Explora Journeys president: “We are creating entirely new opportunities within ocean travel”
As she prepares to launch Explora III, Anna Nash – Global President of Explora Journeys, Black Book's Premier Partner – shares how vital luxury travel advisors have been for growth, and what the future holds for the brand
Thanks for speaking to Black Book Anna: what are you most excited for in the coming months with Explora Journeys?
This year represents a defining chapter for Explora Journeys as our long-term vision continues to take shape at sea. One of the most exciting milestones will be the arrival of Explora III in July, which means that half of our envisioned six-ship fleet will be sailing this summer. It is an incredibly important moment for the brand and a strong reflection of the momentum we are seeing globally.
Explora III’s maiden call to Southampton on 17 August, ahead of her onward journey to Copenhagen, will be especially meaningful for us. The UK remains one of our most important markets, and this visit will offer a opportunity to welcome our travel advisor community on board and introduce them to the next evolution of the Explora Journeys experience first hand.
Ahead of that, Explora III’s exclusive Mediterranean Prelude Journey in July will be a very special moment. We will welcome our Global Brand Ambassador and current World No. 1 ATP tennis player Jannik Sinner onboard, where he will join guests for a series of experiences including a charity gala dinner, personal coaching sessions and bespoke wellness experiences developed alongside his performance team through our In Balance Ocean Wellness Programme. It reflects a growing desire among guests for experiences that feel more personal, enriching and connected to wellbeing and self-discovery.
We are also delighted to return to Monaco for the Formula 1 Grand Prix [4-7 June] for the second consecutive year, with Explora I positioned in Port Hercule at the centre of one of the world’s most iconic sporting events. It perfectly reflects our philosophy of creating immersive experiences that connect guests meaningfully to culture, sport and lifestyle.
Tennis pro Jannik Sinner is a Global Brand Ambassador for Explora Journeys
Explora III is scheduled to launch this summer. What can you tell us about the third ship in the fleet, and how is it different or enhanced from those before?
We see her as more than a ship, as Explora III has truly been conceived as a destination in her own right. She represents a natural evolution of our philosophy, taking everything guests already value about Explora I and II and elevating it even further through additional space, enhanced choice and more immersive experiences.
She is longer by 19.2 metres, while welcoming almost the same number of guests, allowing us to create an even greater sense of openness throughout the ship. This gives Explora III one of the highest public space ratios per guest in the industry, alongside almost one host per guest. Space remains one of the ultimate luxuries for today’s guest and it is central to our design philosophy.
We have also evolved the residential experience onboard with a higher proportion of Ocean Penthouses and Ocean Residences, as well as introducing a second Owner’s Residence. We are proud of our collaboration with Patricia Urquiola, whose Owner’s Residence brings a beautifully warm and contemporary European living aesthetic to life at sea.
The culinary experience continues to evolve as well. Alongside beloved guest favourites, Explora III introduces entirely new concepts including The Chef’s Table, a highly immersive and intimate culinary experience, and The Cellar, a dedicated wine destination designed for discovery and storytelling.
Wellbeing also continues to play an increasingly important role within the guest experience. Explora III features an expanded integrated wellness and fitness environment designed to create a more holistic sense of balance and restoration at sea. We are also introducing enhanced spaces for younger guests through the Nautilus Club, including a dedicated space for children aged three to five.
Importantly, Explora III is also our first LNG-powered ship, representing another important step in our long-term sustainability journey and our commitment to a more responsible future for luxury ocean travel.
Ultimately, Explora III reflects how we continue to refine and elevate the experience with each new ship, always guided by our belief that true luxury lies in space, intention and emotional connection.
Explora III will feature the newly-designed Owner's Residence by Patricia Urquiola
You recently announced new itineraries for Explora II following redeployment from the Middle East. Does this also create an opportunity to reframe exploration of the Mediterranean during winter?
Absolutely. While the redeployment required agility, it has also created a very compelling opportunity to showcase a different and perhaps more authentic side of the Mediterranean. We increasingly see that guests are seeking quieter, more nuanced and culturally immersive experiences, and the Mediterranean in winter offers exactly that.
With Explora II remaining in the region throughout the season, guests will experience destinations at a slower and more reflective pace, often without the intensity of peak summer tourism. There is a very different atmosphere during winter, one that feels deeply connected to local life, culture and traditions.
Our programme includes overnight stays in destinations such as Casablanca, Lisbon, Madeira and Malaga, allowing guests to experience these places more meaningfully and with greater depth. We will also introduce five maiden ports including Ceuta, Algiers, San Sebastian de La Gomera, Fuerteventura and Palamos, including our very first call to Algeria.
It also reflects a broader shift we are seeing across luxury travel where guests increasingly value off-season exploration and journeys that feel more personal, intentional and emotionally enriching.
Explora II will head to the Mediterranean for a winter season
Is Explora Journeys successfully appealing to guests beyond traditional cruise audiences?
From the outset, Explora Journeys was never conceived to compete within traditional cruise conventions. Our ambition has always been to create a new category of luxury hospitality at sea, one that appeals equally to discerning luxury hotel guests who may never previously have considered an ocean journey.
Today, more than one third of our guests are new to cruise, which we see as a very strong validation of that vision. At the same time, repeat guests already represent more than 40% of bookings, demonstrating very strong emotional connection and loyalty to the brand despite how young we are as a company.
Our ships are intentionally designed more like floating elegant hotels than traditional cruise ships. Space, privacy, design, wellness, exceptional cuisine and highly intuitive service are all central to the experience because those are increasingly the expectations of today’s luxury guest.
We are also seeing growing interest from guests who prioritise lifestyle-led travel experiences, whether that is wellness, gastronomy, culture, sport or multi-generational travel. Increasingly, luxury guests are seeking experiences that combine discovery with restoration and emotional wellbeing.
Our new global campaign, Explore the Ocean State of Mind, reinforces this positioning by inviting guests to rethink what a hotel can be, where the ocean itself becomes the address, rather than simply the route between destinations.
Wellbeing is a priority for many guests travelling with Explora Journeys
Black Book is a completely new trade show for the UK luxury travel sector. How important is the UK market for Explora Journeys?
The UK is extremely important for Explora Journeys and today represents our second largest market globally after the United States. It continues to play a very important role within our long-term growth strategy.
We also know travel advisors have shaped the very definition of modern luxury travel. They are not simply distribution partners for us, they are trusted curators, storytellers and long-term ambassadors for the brand. The advisor community remains absolutely central to our success.
As a reflection of that commitment, we have continued investing significantly in our UK presence and team. Today, we have a highly dedicated and deeply engaged sales team driving the UK market and strengthening our relationships with the travel advisor community.
Black Book represents an exciting opportunity because it brings together some of the region’s most influential luxury travel designers, many of whom are already deeply aligned with the type of guest experience we are creating through Explora Journeys.
How does Explora Journeys continue to listen to and adapt to the needs of the travel advisor community?
Without a new ship launch during 2025, we had a valuable opportunity to focus very intentionally on deepening relationships with both our guests and our travel advisor community. It became a year of listening, refining and evolving.
Personally, I invested considerable time with advisors across the UK through roundtables, lunches and smaller working sessions to better understand how we could continue deepening our partnerships, removing complexity and supporting long-term growth for the brand together.
We have introduced several important initiatives directly shaped by advisor feedback. Rallio, for example, gives advisors access to social media assets including reels and stories that allow them to communicate our brand in a more authentic and engaging way with their audiences.
Our new Approach Guides platform enables advisors to effectively white label our website with their own details, making it easier to create a more personalised client experience. We have also continued enhancing our Knowledge Suite and the Explora Travel Advisor Centre to make learning, booking and accessing marketing tools more seamless and intuitive.
We also evolved our Insider First Look programme into Sail to Sell, which allows advisors to fully immerse themselves in the onboard experience and connect emotionally with the brand first hand. That personal understanding becomes incredibly powerful when sharing Explora Journeys with prospective guests.
Explora III will feature The Chef's Table and The Cellar for the first time
You have been Global President for almost two years. How does your luxury hospitality background continue to shape Explora Journeys?
My background in luxury hospitality continues to influence almost every aspect of how we think about the guest experience because our philosophy has always been hospitality first.
While Explora Journeys already had a very clear and compelling long-term vision, my role has been about continuing to refine how that vision is expressed through service, design, emotional connection and the overall guest journey.
We approach the experience very much through the lens of the world’s finest luxury hotels, where intuitive service, atmosphere, personalization, and emotional ease are just as important as physical design. That mindset also allows us to move beyond traditional cruise expectations and instead create something that feels much more aligned with the broader evolution of modern luxury travel today.
Luxury hospitality has also influenced how we think about long-term brand building. We are not simply creating ships or itineraries; we are building a globally recognized, luxury lifestyle brand with the same emotional resonance and loyalty traditionally associated with the world’s finest hotels.
What key messages will your team be sharing with advisors attending Black Book?
Our team will focus very strongly on the next phase of growth for Explora Journeys and the opportunities this creates for our travel advisor partners.
2027 will be a particularly exciting milestone year for the brand with the arrival of two new ships, Explora IV in April with a strong Northern Europe focus, followed by Explora V in December.
We will also introduce entirely new destination experiences including Alaska for the very first time, alongside our inaugural Asia season from September 2027 where Explora III will sail across Japan, China, Vietnam and Thailand through 28 journeys.
Explora III will sail an Alaskan season for the first time in 2027
Looking further ahead, we are already seeing very strong interest around our 2029 World Journey, Endless Worlds, a deeply immersive 128-night experience designed around slower and more meaningful exploration.
Equally important will be our continued commitment to supporting the trade community through tools such as Rallio, Approach Guides and the Explora Travel Advisor Centre, alongside our new Explore the Ocean State of Mind campaign which is helping advisors engage entirely new audiences for ocean travel.
Ultimately, our message is that Explora Journeys represents not only a growing luxury brand, but a significant long-term opportunity for advisors to grow alongside us.
Above all – I would like to thank our travel advisor community for being alongside us on this journey from the very beginning. Their belief in the vision, partnership and continued support have played an enormously important role in helping bring Explora Journeys to life and introducing a new audience to ocean travel.