Name change: Viking ocean ship to be called Orion

The Viking Orion at its float-out in Ancona, Italy.

NEW YORK -- Viking Cruises said the fifth in its series of 930-passenger ocean ships will be named Viking Orion. The vessel is due in July 2018.

The line had previously referred to the ship as the Viking Spirit.

Viking chairman Torstein Hagen announced the name swap during a press event aboard the Viking Sky here.

The name of a planet, Mercury, was also considered, Hagen said, but "since our ambitions are unlimited, we decided on a constellation."

Also fitting the space theme, Hagen said that retired astronaut Anna Fisher will be the ship's godmother when it debuts in July 2018.

Fisher was in Italy last week for the ship's float-out ceremony at Fincantieri's Ancona shipyard.

The Orion will spend its first year sailing Mediterranean, Asia, Australia and Alaska itineraries.

Viking, well known as a river cruise company, entered the ocean cruise business with the launch of the Viking Star in 2015. It was followed by the Viking Sky and Viking Sea, with the Viking Sun expected to debut next month.

Hagen said the company's growth will make it the "largest small-ship ocean line" ocean line by 2019, with 5,580 lower berths, making it larger than both Oceania Cruises and Silversea.

Viking's river ship building is also full-speed ahead: Hagen also said at the event that the company would introduce seven new river ships in 2019.

Viking to sail ocean cruises in Asia, Australia and Alaska

Viking Cruises chairman Tor Hagen gives a presentation on the Viking Star. Photo Credit: Tom Stieghorst

ONBOARD THE VIKING STAR — Viking Ocean Cruises will expand its horizons to Asia, Australia and Alaska, company chairman Torstein Hagen said.

The rapidly expanding ocean line will deploy its fifth ship, Viking Spirit (due for completion in June 2018) to the Far East and Australia in the winter of 2018. It will then move the ship to Alaska for the summer of 2019, Hagen said.

Hagen called Alaska a “serene” experience. “A ship like this suits well for the quiet environment of Alaska,” Hagen said in a presentation to reporters and travel agents.

In Asia and Australia, Hagen said the Viking Spirit will cruise between Bangkok and Hong Kong, and between Sydney and Auckland, New Zealand. He said it will be possible to book a 93-day cruise from Auckland to Vancouver.

“In the old days people used to call this a Circle Pacific cruise. Many of our guests like long cruises and to get away from bad weather, particularly in the Northeast, is not a bad thing,” Hagen said.

Viking Star, the first of six identical ocean ships to be built for Viking, is on its way to San Juan to begin the line’s first cruises in the Caribbean, a series of 10-day sailings. Its second ship, Viking Sea, has remained in Europe for Mediterranean cruises during the fall, winter and spring.

Hagen said he preferred to offer Med cruses in the off-season rather than in the popular summer. “If you have a choice between being in Rome in July and being in Rome in January, I pick January. There are fewer tourists, less temperature, less crowds. And our guests have had enough sun in their lives,” he said.

Viking’s third ocean ship, Viking Sky, is due in February 2017 and its fourth, Viking Sun, is scheduled for October 2017.