Explora Journeys is protecting 100% of travel advisor commissions on bookings made for the postponed launch of the luxury operator’s first vessel, EXPLORA I. The 922-guest ship was due to be delivered by shipbuilder Fincantieri late last week, ahead of the inaugural sailing on 17 July from Southampton to Northern Europe. That 15-night voyage has now been scrapped, with EXPLORA I set to launch instead on 1 August 2023 from Copenhagen, Denmark.
In a statement to LATTE, Explora Journeys said the delayed debut of the ultra-luxury ship was due to “some materials” used on the ship not meeting required safety certifications. The brand was made aware of the delivery delay “only recently”, it said.
“As the safety of our guests and crew is of the utmost priority we took the immediate and responsible decision not to take delivery, even though this meant that we had to cancel the ship’s first sailing to ensure she can be delivered with the highest safety standards and will have all appropriate safety certifications in place,” the MSC Group’s luxury cruise brand stated.
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Explora Journeys is protecting 100% of travel advisor commissions on bookings made for the postponed launch of the luxury operator’s first vessel, EXPLORA I. The 922-guest ship was due to be delivered by shipbuilder Fincantieri late last week, ahead of the inaugural sailing on 17 July from Southampton to Northern Europe. That 15-night voyage has now been scrapped, with EXPLORA I set to launch instead on 1 August 2023 from Copenhagen, Denmark.
“We are working tirelessly with the shipbuilder Fincantieri to deal immediately and appropriately to replace the affected materials to ensure the safety and compliance of the ship. The work is currently underway, and the shipbuilder is discussing with the relevant classification societies to obtain the ship’s safety certificate as soon as possible, so that she will be ready for delivery on 24 July and her first sailing on 1 August from Copenhagen.”
Explora Journeys added: “We understand the disappointment the delay has caused our guests but their safety and that of our crew are of our first priority and we appreciate their understanding as we manage effectively this unexpected situation.”
For guests impacted by the cancellation of sailings between 17 July and 1 August 2023, Explora Journeys is providing a full refund. Guests will additionally received a Future Journey Credit (FJC) equivalent of 30% value of the original booking, to be used for a new reservation.
That credit is valid for 12 months from the issue date and can be used on any open future sailing.
“We are also working with affected guests to find alternative arrangements or offer refunds of directly related costs,” Explora Journeys added.
For travel advisors, Explora Journeys is protecting 100% of the commission payments on the originally booked sailings that have been cancelled. Additionally, there will be no commission recall of monies already paid.
“Commission will be earned on all future bookings on the cash portion paid.”
“When using the 30% Future Journey Credit on a new booking, commission will not be calculated on the value of the credit,” Explora Journeys noted.
Other ships and cruise brands have also been caught up in the issue with fire safety certification, with the UK’s Financial Times reporting last weekend that two ships in the MSC Cruises fleet are affected, one being the recently delivered MSC Euribia. The other ship was not unidentified in that report.