Explora Journeys is a rapidly growing luxury lifestyle brand aiming to recapture the romance of ocean travel with a growing fleet of small, highly curated ships catering to a younger demographic. Baku speaks with Anna Nash, the President, who is overseeing the family-owned company’s expansion
Anna Nash is on a mission. And, despite recently being appointed to preside over a fast-growing hospitality experience that encompasses travel, cuisine, wellness and, increasingly, art, she is adamant that it is not a luxury mission.
Luxury, says Nash, is a “transactional” word. As President of Explora Journeys, she is seeking to define ocean travel, or cruising, as having cultural depth, elegance and promoting wellbeing, for a global wealthy audience. “We are looking to redefine the perception of cruising,” she says. “It has been seen as for a particular demographic or type of traveller. There are all sorts of stigmas that still exist. The industry has been defined around size and numbers, and we’re much more than that.”
Explora Journeys, which currently has two ships, with four more coming, is a little different. The restaurants, six on each ship, have à la carte menus and are so good that Nash, herself something of a gourmet, says she would happily dine at them if they were in Geneva, where she lives. There are no queues, and there are spa rituals as you might find in a luxury (that word again) hotel. You can also take in a permanent art installation by the British-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare.
One of the five heated indoor and outdoor pools of each ship
Nash took the helm at Explora Journeys after a long career at the top end of the hotel industry, working for groups including Aman and Orient Express (now Belmond). What was it like moving into the “ocean travel” part of the sector? Nash says there are similarities. “We talk a lot about being a floating hotel whose address is the ocean,” she says. But there are evident differences in logistics, and also in interactions. “We are asking for at least six nights of somebody’s time, whereas often in a hotel it’s two or three nights at most, with people tending to move on to another destination. We’re very lucky that we have our guests for longer. We can really get to know them and take care of them, and start to personalise their experience.”
Nash says that, unusually for the cruise industry, around 30 per cent of their guests are first-time ocean-goers. “I want cruising to become part of the modern zeitgeist, to have relevance again, and for people to understand the romance, the ease, the fluidity that ocean travel brings,” she says. “We are the destination, but we also take you on to the next destination, so your time is maximised. I want Explora Journeys to continue to be the trailblazer that makes ocean travel relevant and cool again, and to lose the stigma that still exists around cruising. As a new brand, with maybe a slightly younger president, we can challenge those perceptions.”
For Nash, art, design, music and sport are key elements in attracting and retaining a newer audience. Explora Journeys works with Steinway & Sons to put together recitals with famous pianists. Then there is the British Library collection by Shonibare and the appointment of Jannick Sinner as brand ambassador.
The captain’s table – every part of the ship is fitted with the highest luxury
Explora Journeys will add to its Mediterranean voyages with new ship Explora III travelling to the UK, the Baltic and Norwegian fjords, and on to Greenland and Iceland in summer 2026. Asia is on the agenda for 2027 and 2028.
How does she see her leadership role in contributing to the ongoing project? “I very much see myself as a new generation, a new style of leadership,” says Nash. “I am hands on, rolling my sleeves up, leading by example. I believe you have to listen and observe and not take actions or make decisions too quickly.”
Nash, who moved from London to Geneva when taking up the helm of Explora Journeys, says her greatest challenge is overseeing the privately owned company’s current rapid growth, scaling up while not diluting core values or the guest experience. “I am a firm believer of being in the office every day, having the team there, hopefully inspiring them and keeping us going through this exponential growth.”
Her energy and enthusiasm is infectious. Former colleagues speak of Nash’s work ethic, eye for detail, thoroughness, dedication and collegiate approach. All of which bodes well for life on board an ocean experience, which we think sounds rather, well, luxurious.
An Explora Journeys ship embarking on a Caribbean Journey
A day in the life of Anna Nash
Geneva-based Nash wakes up at 6am, checks emails over a coffee and goes to the gym by 6.30am. She is in the office by 8am, where she spends the first hour dealing with overnight emails and business.
“I have a lot of meetings through the day, almost back to back, on operations, on itinerary planning and deployment, on the sales and marketing strategy, on customer reviews and on where are we now and where we need to grow.
“I keep some of my day free, so I can help remove barriers and make the decisions that the team needs to be able to move on. I tend to forget to have lunch and then I realise I’ve missed the opportunity. So it’s often just a snack at my desk, unless I’m very prepared, which I’m not.”
She finishes her day by 7:30-8pm, when she goes home and has dinner with her husband. “Then I’ll probably clear a few more urgent things before retiring around 10.30pm at the latest.”
