The launch of the EXPLORA I took place on 30 May 2022 at the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, the first of four cruise ships commissioned by the MSC Group for the new luxury brand Explora Journeys.

The ship EXPLORA I will enter service at the end of May 2023, and then in the summer of 2024 its sister ship EXPLORA II. It is the first of four ships, for a total investment of two billion euros, with state-of-the-art environmental solutions and a very innovative design. Explora I, which began construction in June 2021, will enter service at the end of May 2023.

In parallel, the construction of EXPLORA II continues, another ship of the new brand has begun to take shape and will be delivered in the summer of 2024. The second has already been installed at Fincantieri's Castellammare di Stabia shipyard and will be delivered in 2024.

The third and fourth units, which have already been put into operation, could have a new supply of green liquefied natural gas, while Fincantieri and MSC have been discussing this possibility for some time. to add two new ships of the ultra-luxury brand to the maximum order, which would therefore be the fifth and sixth units.

Serena Melanie from Livorno will follow the last phases of the construction of the extra-luxury ship that Fincantieri built for MSC.

The captain's task will be to monitor the last phase of shipbuilding, which will last a year.

Serena Melanie is the only Italian woman captain of passenger ships, and there are less than ten of them in the world.

"Women are even a multiplier of power because they bring the cultural part of development. And I think this is a symbol. It is the first prototype of the ship of the new cruise concept commanded by the captain, it is an important signal for everyone and for the whole Italian world, economy, state, private sector, and public ", commented President Fincantieri and General Claudio Graziano.