Speaking exclusively to TTG on Tuesday (14 July), the luxury hospitality veteran shared her surprise at “the last-minute nature” of bookings for Explora III ahead of its maiden voyage this August.
“For a lot of our clients, when they see a window or gap in their calendars, they take it,” she explained. “It could be two or three months down the line – or even just one month.”
Nash believes this behaviour is driven by the lifestyle of Explora Journeys’ average clients, many of whom are still in the “throes of their professional careers".
“They tend to be on the younger side and are guided by the ebbs and flows of work life and their professional diaries,” she explained.
Nash added she has also struggled to plan her own holidays in the past due to her busy work schedule.
“For me, I know something’s always going to be thrown in the way from a professional perspective,” she said. “So I’d rather pay more for a vacation that I know is set in stone, and yes, that sometimes means last-minute.”
True to her word, Nash has just booked a place on Explora III’s first sailing to Northern Europe in late August.
The eight-night voyage, which departs from Southampton and concludes in Copenhagen, will take guests to see Norway’s iconic fjords in Flam and its coastal cities of Bergen and Sandnes.
“I said to my husband, ‘We've planned nothing, what are we going to do?’ And actually, I've not spent as much time as I would have liked to on the ship and I’ve not been to Norway before. I’m really looking forward to it.”
Nash is also excited for the President’s Journey in December, which will see her personally host guests onboard Explora II for a VIP sailing from Barcelona to Lisbon.
“It's a really great way of building a community as well, and really hearing from and spending time with guests,” she said. “For me, the biggest joy is just chatting with others onboard. It’s the biggest reward of the job.”
