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Viking Ocean Cruises officially has its first
cruise ship. The 47,800-ton, 930-passenger Viking Star was delivered to
Viking Chairman and Founder Torstein Hagen at the Fincantieri shipyard in
Marghera, Italy, on March 28. The new ocean-going cruise line is a sister to
Hagen's Viking River Cruises.
Two more sister ships — Viking Sea and Viking
Sky — are under construction at Fincantieri and scheduled for delivery in 2016.
Viking Star will board its first revenue guests on April 11 and depart Istanbul,
sailing through the Mediterranean and into the Atlantic to Bergen, Norway, where
it will be christened on May 17 by Bergen Mayor Trude Drevland, on Norwegian
Constitution Day. It will sail in the Western and Eastern Mediterranean, and the
Baltic.
The Viking Star has 465 veranda staterooms measuring a minimum of 270 square
feet. The 14 two-room Explorer Suites range in size from 757 to 1,163 square
feet, and have wraparound private verandas.
Public areas include the Wintergarden, which will serve afternoon tea, and the
two-deck Explorers’ Lounge with double-height windows.
In keeping with Viking’s Nordic heritage, The Spa will feature a “snow grotto”
with snowflakes falling through chilled air, which guests follow up with time in
the sauna.
The ship will have an extensive enrichment program with port talks and lectures
on history, art, and culture. The ship also will show first-run films and
destination-driven movies.
Viking Star has two swimming pools, one a stunning infinity pool cantilevered
off the ship’s stern. In the evening, the deck space around the infinity pool
will transform into the Aquavit Terrace for dining al fresco. The Main Pool has
a retractable roof.
The Viking Star will have several restaurants, including a main dining room, the
World Café, The Chef’s Table, an Italian grill and The Kitchen Table. |
