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March was most certainly a record month for
European river cruise ship christenings, with a total of twenty-four being added
to the roster.
Of the twenty-four vessels, eighteen were christened for Viking Cruises. Nine
were christenedin Amsterdam. Three more were christened at a waterfront ceremony
in Avignon, and four were christened simultaneously at the Neptun shipyard in
Rostock, plus two more in Portugal.
The Portuguese pair, christened on March 21 in Porto, were completed to a
shortened “Viking Longship” design, accommodating 106 passengers.
Neptun Werft, where the Viking vessels are built, was founded in 1850 and has a
long history in shipbuilding, concentrating mainly on merchant ship designs, but
not without building ten U-Boats in 1943-44. The yard, a subsidiary of Meyer
Werft since 1997, also built ten river cruisers for A’Rosa River Cruises between
2002 and 2012.
All vessels except the Portuguese pair are of the 190-berth “Viking Longship”
series that includes the largest suites ever installed in a river ship in
Europe, as well as cabins with balconies, a feature made possible by an new
cabin area layout that includes offset corridors.
With these additions, Viking will now have fifty-two vessels, up from
thirty-five in 2013, with another dozen to come in 2015. With lines building
river vessels in series like railway carriages, this unprecedented expansion has
lead to Viking being Europe’s biggest river cruise operator by far. It also
allows the line to operate river cruises in sections, so that two 190-berth
vessels can accommodate 380 passengers on the same itinerary.
Other christenings this month include two for Avalon Waterways, Avalon
Impression and Avalon Poetry II, which were inaugurated on Saturday in
Dordrecht, with a third vessel, Avalon Illumination, to follow in Vienna in
June. Founded in 2004, Avalon is owned by Globus of the United States and now
has thirteen ships in operation in Europe.
AMA Waterways is christening its own AmaReina in Amsterdam today while sister
ship AmaSonata will follow in July, at Vilshofen on the German Danube. Founded
in 2002, the line presently has a fleet of fifteen vessels and in addition to
its American core ownership is now partly owned by APT of Australia.
This Wednesday, Uniworld, represented in the UK by Titan, will christen its SS
Catherine, sister ship of the SS Antoinette, in Lyon. Unusually for Europe, the
159-passenger SS Catherine will have a signature Leopard Lounge with
leopard-print furnishings, elephant-head bar rails and other jungle-like
elements. Other amenities include a mosaic-tiled pool and spa. Screen actress
Catherine Deneuve will be her sponsor. (see other article in this edition)
Finally, this Friday, CroisiEurope, a family-owned company that dates back to
1976, will christen another trio of river ships in its headquarters city of
Strasbourg. The MS Lafayette, Anne-Marie and Madeleine will bring its fleet to
thirty-three vessels in Europe.
In addition to operating the small 200-berth seagoing cruise ship La Belle de
l’Adriatique under the CroisiMer banner, CroisiEurope last year introduced three
smaller canal barge cruisers.
In the next fortnight, two more vessels will follow. On April 3, Tauck Tours,
the renowned New England tour operators, will christen its MS Inspire at Basel.
And on April 6 Emerald Waterways will christen its new Emerald Star in
Amsterdam. Emerald is a new upmarket division of Scenic Tours. The Emerald Star
will sport a heated swimming pool complete with retracting roof. What is even
more interesting is that the swimming pool will convert into a cinema at night,
Fashion model Twiggy will act as her sponsor. |
