The ship’s Barcelona naming ceremony marked a fleet milestone, combining a larger onboard footprint, new hospitality concepts and the brand’s first LNG-powered vessel.
Explora Journeys officially named EXPLORA III in Barcelona on August 3, 2026, introducing the first LNG-powered ship in its fleet and marking the halfway point in its planned six-ship vision. The ceremony followed the vessel’s delivery in Genoa on July 23, 2026, and an exclusive five-night Prelude Journey through the Mediterranean. Cristina Ozores, a marine educator, National Geographic Educator and founder of the conservation organisation Vellmarí, served as godmother and blessed and named the ship during the ceremony.
The announcement places EXPLORA III within Explora Journeys’ effort to define a more spacious form of luxury ocean travel. The company describes the ship as 19.2 metres longer than EXPLORA I and EXPLORA II, with 19.5 square metres of public space per guest, a ratio it identifies as the most generous across its fleet. Its expanded layout includes a redesigned lobby, a larger Conservatory Pool & Bar, a reworked Crema Café and a unified Ocean Wellness area bringing spa and fitness facilities together.
The ship also broadens the brand’s food, retail and leisure offer. New concepts include The Cellar by Explora Journeys, with nearly 350 wine labels; a co-created Chef’s Table; and Shore Club on 11, serving Mediterranean dishes, crêpes, gelato and zero-proof drinks. EXPLORA III adds an outdoor sports court, an extended running track, a Chopard presence alongside Piaget, Cartier and Rolex, and the first Mandala by Ocean Atelier boutique at sea. A second 315-square-metre Owner’s Residence was designed in collaboration with Patricia Urquiola.
Technology is central to the vessel’s positioning as well. Explora Journeys says EXPLORA III is designed to operate on liquefied natural gas and offers a pathway towards bio-LNG and synthetic LNG as those alternatives become more available. The ship also has shore-power capability, allowing it to connect to onshore electricity where port infrastructure exists and switch off its engines while alongside. Those features sit alongside the company’s wider emphasis on future ship design and advanced marine technologies.
Following the Barcelona celebrations, the release reported that EXPLORA III was scheduled to depart on August 3, 2026, for a seven-night Maiden Journey to Lisbon. Its inaugural season was described as extending through Northern Europe, Iceland, Greenland and North America. For Explora Journeys, the vessel therefore functions as both an operational addition and a concentrated statement of the brand’s priorities: more room, broader hospitality and a technology platform intended to support the next stage of its fleet development.
