shore excursions, spa treatments, one
restaurant that carries a supplement with an optional food and wine pairing,
and the top of the wine list — rare Champagnes, fine Bordeaux, older single
malts.
Gratuities in the fare is what changes the arithmetic most. At several
American competitors a daily service charge is posted to the onboard account
and only shows up at the end. Here there is nothing of the kind: the question
does not arise. Shore excursions, on the other hand, are booked and paid
separately, unlike Regent and Ponant. Compare two quotes without knowing that
and you will get it wrong every time.
Meanwhile, in the fleet
The fleet will number six ships.
Booking from Quebec
The brand is Swiss, the group Italian-Swiss, the ships come from an Italian
yard. The ticket contract therefore follows a different logic from the American
lines in this catalogue: we did not obtain the current contract, and we will
say neither that it carries an arbitration clause nor that it does not. Ask for
it before paying, or have your advisor read it with you.
Nothing establishes a Quebec licence for the carrier. Your protection comes
from here: Voyages AquaTerra holds a licence from the Office de la protection
du consommateur, your payments pass through a trust account, and your departure
is covered by the compensation fund for travel agency customers.