Catching up with Explora Journeys’ Chris Austin

Time flies when you’re having fun, something that Chris Austin, Explora Journeys’ president of North America, knows all too well. The day TMR spoke with Austin, he was celebrating exactly four years at the luxury cruise line (most of it as chief sales officer, he was promoted to president of North America in April).

“Four years have rolled by incredibly fast,” he told TMR.

Austin joined the company when it was still a new concept. The cruise line had no ships yet, but the Aponte family owners had a big dream.

“When I joined, there was a very clear vision by our family owners of creating a brand new, very differentiated, ultra luxury ocean experience,” he said. “It’s intentional that the guest experience and the design of the ship feels more like an ultra-luxury hotel as opposed to a cruise ship.”

While much of that vision was set in stone, he was tasked with making pieces of that vision come to life – what he referred to as blank pieces of paper.

“Brand was one of them… I also had blank pieces of paper on how we were going to work with our travel advisor partners, so the commercial terms, the programs, the tools, the resources…”

As chief sales officer, Austin spent most of his time filling in the trade piece of the puzzle. As president of North America for Explora Journeys, trade is still important, but much of his focus has shifted to branding and how to communicate the line’s unique style of cruising.

“Amplifying that story. Amplifying the brand, making sure that people understand the brand, that they can relate to the story we’re telling and then share that with others.”

A “huge objective” since he took over as president of North America has been trying to get as many travel advisors as possible to experience the ships.

“Because seeing is believing,” he said. “All these differences, we’ve had to make sure that our advisors absolutely understand that and can share that story.”

Getting advisors onboard is an ongoing project for Explora Journeys, he added.

“You can’t, in six months, touch every single potential advisor.”

Explaining the “Ocean State of Mind”

From its first introduction to the trade, Explora Journeys has focused its messaging on the “ocean state of mind” and relied on stylized videos to convey an accompanying feeling.

But what is the ocean state of mind, TMR asked Austin.

It starts with the concept of slowing down and connecting, an idea that resonates with Explora’s ideal guest.

“I think slow travel is something that allows us to recharge. It allows us to connect with the world, with our friends, with our family and just be rejuvenated to return back to work and perform again to our max.”

Other words he suggested advisors use to convey the ocean state of mind experience are transformative, tranquil, wellness, connected to the ocean/nature, relaxed/relaxing, informal, and inclusive.

“All of our inclusions – culinary, Wi-Fi, tipping – this all creates an ocean state of mind. You’ve got nothing to worry about… I’ve said relaxation. I’ve said tranquility. These are all things that living in today’s world we should do a lot more of.” 

Speaking of inclusiveness…

TMR asked Austin about the decision to exclude shore excursions from the line’s fares.

“We did a lot of survey work, in fact, over 20,000 affluent travelers… and resoundingly they said, don’t include the destination experiences because we know that if you include them, you’ll be pricing them into the journey. And we’ll probably do them, but they probably won’t be what we actually would prefer to do.”

Travelers wanted more choice with optional excursions, rather than fewer choice with included excursions.

“This is where personalization comes in, that perfect day for you. Maybe all you want to do is go ashore and find a beautiful café and enjoy a morning coffee, or if later in the afternoon an aperitivo and watch the sunset and make your own day.”

Austin’s trade ask

“More support,” Austin told TMR when asked what Explora Journeys needs. “We are looking for that partnership to grow. We’re looking for them to spread the message and amplify the story.”

While he’s pleased with the brand’s momentum, he pointed out that his biggest surprise in the four years he’s been with Explora was that “not everybody actually stepped up.”

Many advisors, he explained, chose to wait for the brand to be launched.

“Now, we do see overwhelming support from our advisor community and a strong growing interest in what is, basically, a unique approach to luxury travel.”

With that said, there are “plenty of advisors” left for Explora Journeys to engage with, and he encourages those advisors to visit Explora Journeys’ travel advisor portal, register, and “lean into all of the assets that we have available in the marketing suite and the knowledge suite.”

“Every single new advisor that we can embrace is very important to us,” he added.

Lots of space to fill

On top of asking advisors who haven’t connected with Explora Journeys to reach out, Austin also said he wants advisors to be more proactive about offering an Explora sailing as a vacation option, especially in places where land options are already full.

“We have space. We’re not shy in saying that… But that makes us an easy sale,” he said. “This time of year, advisors could spend an awful lot of time finding a hotel suite for a Christmas or New Year holiday vacation, and they just can’t find it. Or they find it, but at a very high price. If they think about Explora Journeys, we have the space. Layer us into every single quotation.”

He added that suggesting Explora Journeys, especially when clients haven’t heard of the brand before, makes advisors look good.

“That’s a reason why clients should be working with the travel advisor. Because they’re going to unlock these fabulous new opportunities.”

Austin added that while, yes, there’s space to fill on both EXPLORA I and EXPLORA II, the line never intends to fill its ships to 100% occupancy.

“When your vision is to create an ocean experience that is more akin to a luxury hotel, it’s more than just design. If our occupancy in the future, if we’re at the 90% mark, we’ll be delighted. That benefits all guests when you’re not actually at 100%.”

No challenges, just opportunities

When asked which challenges facing the cruise industry keep him awake at night, Austin reframed the question.

“I would change that into what’s the opportunity. Positivity is probably the best fuel, the best energy. We have a terrific opportunity to grow the new-to-cruise segment,” he said. “We’ve got an opportunity to get luxury affluent travelers who have never cruised before to actually take an ocean experience.”

Austin cited statistics showing how little of the North American market has yet to cruise. It’s time, he said, for “our trade partners and ourselves to really capitalize on the opportunity that’s right in front of us.”