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Viking orders six more ocean ships
Viking has ordered up to six additional ocean-going cruise liners to join its fleet by 2027.
It has signed a new agreement with the Fincantieri shipyard to increase its ocean ship order and options from four to 10.
The agreement for the six additional ships is ‘subject to specific conditions’, said Viking, but it didn’t expand upon this statement.
Chairman Torstein Hagen said: "When we launched our first ocean ship in 2015, we set out to reinvent ocean cruising. We focus on the destination, and we do not cram our ships with gimmicks and waterslides.
"In our first two years of operation, we have been named the #1 Ocean Cruise Line, and this new order speaks to the positive response we have received from our guests and the industry.
"As we continue to expand our brand, we look forward to bringing guests to more destinations around the world and introducing them to the Viking way of exploration."
The announcement comes just prior to the naming of Viking’s fourth ocean ship, Viking Sun, tomorrow in Shanghai. The ship is currently sailing Viking’s sold-out 141-day World Cruise from Miami to London, and its stop in Shanghai will mark the first time one of Viking’s ocean ships has called in China. Viking Sun will also be the first-ever cruise ship to be named in Shanghai.
Viking will welcome two more sister ships in the next two years, including Viking Orion in June 2018. If all the new orders and options are taken up, its ocean fleet will consist of 16 ships by 2027.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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