Explora Journeys Wins Big — and Travel Advisors Are at the Heart of the Story

Under normal circumstances, I would have preferred to do on an on-camera interview with a personality like Chris Austin. Sometimes things just don’t work out.

But when I sat down with the Explora Journeys president, North America last night in Toronto, within minutes I felt the honesty, passion, and clarity of vision that explain exactly why the brand is resonating with the advisor community. He spoke openly about innovation, the company’s connection to travel advisors, and what makes the rapidly rising luxury brand so different from anything else at sea.

One of the first topics Austin leaned into was something advisors hear constantly from clients: “I can’t be disconnected for 10–14 days.” Whether it’s retirees staying connected to family or entrepreneurs trying to run their businesses remotely, reliable Wi-Fi has gone from a nice-to-have to a deal-breaker. Explora understood this from day one.

Explora’s ships are intentionally designed with exceptional high-speed connectivity fast enough for live-streaming, webinars, and robust social sharing. And with up to six devices per suite, guests aren’t juggling log-ins or kicking each other off the network. As Austin told us, “You could be 85 or 45, connectivity matters to everyone.”

That connectivity ethos extends to travel advisors, too. Explora has integrated with social media management platform Rallio, which enables advisors to instantly post polished, on-brand content. A couple of clicks, and advisors can share professional quality posts photography, captions, hashtags without having to create anything from scratch.

The biggest smile of the conversation came when the topic turned to Explora Journeys winning the Canadian Travel Award for Cruise Line of the Year (Luxury) — voted on by nearly 4,000 travel advisors across all major consortia in Canada. You could literally hear the joy. “We wanted to win, of course,” they said, “but after only two years, we stayed humble. When it was announced… Patricia (Di Benedetto, Director – National & Key Accounts) was texting me at lightning speed. We were over the moon.”

So why did advisors choose Explora?

Austin said “it’s because the brand has treated advisors not as a distribution channel, but as partners, starting from day one. Before a single ship launched, Explora spent two years selling an intangible product but standing behind advisors with strong commissions, no NCFs, commission paid even on the portion collected for cancelled bookings, and a hand-selected trade-facing team that Canadian advisors have quickly grown to trust. “

“Travel advisors know our story,” he said. “They know we’re not a traditional cruise line. We’re offering something genuinely different.”

That difference shows. Explora’s ships feel more like super yacht inspired European boutique hotels than cruise ships. More space. More choices. More design touches that speak to land-based luxury travellers who are new to ocean exploration, as well as loyal cruisers looking for their next great discovery. Advisors can confidently recommend Explora to multigenerational families, couples, solos, and upscale clients seeking a refined, immersive, yet unpretentious luxury experience.

And then there’s the food. Anyone who has sailed oceans and rivers recently knows that F&B quality across the industry has improved dramatically but according to Ausitn, Explora has elevated it to another level . With restaurants like Phil Rouge, Med Yacht Club, Marble & Co., Sakura, and the Marche style Emporium Marketplace, the culinary program rivals top restaurants ashore. Local sourcing, thoughtful menus and serious culinary leadership make dining a defining feature of the Explora experience.

As my conversation with Austin wrapped up, one thing was obvious, Explora Journeys isn’t just competing in the luxury cruise space it is reshaping it. And the brand is doing it with travel advisors front and centre.

I will be on a press trip in December on Explora keep an eye out for updates. I may do a live stream and check out that impressive wifi!