Viking to add cruise ships to North American routes

Global cruise giant Viking Cruises is moving further into the North American market with plans for the increasingly popular Great Lakes and U.S. rivers.

Best known for river cruises, Switzerland-based Viking with a fleet of 79 vessels last week said it was building two expedition ships, which will both serve the Antarctic. The first — the 665’x77’, 378-passenger Viking Octantis being built in Norway by Fincantieri’s Vard – also begins sailing the Great Lakes in April 2022, visiting Michigan,...

https://www.workboat.com/news/passenger-vessels/viking-to-add-cruise-ships-to-north-american-routes/

Viking Cruises moves ahead with U.S. expansion plans

The Viking river cruise vessel Aegir in Europe. Viking River Cruises photo.

Viking River Cruises is pushing ahead with plans to enter the U.S. market with vessels built by Edison Chouest Offshore, a cruise line representative recently told the Dubuque, Iowa, city council.

The global giant could start service in 2021 and by 2027 would have six vessels carrying 103,431 passengers on the Mississippi River, according to a chart Viking consultant David Simmons showed the city council last month.

The five-story vessels, which Simmons termed a “long ship on steroids,” will...

https://www.workboat.com/news/passenger-vessels/viking-cruises-moves-ahead-with-u-s-expansion-plans/