A little over a month since its record-breaking christening event in Amsterdam, Viking River Cruises is preparing to pull back the curtain on the company’s next bold adventure: ocean cruising.
At a dinner next week on the evening of May 16 in Los Angeles, Viking will officially unveil details about the two 47,000 GRT cruise ships the company has on-order with Italy’s Fincantieri shipyards. The two as-yet-unnamed vessels are tentatively scheduled for delivery in 2015 and 2016. Another two, slightly larger, will also follow in 2017 and 2018.
While these aren’t river cruise ships, they will undoubtedly be of interest to Viking’s existing passenger base. Because of that, we’ll have full coverage of Viking’s announcement and details on the company’s new ocean cruises here on River Cruise Advisor.
Besides being noteworthy for the line’s past guests, Viking’s foray into ocean cruising is noteworthy for marking the first time a major US-based river cruise line has done so. The line is targeting the “upper premium” niche of the market currently occupied by Azamara Club Cruises and Oceania Cruises for the Viking Ocean product.
Can a successful river cruise line also be a successful ocean cruise line? Based on the success the line has had with its Viking Longships, there’s no reason to assume otherwise. We’ll be in LA for the details on May 16.
More information on Viking River Cruises can be found by viewing our complete company profile here on River Cruise Advisor. Stay tuned for news from the Viking Ocean announcement in Los Angeles.
