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Viking River Cruises joins growing traffic on the Mississippi
Rumors of a Viking River Cruise launch on the Mississippi River turned to a solid news leak last week from the Red Wing (Minnesota) Visitors and Convention Bureau.
The CVB’s weekly news roundup said Viking will build a five-deck, 340-passenger ship to cruise the Mississippi beginning in the fall of 2015, stopping in the Port of Red Wing, about 50 miles downriver from Minneapolis.
The ship announced by Red Wing would be larger than the 190-passenger ships Viking is building for European river cruises.
Viking Chairman Tor Hagen has said the company will one day sail the Mississippi, but the company has not confirmed a date.
River sailing in general is growing in popularity, and the Mississippi has attracted American Cruise Lines’ new 150-passenger Queen of the Mississippi, and the 436-passenger American Queen, refurbished by the American Queen Steamboat Co. The Delta Queen also may restore Mississippi River service.
Viking Cruises, meanwhile, has been aggressively expanding from its European river base. It is launching ocean cruise division, with orders for as many as six vessels, christened 10 new river ships in March and plans to launch 12 more in 2014.
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