| IMO | 9869887 |
|---|---|
| Gross tonnage | 63,713 GT |
| Length | 248 m |
| Beam | 32 m |
| Passenger capacity (double) | 922 |
| Crew | 638 |
| Service speed | 18.0 knots |
| Builder | Fincantieri |
| Yard | Sestri Ponente |
| Hull number | 6320 |
| Launched | 2023 |
| Maiden voyage | 2024-09-16 |
| Operator | Explora Journeys |
| Status | Active |
Overview
Explora II is the second ship built for Explora Journeys, the luxury ocean-travel brand of the MSC Group, and the second of a planned six-ship fleet built by Fincantieri in Italy. She was delivered at Fincantieri's Sestri Ponente yard near Genoa in September 2024 and made her maiden voyage on 16 September 2024 from Civitavecchia.
Her place in cruise history is as part of a deliberate counter-move to mega-ship growth. At 63,713 GT she is less than a third of the tonnage of MSC's largest contemporary ships, yet she carries only 922 guests in 461 suites. Explora's proposition — European luxury-hotel service, high space ratio, included dining across multiple restaurants — is built into the hull's proportions, not added as a marketing layer.
Delivery day itself marked the fleet's future: at the same Sestri Ponente event, Fincantieri and MSC held the coin ceremony for Explora III and cut steel for Explora IV, making Explora II's handover the public midpoint of a roughly €3.5 billion programme.
Key specifications
The dataset gives 63,713 GT, 248 m length, 32 m beam, 922 guests at double occupancy, 638 crew, 18 knots service speed, and hull 6320 at Sestri Ponente. Contemporary delivery reporting describes her as 63,621 GT in one Fincantieri account and about 63,900 GT in others — small variations of measurement and rounding that do not change the ship described; this guide uses the dataset's 63,713 GT in the spec box and notes the variant in the batch log.
The guest-to-crew arithmetic is the specification that defines her: 922 guests to 638 crew is close to a 1.45-to-1 ratio, in line with the established ultra-luxury segment and far removed from contemporary large-ship ratios. Her 461 suites are all ocean-front, in Explora's terminology divided between suites, penthouses and residences.
Design and construction
Explora II was built by Fincantieri at Sestri Ponente, the Genoa yard that has built the entire Explora series. Keel laying for the class programme proceeded in sequence at the yard; she was floated out / launched in 2023 (the dataset's launch year) and completed sea trials in 2024 — the dataset's roster source is Explora's own sea-trials press document, an appropriate primary source for a ship with no long secondary literature yet.
Design language across the first two Explora ships is intentionally yacht-referential: low, long profile for a modern cruise ship, extensive open deck relative to guest numbers, four pools (including an indoor pool with a retractable glass roof in class descriptions), and interiors by European designers working in a residential rather than theatrical idiom. Eleven culinary experiences across six restaurants plus in-suite dining were specified for the first pair, along with twelve bars and lounges — figures reported at delivery and characteristic of the class's "choice without scale" approach.
Environmental specification for the first two ships centred on efficiency and shore-power readiness; the step-change to liquefied natural gas propulsion was reserved for Explora III onwards, which makes Explora II the last of the conventionally fuelled pair.
Naming, launch and maiden voyage
She has carried one name only, Explora II, in the fleet's Roman-numeral sequence. She was launched in 2023, delivered on 12 September 2024 in most contemporary reporting, and moved to Civitavecchia for naming and her maiden voyage on 16 September 2024, the date recorded in the dataset, sailing toward Sicily, Malta and Spain in contemporary accounts. Her godmother is recorded in secondary listings as Rosalba Giugni, founder and president of the Marevivo Foundation.
Career by operator
| Period | Name | Operator |
|---|---|---|
| 2024–present | Explora II | Explora Journeys |
A single-name, single-operator career to date. Her operating history so far is therefore a fleet history: she joined Explora I (2023) as the brand moved from launch curiosity to a functioning two-ship luxury line, ahead of the LNG-powered ships that follow. No transfer, charter renaming or operator change has occurred.
Onboard character
Era-defining character for this class is the translation of a European grand-hotel and private-yacht vocabulary into a mid-sized cruise ship: all-suite accommodation with terraces, a high proportion of open deck and pool space per guest, a large spa and wellness area, and dining presented as a set of distinct restaurants rather than a main dining room hierarchy. Contemporary delivery reporting emphasised "vibrant, cosmopolitan, relaxed European luxury" as the brand's own summary — a fair description of the design brief, if not a neutral one.
Equally defining is what the class omits: no water slides, no vast casino floor, no multi-deck retail mall. In the 2020s luxury segment that restraint, paired with included speciality dining, became the competitive marker — and Explora II, as the confirming second ship, proved the formula was a class standard rather than a one-ship flagship experiment.
Major refits and incidents
None recorded. She is a new ship in early service; no major refit, casualty or notable incident appears in the sources used for this guide. Any future dry-dock work would be routine hotel refresh rather than conversion, given her age.
Sister ships and class
The dataset leaves the class field blank. She is the second of six planned Explora ships: Explora I (2023), Explora II (2024), the larger LNG-powered Explora III (2026) and Explora IV (due 2027), with Explora V and VI following in the programme announced by MSC and Fincantieri. The first pair form a near-identical sub-group; from Explora III the design grows by about 19 m in length and changes fuel, so "sister ship" applies most strictly to Explora I.
Fate and where she is now
Active, in service with Explora Journeys — the dataset's status, confirmed by delivery and maiden-voyage reporting. As a 2024 ship built for a new brand with four further sisters on order, her foreseeable fate is simply continuity: she is at the start, not the end, of her career, and no disposal, charter or renaming is recorded or announced in the sources used.
Sources: https://explorajourneys.com/content/dam/explora/b2c/common/press/explora-ii-sea-trials/EN-Sea-Trials-EXPLORA-II.pdf?insider=vm5qd-thrive-traveling; https://maritime-executive.com/article/fincantieri-delivers-second-luxury-cruise-ship-to-msc-s-explora-journeys