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Unique Cruise Solutions The news you need to know |
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Cruise News for the Corporate Travel Professional |
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Viking River Cruises to Increase capacity by 40% |
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Viking River Cruises is
to plough $250 million into developing its fleet, including eight new-builds and
two refurbishments. The addition of the new vessels will increase the line’s capacity by 40%, bringing the total number of ships operated by the company to 26. Torstein Hagen, chairman of Viking River Cruises, said: “Over the past decade, Viking has established river cruising as a mainstream means of travel. At the same time, river cruising is still in its infancy and has tremendous growth potential.” River cruising agent James Hill, of gorivercruise.com, agreed: “There are other lines which are also renovating and adding to their fleets, such as AMA Waterways and Avalon. There is continued development at the upmarket end of river cruises to give the ships the same ‘wow factor’ as their bigger brothers have for the ocean. “This market has not even touched the number of people that will eventually engage in river cruising,” he added. Viking Prestige, the first ship, will premier in Europe in 2011, followed by Viking Emerald which will also debut in 2011, sailing in China as a replacement for Viking Century Sun. Other European vessels will follow in 2012 and 2013. Prestige will serve as a 189-bed sister ship to the line’s flagship Viking Legend, which was launched in 2009, and claims to be the industry’s first “green” river cruise vessel. Working in the same vein, Prestige will use less fuel and provide a smoother and quieter ride. It will host guests on the company’s eight-day “Romantic Danube” itinerary, sailing from Budapest to Nuremburg. The 264-guest vessel Viking Emerald will sail on the Yangtze River in China. Other ships also scheduled for completion in 2011, include the renovation of Viking Pakhomo, based in Russia, while in Europe, Viking Schumann will receive refurbishments for 2010. Viking entered the North American market in 2000, and now operates in Europe, Russia, Ukraine, China and Egypt. |
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Worldwide Travel & Cruise Assoc., Inc. 150 S. University Dr. Ste E, Plantation, FL 33324 - USA Tel: +1 954 452 8800 Fax: +1 954 252 3945 EMail: sales@cruiseco.com |
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