Viking Ocean Cruises Celebrates Delivery Of First Ocean Ship

LOS ANGELES, March 30, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Viking Ocean Cruises® (www.vikingoceancruises.com) today announced it took delivery of Viking Star, marking the company's official arrival into the ocean cruise industry. The delivery ceremony took place on March 28 when the ship was presented at Fincantieri's Marghera shipyard outside of Venice, Italy. On April 11, Viking Star will set sail from Istanbul and will make her way through the Mediterranean and into the Atlantic on her way to be officially christened on May 17 in Bergen, Norway.

"This has been a remarkable journey, and I am grateful to everyone at Viking and Fincantieri who has worked tirelessly to turn our vision into reality," said Torstein Hagen, chairman of Viking Cruises. "With Viking Star's maiden voyage and christening now within sight, we are ready to bring our destination-focused experiences to ocean cruising."

Classified by Cruise Critic as a "small ship," the all-veranda Viking Star has a gross tonnage of 47,800 tons, boasts 465 cabins and will accommodate 930 passengers. It is engineered at a scale that allows direct access into most ports, so guests have an easy and efficient embarkation and debarkation. Light-filled with modern Scandinavian decor, the ship was designed by experienced nautical architects and engineers, including the same interior design team responsible for the award-winning fleet of Viking Longships®. Viking Star is one of three ocean cruise ships on order; the remaining two ships, Viking Sea and Viking Sky, are currently under construction.

Viking Ocean Cruises guests will enjoy curated itineraries that are designed to best showcase the destinations that they visit, with a complimentary excursion in each port and an onboard cultural enrichment program that includes academic lecturers, local speakers and interactive demonstrations.

For more information, images and b-roll, contact [email protected]. For additional details, contact Viking Cruises toll-free at 1-855-8-VIKING (1-855-884-5464).

About Viking Cruises
Viking Cruises offers destination-centric river and ocean cruising designed for experienced travelers with an interest in geography, culture and history. Featuring onboard cultural enrichment and included shore excursions, Viking's journeys are competitively priced for genuine value. Debuting its maiden season of ocean cruising in 2015, the sophisticated state-of-the-art Viking Star will host 930 guests on itineraries in Scandinavia and the Baltic; the Western and Eastern Mediterranean; and the British Isles. Two additional ocean ships, Viking Sea and Viking Sky, are also on order. As the world's leading river cruise line, since its 1997 inception the company has grown to a fleet of 60 river vessels (in 2015) offering scenic cruising along the rivers of Europe, Russia, Egypt, China, and Southeast Asia. Viking has been honored multiple times in Travel + Leisure's "World's Best" Awards and Conde Nast Traveler's "Gold List" as well as recognized by the editors of Cruise Critic as "Best River Cruise Line," with the entire Viking Longships® fleet being named "Best New River Ships" in the website's Editors' Picks Awards. The travel trade has ranked Viking as the "Best River Cruise Line" by Travel Weekly, Recommend and Travel Agent magazines, "Best Cruise Line for Luxury River Cruises" at the Luxury Travel Advisor Awards of Excellence and as "Best Overall Cruise Line for River Cruising," "Best New River Cruise Ship" and for the sixth consecutive year, "Best River Cruise Line for Travel Agent Support" in the 2014 TravelAge West's WAVE Awards. For additional information, contact Viking Cruises at 1 855 8-VIKING (1 855 884 5464) or visit www.vikingcruises.com. To join the Viking Cruises community online, visit www.facebook.com/vikingcruises, www.facebook.com/vikingoceancruises and www.facebook.com/vikingrivercruises.

Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150330/195461

SOURCE Viking Cruises

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