{"id":10482,"date":"2013-03-22T02:11:26","date_gmt":"2013-03-22T08:11:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/?p=10482"},"modified":"2019-09-26T09:54:32","modified_gmt":"2019-09-26T13:54:32","slug":"viking-longships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/2013\/03\/viking-longships\/","title":{"rendered":"100 Viking Longships by 2020? That’s Tor’s Vision. Today, 10 Ships Christened In Amsterdam, A World Record"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A new world’s record: 10 Viking Longships christened today in Amsterdam. photo courtesy Viking River Cruises<\/p><\/div>\n

A representative from Guinness World Records<\/a> was at the Passenger Terminal Amsterdam<\/a> today to certify that Torstein Hagen and his Viking River Cruises had staked a new claim in the record books: 10 ships christened at once, a remarkable achievement for a man who told a standing-room-only audience of around 700 that he had lost everything in 1997 and rebuilt from nothing what has become the world’s largest river cruise company.<\/p>\n

Like the mythical Phoenix, Hagen rose from the ashes to create a company that now has more than 40 percent market share in river cruising (from 16 percent in 2007). His is an inspiring American-can-do story for a 70-year-old originally from Norway who shows no sign of slowing down.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most surprising proclamation to come from Tor, was that he envisions his company will operate 100 river cruise vessels by 2020, a mere seven years away, we remind you.<\/p>\n

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A Guinness World Records’ adjudicator certified today’s christening event as “The Most Ships Inaugurated in One Day by One Company.” photo courtesy Viking River Cruises<\/p><\/div>\n

In 2012, the company launched six Viking Longships; in 2013, 10; and in 2014, 12. “We don’t see any reason for a slowdown yet,” says Hagen, chairman of Viking River Cruises. “It’s really quite unbelievable.”<\/p>\n

Viking River Cruises, along with several other river cruise operators in the United States, created a market that shows huge upside potential thanks to a burgeoning baby-boomer market in search of soft adventure, a product that river cruising delivers exceptionally well.<\/p>\n

“It’s about people of some curiosity who have worked hard, earned some money . . . \u00a0and haven’t had time to see these place on earth,” Hagen says, referring to Europe and other destinations where Viking operates.<\/p>\n

The world record also represents a feather in the cap for the port and city of Amsterdam, a popular hub for both sea-going vessels and river cruisers.<\/p>\n

Check out our coverage:<\/p>\n