Explora Journeys is increasing its fares for the third time in the space of five months to “reflect strong demand” for sailings on the soon‑to‑launch luxury line.

Priti Mehta, UK and Ireland head of sales, told Travel Weekly that prices would increase again this week following two hikes of between 10% and 15% in September and December.

Explora Journeys chief executive Michael Ungerer said last month that customers were “excited” about the brand and its upcoming launch.

The line’s debut ship, Explora I, is set to launch on July 17 from Southampton, rather than from Barcelona in May as previously planned.

Mehta said: “I believe we have the best fares for people who book early. We’ve had a couple of price increases and we had another on January 16.

“Our price increase reflects the strong demand we’re seeing. “It shows that we can do this. All price increases reflect demand.”

In December, Ungerer said: “We always said we wouldn’t discount and the increase is because we are seeing very encouraging sales. People are excited about our brand and our launch.”