Explora III welcomes agents during maiden call to Southampton

Explora III welcomed 30 travel agents from across the UK during made its maiden call to Southampton on Monday (August 17).

Anna Nash, president of Explora Journeys, and Antonio Paradiso, vice-president and managing director UK & Ireland, hosted the advisors and outlined the business opportunities in luxury ocean travel and attracting new-to-ocean guests.

The new ship has one of the highest ratios of total public space per guest in the industry and the visit gave advisors a deeper understanding of the brand to help them introduce Explora Journeys to their clients.

Explora III’s maiden Southampton call forms part of its inaugural Northern European programme. The ship departs Southampton today (August 18) for an eight-night journey to Copenhagen, calling at Mandal, Sandnes (Stavanger), Olden, Bergen and Flåm.

Paradiso said: “Explora Journeys set out to create a new expression of ultra-elegant ocean travel, appealing to travellers who may never have considered an ocean journey before.

“Explora III takes that vision further, giving our travel advisor partners an even stronger proposition for attracting new-to-ocean guests.

“As the third ship in our planned six-ship fleet, her maiden call to Southampton marks an important milestone for Explora Journeys in the UK, and we’re delighted to celebrate it with the Port of Southampton and our partners.”

Explora III is the second ship in the Explora Journeys fleet to visit Southampton, following Explora I’s maiden call almost exactly three years ago on August 30, 2023.

A traditional Crest Exchange Ceremony marked the occasion with Southampton port and council dignitaries.

The advisors and dignitaries then enjoyed lunch at Fil Rouge, one of the ship’s seven restaurants, before disembarking.

The newly launched ship features 461 ocean-facing suites and can accommodate about 900 guests with a host-to-guest ratio of 1:1.25.

Southampton welcomes about three million passengers each year and serves as the departure point for a wide range of itineraries across northern Europe and beyond.