The new ultra-luxury travel brand MSC Explora Journeys recently unveiled the design of the Ocean Terrace Suites on its first cruise ship - EXPLORA 1, ahead of her maiden voyage in May 2023.
MSC's Explora Journeys brand was born from the vision of the MSC Group's founders - the Italian family Aponte Vago. With the nautical heritage of 300+ years coupled with an innate understanding of luxury, the family curated the design of the suites, penthouses, and residences to create a luxurious home at sea. The design reflects the brand’s philosophy of creating the Ocean State of Mind, due to colour, light, privacy, space, and connection with the sea.
The Aponte Vago family has worked in collaboration with some of the foremost cruiseship, superyacht, and luxury hospitality architects and designers in the world.
The spacious "Homes at Sea" range from 35 m2 (375 ft2) in the Ocean Terrace category up to 280 m2 (3015 ft2) for the Owners Residence. The lead in the category Ocean Terrace Suites and the 39 m2 (420 ft2) Ocean Grand Terrace Suites are some of the industry's largest, and feature their own private terrace (7-11 m2/75-118 ft2), creating an extension to the living space with daybeds and an alfresco dining area.
Each ‘Home at Sea’ has a walk-in wardrobe with a seated vanity area as well as a Dyson Supersonic hairdryer, personal binoculars, heated floors in the bathrooms, wireless bed-side charging, a kettle and teapot, an espresso machine with bio-degradable pods, a personal mini-bar replenished according to the passengers’ preferences, and a complimentary personal refillable water bottle for each traveler. 24-hour guest services ensure every request is provided.
Each of Explora 1's 461 staterooms (spread across 5 cabin decks) comes with its own terrace and boasts floor-ceiling windows, a neutral color palette and contemporary furniture.
The design of the suites has been developed in collaboration with London-based architectural and interior design studio NenMar and De Jorio Luxury & Yachts projects. Suites will be furnished with some of the best Italian and European design furniture like Molteni&C (part of Molteni Group).
Conscious luxury is reflected in the special choice of materials and the company's commitment to sustainability is demonstrated in its dedication to responsible sourcing of materials/eco-friendly details like refillable bathroom amenities as well as no single-use plastic onboard.
Sales are open for EXPLORA I's "Inaugural Journeys Collection" from May 2023. In the first year, the vessel will visit 132 ports in 40 countries, including 2 destinations - Saint Pierre (Martinique) and Kastellorizo Island (Greece) that have rarely been visited by cruisers before.
The itineraries visit ports in the Mediterranean, the UK, Northern Europe, Iceland and Greenland, Canada, the Caribbean, the USA (Hawaii, East Coast), and South America.
Voyages start from 6-night and culminate in a 44-night "Northern Europe Grand Journey".