Marking a landmark year of innovation and expansion, Viking River Cruises (vikingrivercruises.com), the world’s leading river cruise line, yesterday christened the first four of its new Viking Longships at a spectacular event in Amsterdam. Rebecca Eaton, executive producer of the PBS series "Masterpiece," which includes the hit show "Downton Abbey," and Joanna Lumley, the British actress famous for her role as "Patsy Stone" on "Absolutely Fabulous," joined the celebration as the ceremonial godmothers for the Viking Freya and Viking Odin. Renowned Harvard physicist Dr. Lisa Randall and Viking’s most traveled passenger, Gail Wiswedel, served as godmothers for Viking Idun and Viking Njord.
"As we celebrate our 15th anniversary in 2012, we’re proud to say this is the biggest day in our company’s history. The christening of four new Viking Longships is the first step toward an exciting new horizon in our future," said Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking River Cruises. "By the end of 2013, we will have launched an unprecedented 12 new Viking Longships in two years, and today we are thrilled and honored to have had such an eminent and sophisticated group of women helping us christen the first four of those vessels."
The christening of the four new Viking Longships represents the first time in modern history that four cruise ships have been christened at once, with Viking Odin and Viking Idun christened in Amsterdam and Viking Njord and Viking Freya christened via satellite from the Neptun shipyard in Germany.
Guests at the christening ceremony enjoyed remarks by each godmother and presentations by Hagen and Yran & Storbraaten, the celebrated maritime architects and Viking Longship designers. The ceremony concluded with an onboard dinner and maiden voyage cruise around the Amsterdam harbor.
New Viking Longships
Viking Longships integrate patent-pending* design and cutting-edge technology with comfortable amenities that reflect guest preferences and current travel trends, such as:
– Two Explorer Suites, which will be the largest river cruise suites in Europe at 445 square feet, each featuring a separate living room, bedroom and private wraparound veranda, offering 270-degree views.
– Seven two-room Veranda Suites with a full-size veranda in the living room and a French balcony in the bedroom.
– Thirty-nine Veranda Staterooms with full-size verandas.
– Twenty-two French Balcony Staterooms.
– A revolutionary new all-weather indoor/outdoor Aquavit Terrace, which reinvents the onboard lounge experience by bringing the panoramic outdoor river scenery indoors with retractable floor-to-ceiling glass doors allowing guests to enjoy the scenery and dine al fresco.
– New premium in-cabin amenities that include heated bathroom floors and mirrors, Sony HD TV’s and premium bath products.
– Sustainability upgrades, such as solar panels, an onboard organic herb garden and energy-efficient hybrid engines that reduce vibrations for a remarkably smooth ride.
Accommodating 190 passengers, the ships are scheduled to sail four of Viking’s most popular European itineraries, including the 10-day Tulips & Windmills, 8-day Romantic Danube, 15-day Grand European Tour and 8-day Danube Waltz. Each of the new Viking Longships will be 443 feet (135 meters) long and feature 95 staterooms per ship.
Just last week, Viking announced it has commissioned six additional Viking Longships for delivery in 2013, bringing the total number of new ships to be launched in two years to 12. With the six additional vessels, Viking will have invested more than $400 million in its fleet development program over three years.
