Tag Archives: Viking Ocean cruises

Fourth Viking Ocean Cruises ship floated out

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Viking Ocean Cruises’ fourth ship has been floated out a year before its planned debut.

The 930-passenger Viking Sun is under construction at Fincantieri’s Ancona shipyard in Italy.

The vessel is due to enter service in late 2017 in the Caribbean before undertaking a 141-day world cruise covering 35 countries and 66 ports.

Yi Lou, vice president of China Merchant Bank Financial Leasing (CMBFL), served as Viking Sun’s madrina during the float out ceremony.

Viking Cruises chairman Torstein Hagen said: “It is always a proud moment for the entire Viking family when a new ship meets water for the first time.

“CMBFL is an important partner, and we wanted to honour our relationship by naming one of their executives as madrina to our newest ship.”

Viking to sail ocean cruises in Asia, Australia and Alaska

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Viking Cruises chairman Tor Hagen gives a presentation on the Viking Star. Photo Credit: Tom Stieghorst
 

ONBOARD THE VIKING STAR — Viking Ocean Cruises will expand its horizons to Asia, Australia and Alaska, company chairman Torstein Hagen said.

The rapidly expanding ocean line will deploy its fifth ship, Viking Spirit (due for completion in June 2018) to the Far East and Australia in the winter of 2018. It will then move the ship to Alaska for the summer of 2019, Hagen said.

Hagen called Alaska a “serene” experience. “A ship like this suits well for the quiet environment of Alaska,” Hagen said in a presentation to reporters and travel agents.

In Asia and Australia, Hagen said the Viking Spirit will cruise between Bangkok and Hong Kong, and between Sydney and Auckland, New Zealand. He said it will be possible to book a 93-day cruise from Auckland to Vancouver.

“In the old days people used to call this a Circle Pacific cruise. Many of our guests like long cruises and to get away from bad weather, particularly in the Northeast, is not a bad thing,” Hagen said.

Viking Star, the first of six identical ocean ships to be built for Viking, is on its way to San Juan to begin the line’s first cruises in the Caribbean, a series of 10-day sailings. Its second ship, Viking Sea, has remained in Europe for Mediterranean cruises during the fall, winter and spring.

Hagen said he preferred to offer Med cruses in the off-season rather than in the popular summer. “If you have a choice between being in Rome in July and being in Rome in January, I pick January. There are fewer tourists, less temperature, less crowds. And our guests have had enough sun in their lives,” he said.

Viking’s third ocean ship, Viking Sky, is due in February 2017 and its fourth, Viking Sun, is scheduled for October 2017.

Viking Sky ship launch postponed until spring 2017

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By Hollie-Rae Merrick
Viking Ocean Cruises has announced the launch of its third ocean ship, Viking Sky, will be postponed until spring 2017, but remains adamant the delay will not affect its ambitious expansion plans.The cruise line’s first ocean ship, Viking Star, has completed her maiden voyage and is due to be christened in Bergen on May 17. A further two ships, Viking Sea and Viking Sky, were both due to begin sailing in 2016, with a fourth ship currently under construction.

But speaking onboard Viking Star, company chairman Torstein Hagen (pictured) said delays with the building of Holland America ship Koningsdam at the Italian shipyard Fincantieri had had a knock-on effect on the construction of one of Viking’s new vessels.

The third ship, which was due to launch next summer, will now be delayed until spring 2017, with any passengers who had already booked sailings given the option to transfer over to Viking Sea. Hagen confirmed that all three ships would share a similar design, following the pattern of the 930-passenger ‘Venice class’ ship Viking Star.

UK managing director Wendy Atkin-Smith dismissed worries that this could dampen the line’s plans for expansion. She said: “Hardly any of her sailings were on sale yet, because our 2016 offering is not for the full year yet.

“We will have some passengers booked on to the ship, but they will be transferred over. There’s as much damage limitation as possible.

“As far as I know, the Koningsdam ship that was being built is taking longer than predicted so it’s impacted on us. Everything depends on other factors, but it’s not going to affect the expansion plans at all.”

Hagen previously revealed hopes to grow the line’s fleet substantially to more than 100 Longships and 10 ocean ships – a significant increase from its current fleet of 63 river vessels and one ocean ship – within the next five years.