Viking Venus cruising down the River Mersey into Liverpool Photo credit Spacejunkie2 (Flickr)
Fincantieri is to build four more ships for Viking after the companies put into effect contracts for the third and fourth ships and signed new contracts for a fifth and sixth, all of which were additional options in an initial agreement signed in March 2018.
The design of the batch of six ocean vessels was developed by Fincantieri in partnership with Viking, upgrading the design of the cruise line’s previous 10 vessels with new safety and navigation systems. The ships are also designed to be able to make use of hydrogen fuel cells once they are available.
The total value of the agreements is around €1.7 billion ($1.72 billion). Deliveries are scheduled in 2026 and 2027, followed by a further two ships in 2028.
Set to debut in November, the vessel will spend its maiden season sailing itineraries in the Mediterranean.
It will then embark on the company’s 2023-2024 Viking World Cruise, a journey from Fort Lauderdale to London that spans 138 days, 28 countries and 57 ports, with overnight stays in 11 cities.
Torstein Hagen, chairman of Viking, said: “It is always a special day when a new ship meets water for the first time, and we look forward to welcoming guests onboard the Viking Neptune this fall.
“Together with Fincantieri, we have built the world’s most elegant vessels, which truly allow our guests to explore the world in comfort.”
The traditional float out ceremony took place at Fincantieri’s Ancona shipyard on Thursday (13 January).
Following a two-day process that will set Viking Neptune afloat, it will then be moved to a nearby outfitting dock for final construction and interior build-out.
Viking announced today that it will restart operations in the Mediterranean with new ocean voyages for vaccinated guests beginning this summer, according to a press release
The Viking Venus and Viking Sea will homeport in Valletta and sail two different 11-day roundtrip itineraries in the Mediterranean
Guests on the new Malta & Adriatic Jewels itinerary will overnight in Valletta and then sail to Montenegro and Croatia, calling in Kotor, Dubrovnik, Split, Zadar and Šibenik, before returning to the Maltese archipelago, with a stop in Gozo and finally back to Valletta. Guests on the new Malta & Greek Isles Discovery itinerary will also overnight in Valletta and then sail to Greece, calling in Kalamata, Athens, Santorini, Rhodes and Souda Bay, before returning to Valletta.
The Viking Venus and Viking Sea will sail the itineraries between July and early October 2021.
“We thank the government of Malta for its support and enthusiasm as we continue restarting operations,” said Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking. “Malta is a fantastic destination, with ancient history, rich culture and a central location in the Mediterranean. We began calling in Malta in 2016 and look forward to welcoming guests back to some of the most historically significant and naturally beautiful areas of the Med—in both the Maltese archipelago, as well as along the Croatian coast, and around Greek islands this summer.”
Today’s news follows Viking’s recent announcements of Welcome Back ocean voyages in England, Iceland and Bermuda, beginning in May 2021. The company is actively working on developing additional Welcome Back itineraries in a variety of other destinations, with the goal of announcing further 2021 sailings as soon as government approvals are given.
Also, citing the result of strong demand, Viking also announced today it is adding more sailing dates this summer for its Welcome Back voyages around Iceland and Bermuda.
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