Tag Archives: Viking Octantis

Viking Orders Expedition Ships, More Ocean Ship Options

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Viking Orders Expedition Ships, More Ocean Ship Options

Viking is continuing its growth track as the company announced it had entered into a deal to build two expedition ships for delivery in 2030 and 2031.

The two expedition ships will join the current Viking expedition fleet, the 378-guest Polaris and Octantis. The new ships will be sister vessels and be built in Italy.

At the same time, the company said it had entered into option agreements for two additional ocean ships for delivery in 2034, with an exercise date of July 30, 2028.

Viking Newbuild Orderbook:

  • Viking Mira: 54,300 tons, Built in 2026, 998 passengers.
  • Viking Libra: 54,300 tons, Built in 2026, 998 passengers.
  • Viking Astrea: 54,300 tons, Built in 2027, 998 passengers.
  • Viking Lyra: 54,300 tons, Built in 2028, 998 passengers.
  • Unnamed: 54,300 tons, Built in 2028, 998 passengers.
  • Unnamed: 54,300 tons, Built in 2029, 998 passengers.
  • Unnamed: 54,300 tons, Built in 2030, 998 passengers.
  • New Expedition Ship Order: TBD, Built in 2030; TBD passengers.
  • Unnamed: 54,300 tons, Built in 2030, 998 passengers.
  • Unnamed: 54,300 tons, Built in 2031, 998 passengers.
  • Unnamed: 54,300 tons, Built in 2031, 998 passengers.
  • New Expedition Ship Order: TBD, Built in 2031; TBD passengers.

Viking Newbuild Options:

  • Unnamed: 54,300 tons, Built in 2032, 998 passengers.
  • Unnamed: 54,300 tons, Built in 2032, 998 passengers.
  • Unnamed: 54,300 tons, Built in 2033, 998 passengers.
  • Unnamed: 54,300 tons, Built in 2033, 998 passengers.
  • Unnamed: 54,300 tons, Built in 2034, 998 passengers.
  • Unnamed: 54,300 tons, Built in 2034, 998 passengers.

Next Viking Cruises Newbuild to Carry Name Viking Vela

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Currently under construction at the Fincantieri shipyard in Italy, the next Viking Cruises ocean vessel will be named Viking Vela.

According to the company’s website, the ship is set to debut in 2024 and will be slightly larger than its predecessors.

Eleventh in a series of vessels that was started with the Viking Star in 2015, the Viking Vela will be ten meters longer, as well as two meters wider than its sister ships.

With the extra space, the new build will also carry more passengers: 998 versus 930.

The Viking Cruises website has already published the deployment of the ship as well.

After entering service in 2024, the Viking Vela is scheduled to spend its inaugural season in Northern Europe, offering itineraries to Scandinavia, the British Isles, Iceland, the Norwegian Fjords and more.

According to Viking, the new Vela will offer all-balcony accommodations and is ideally sized to reach destinations where the larger ships cannot dock. The company’s website also highlights the vessel’s “understated elegance and modern Scandinavian design.”

In addition to a large fleet of identical mid-sized luxury ships, the cruise line also operates two purpose-built expedition ships, the Viking Octantis and the Viking Polaris.

Another ocean vessel, the Zhao Shang Yi Dun, is also in service for the company in Asia. Part of a joint venture with China Merchants, the ship was formerly named Viking Sun and is now serving the Chinese domestic market.

Continuing its fleet expansion, Viking Cruises is set to take delivery of five additional oceangoing vessels through 2027.

U-Boat Worx Reports 1,000 Antarctica Dives

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U-Boat Worx has announced that its Cruise Sub 7 submarines completed more than 1,000 dives in Antarctica this past season.

The submarines were aboard cruise ships of different brands. The Scenic Eclipse was the first cruise ship to introduce a submarine in 2020. Viking Expeditions followed with the Viking Octantis and then the Seabourn Venture. The three cruise lines together completed 1,000 dives during the 2022-23 season.

Among the underwater discoveries, according to U-Boat, was the sighting of a giant phantom jellyfish, which was first discovered in 1910 and only 126 encounters have been confirmed since.

The Cruise Sub 7 can dive up to 300 meters.