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Viking orders two more ships
Viking Ocean Cruises and Fincantieri have signed an agreement for the construction of two additional cruise ships.
They will become part of Viking’s fleet in mid 2018 and at the end of 2020 respectively.
Each will have 465 cabins to accommodate up to 930 passengers on board with a total capacity of over 1,400 people, including the crew.
Viking’s first ocean cruise ship was delivered in early 2015 and a second and third ship are scheduled for delivery in 2016 and 2017.
Until now, the group has been purely a river cruise operator but is now making major moves into the luxury ocean cruise market.
The two new units will be designed by Fincantieri, while the interior fittings, like the previous ships, will be assigned to Rottet Studio of Los Angeles and to SMC Design of London.
Meanwhile, Viking Cruises has expanded its UK trade sales team with the appointment of a new regional sales manager for the North.
Jenny Wade, former Blue Water Holidays sales and product manager, will join Andrew Schweitzer, regional sales manager, who has been with Viking for four years and will cover the South of England.
To support the regional sales managers, Viking has also created two field-based executive support roles covering Scotland and the South West.
Gaynor Lee will cover the South West of England and Barbara Symington, who previously worked for Connoisseur Travel in Edinburgh, will cover Scotland.
The expansion coincides with Viking Cruises’ new trade campaign, which includes the introduction of Viking’s own trade magazine, HEI, alongside a dedicated website and online training programmes.
The cruise line has a series of FAM trips planned later this year and early next year.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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