Matti Blume · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped
Explora Journeys opened bookings on September 9, 2026, for Explora I’s first full South America winter, covering December 2027 through March 2028, according to the brand’s Winter 2027 to 2028 collection page and a Cruise Industry News report on the new map.
The 922-guest ship will sail Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, and the Falkland Islands instead of the cancelled Middle East winter, so anyone comparing Explora I itineraries now has a Southern Hemisphere summer to book, with an early-savings window that closes September 29, 2026.
- Ship and season: Explora I, December 2027 through March 2028.
- Where it sails: Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, and the Falkland Islands, plus a Barcelona to Rio crossing.
- New ports: 20 maiden destinations, 12 of them in Brazil, per Explora’s press briefing as reported by PAX.
- Booking gate: Reservations are open now. Early-booking savings listed on Explora’s collection page run through September 29, 2026.
- Why it moved: Explora I was pulled off a Middle East winter after the brand cancelled that 2027 to 2028 plan in August.
Explora I’s First South America Season, Dated
Explora’s winter collection page now lists South America as a core 2027 to 2028 geography for Explora I, alongside Explora V’s inaugural Mediterranean season, Explora III in Asia, and Explora II and Explora IV in the Caribbean. Cruise Industry News says the South America dates were released on September 9, 2026, and are live to book.
PAX, quoting the company’s press release, says the program includes 20 maiden destinations, 12 of them in Brazil, five overnight stays in ports such as Buenos Aires, Puerto Madryn, and Rio de Janeiro, and eight late departures from places including Balneario Camboriu, Port Stanley, Rio, and Maceio. If you want a city night rather than a day call, the overnights are the sailings to hold.
The season sits in the Southern Hemisphere summer, which is the opposite calendar from a Caribbean winter. That is useful if you are building a South America cruise around Brazil’s holidays, Patagonia’s long days, or a Buenos Aires hotel stay before or after the ship. It is less useful if you wanted Explora I for a warm-water Middle East winter, which is no longer on the 2027 to 2028 board.
The Middle East Redeployment That Opened the Map
Cruise Industry News reports that Explora I had been scheduled for the Middle East and was moved after the regional security picture changed. Deep Arrival already covered that Middle East winter cancellation in August. This week’s booking drop is the replacement. Anyone who held a Middle East suite should treat the South America collection as a new product, not an automatic rebook onto the same dates.
Anna Nash, president of Explora Journeys, said in the press release quoted by PAX that the line is pairing Brazil with Patagonia on Explora I, while Explora V takes a quieter winter Mediterranean. The fleet assignment is concrete: one ship to South America, one ship to a winter Med, neither ship to the Red Sea that winter.
Explora I remains a 922-guest, all-oceanfront-suite ship. The South America season does not change the product type. It changes the map, the holiday calendar, and the airlift you need into Barcelona, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, or Ushuaia depending on which journey you pick.
Brazil Coast Routes and New Year in Camboriu
After an extended Mediterranean summer, Explora I is scheduled to cross the Atlantic in December 2027 on a 17-night Barcelona to Rio de Janeiro voyage calling at Malaga, Tangier, Recife, and Maceio, Cruise Industry News reports. That crossing is the on-ramp. If you only want Brazil, skip it and join later.
Once on the Brazilian coast, Explora I is set to run seven-night open-jaw journeys between Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires. Published calls include Ilhabela, Buzios, Porto Belo, Paranagua, Sao Francisco do Sul, Montevideo, and Punta del Este. Cruise Industry News also flags Paraty and Ilha Grande, which sit inside a UNESCO World Heritage listing. Those are small-port days, which is the point of putting a 922-guest ship on this coast.
The same report says Explora I is scheduled to become the first cruise ship at the New Year fireworks in Balneario Camboriu. Treat that as Explora’s claim, reported by Cruise Industry News, until the city’s port calendar is independently posted. Holiday inventory on a 461-suite ship still sells early. Similar Brazil coast journeys are listed through mid-February, after which the ship is scheduled for a transatlantic run toward Portugal.
Patagonia, Cape Horn, and Overnight Calls
In January 2028, Explora I is scheduled for two eight-night journeys from Buenos Aires toward Ushuaia, visiting Puerto Madryn, Punta Arenas, Puerto Williams, and Port Stanley, with scenic cruising at Cape Horn and overnight calls, according to Cruise Industry News. Those are expedition-adjacent waters on a suite ship, not an ice-class expedition vessel. Pack for wind, and do not assume every Cape Horn day is a landing.
Puerto Madryn and Buenos Aires overnights are the planning hinges. An overnight in Buenos Aires lets you keep a hotel night off the ship or use the extra evening without a same-day all-aboard. Puerto Madryn is the usual gateway for Peninsula Valdes wildlife. Port Stanley is a Falklands call with a late departure listed in the press briefing. Cape Horn remains weather-gated.
A 17-night repositioning back toward Europe is listed with Brazil, Spain, Morocco, and Portugal. Price the air before you pick the journey. One-way South America air in January can wipe out a cheaper-looking repositioning fare.
Booking Window and What the Fare Includes
Explora’s Winter 2027 to 2028 collection page says guests who reserve by September 29, 2026, can use the current early-booking savings. That date is a promotion clock, not a sailing date. After September 29, the journeys remain on sale, but the listed savings may not. Book through Explora or an advisor who can see suite inventory on a 461-suite ship.
The same official page lists what is already in the fare: multiple restaurants including in-suite dining, unlimited beverages including wine and spirits, a welcome champagne bottle, Wi-Fi, spa thermal access, gratuities, and port-to-city shuttles where they run. Compare that inclusion list with a mass-market brochure, then add air to Rio, Buenos Aires, Barcelona, or Ushuaia.
Explora I also has a separate Amazon set in early 2027, with 12-night Brazil to Puerto Rico journeys that Cruise Industry News treats as a prelude, not the first complete South America winter. Do not mix those February 2027 Amazon dates into the December 2027 to March 2028 Brazil-to-Patagonia season. They are different years, different rivers, and different air plans.
| If you… | What to do |
|---|---|
| Want Brazil beaches and New Year on the coast | Price the seven-night Rio to Buenos Aires journeys and the Balneario Camboriu holiday call. Book before September 29, 2026, if you want the listed early savings. |
| Want Patagonia, Cape Horn, and the Falklands | Hold the January 2028 eight-night Buenos Aires toward Ushuaia sailings. Plan air into Buenos Aires or Ushuaia and a weather buffer for Cape Horn. |
| Need a one-way ocean crossing | Use the December 2027 Barcelona to Rio voyage or the later Brazil to Portugal repositioning, then price one-way air separately. |
| Were waiting on a Middle East winter on Explora I | That 2027 to 2028 Red Sea plan is cancelled. This South America collection is the replacement map, not a date swap onto the old itinerary. |
September 29, 2026 is the early-booking gate. Explora’s collection page still advertises savings for reservations made by that date. After it, expect list pricing unless a later offer is posted.
December 2027 is the first South America crossing. The 17-night Barcelona to Rio sailing is the on-ramp. Guests joining in Brazil can ignore it, but holiday Brazil inventory will not wait for last-minute shoppers.
January 2028 is the Patagonia window. The eight-night Buenos Aires toward Ushuaia journeys are the Cape Horn and Falklands block. Build extra hotel nights in Buenos Aires if your international flight is tight.
When do Explora I South America cruises start?
Explora I’s first full South America winter is scheduled for December 2027 through March 2028, with a Barcelona to Rio crossing in December 2027 and Brazil and Patagonia journeys after that, according to Cruise Industry News and Explora’s winter collection page.
Are the new Explora I South America sailings open to book?
Yes. Cruise Industry News says the itineraries were released on September 9, 2026, and are on Explora’s website. The brand’s collection page lists early-booking savings through September 29, 2026.
Did Explora cancel the Middle East winter to add South America?
Yes. Explora cancelled the Middle East winter 2027 to 2028 plan in August, and Cruise Industry News says Explora I was then redeployed to South America. The South America collection is the replacement, not a restored Red Sea season.
Is this the same as Explora I’s Amazon cruises in 2027?
No. The early 2027 Amazon journeys between Brazil and Puerto Rico are a separate prelude. The first complete South America winter, with Brazil coast and Patagonia itineraries, is the December 2027 to March 2028 season now on sale.
