July 7, 2028 – July 27, 2028 · 19 nights · 14 stops · round-trip
Explora's name for it: An Extended Journey of Celtic Coasts, Highland Legends & Viking Legacies
The itinerary, port by port
14 calls over 19 nights, round-trip from Southampton. Open any port for my full day-ashore guide, what to see, when to go, and how the day actually runs.
Getting there: Flights to Southampton (LHR) open around August 2027, about 11 months before you sail. I track that window for booked clients and flag it the moment it is worth booking. When to book your flights →
Southampton is England's main cruise gateway, a working port city on the south coast whose old quarter holds some of the best-preserved medieval town walls and gatehouses in the country, plus a maritime… Port guide →
Greencastle is a working fishing village on the Inishowen Peninsula at the mouth of Lough Foyle, used as a tender anchorage that puts ships within reach of Derry and Ireland's wild northern coast. Port guide →
Killybegs is Ireland's largest fishing port, a working harbor town on Donegal Bay along the Wild Atlantic Way in the country's rugged northwest. Port guide →
Portree is the small harbor capital of the Isle of Skye, a half-circle of pastel houses around a sheltered bay backed by the Hebridean hills. Port guide →
Kirkwall is the Norse-founded capital of Orkney, an archipelago off Scotland's north coast where 5,000-year-old Neolithic sites outnumber and predate almost everything in Britain. Port guide →
6
Invergordon (Inverness)
Invergordon is a small Cromarty Firth town that functions as the gateway to the Highlands, and the day is about what lies inland rather than the quayside.
Newhaven is a small former fishing harbor on Edinburgh's northern shore, used as the tender point that puts you within reach of one of Europe's great capital cities for the day. Port guide →
Mandal is Norway's southernmost town, a small Sørlandet harbor of white timber houses on the Mandalselva river known for its long sand beach and its history as an artists' town. Port guide →
Geiranger sits at the dead end of the Geirangerfjord, a UNESCO-listed arm of water hemmed by cliffs with waterfalls falling straight off the rim. Port guide →
Bergen is Norway's gateway to the western fjords, a compact harbor city wrapped around the wooden Hanseatic trading wharf of Bryggen and ringed by seven mountains. Port guide →
Flåm is a tiny village at the inner tip of the Aurlandsfjord, a narrow arm of the Sognefjord walled by steep mountains and laced with waterfalls. Port guide →
Haugesund is a compact coastal city on Norway's southwest shoulder, historically tied to herring fishing and to the Viking-age kings unified nearby. Port guide →
Eidfjord is a village of under a thousand people at the head of the Hardangerfjord's innermost arm, hemmed in by steep mountain walls in western Norway. Port guide →
Zeebrugge is a working North Sea cargo port, and almost no one comes for Zeebrugge itself. Port guide →
Fares on this departure, decoded
Reading the fare fine print is the job. Here's what this sailing currently carries:
Founders Fare
A founding-era fare on a selected set of sailings. Onboard credit where the offer applies.
Early Booking Benefit
A fare for booking far enough ahead of departure. Onboard credit where the offer applies.
The ship and your suite
This sailing is aboard EXPLORA IV, all-suite,
every suite with a private ocean-front terrace. Suites run from the entry Ocean Terrace to the Owner's
Residence; the right tier depends on how you travel.
Compare suites → · What's included →
Send me the dates and the suite tier you have in mind and I'll come back with a confirmed live number and my read on the sailing within two hours. Best available price, and I make it worth more.