Viking Reveals Names of Its Next Two Ocean Ships

Viking Reveals Names of Its Next Two Ocean Ships

Viking recently revealed that its next two ocean newbuilds will be called the Viking Leda and the Viking Vega.

Currently under construction at the Fincantieri shipyard, the 998-passenger ships will join the company’s fleet, respectively, in late 2028 and mid-2029.

As previously announced, Viking is also set to take delivery of three ships between 2026 and 2028, including the Viking Libra, the Viking Astrea and the Viking Lyra.

The Viking Leda is scheduled to enter service in December 2028, kicking off a winter schedule in the Mediterranean.

According to published deployment, the vessel will offer a series of eight- to 16-day itineraries departing from Greece, Italy and Spain.

The cruises sail to destinations in the Aegean, the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, including the Greek Islands, the French Riviera and Morocco.

The Viking Vega is set to debut in June 2029, welcoming its first guests in the Mediterranean.

After offering itineraries in Southern Europe, the vessel is scheduled to reposition to the British Isles in mid-July 2029.

Highlights of the ship’s inaugural season include cruises departing from ports in Italy, Spain, Norway and the United Kingdom, such as Civitavecchia, Barcelona and Bergen.

The Leda and the Vega will be the 17th and 18th ocean ships built for Viking at the Fincantieri shipyard in Italy.

The 47,000-ton vessels will feature a design similar to the Viking Star, which was the first newbuild introduced by the company in 2015.

In addition to the two ships, Viking’s current orderbook includes nine other vessels, with deliveries scheduled between 2026 and 2031.

Before welcoming the Leda and the Vega, the company is taking delivery of the industry’s first hydrogen-powered ships.

Set to be delivered in 2027 and 2028, respectively, the Viking Astrea and the Viking Lyra will be able to operate with zero emissions using a new technology that relies on containerized fuel.

Viking’s lineup also includes two additional expedition ships, which will join the Viking Octantis and the Viking Polaris in 2030 and 2031.

Next Viking Cruises Newbuild to Carry Name Viking Vela

Next Viking Cruises Newbuild to Carry Name Viking Vela

Currently under construction at the Fincantieri shipyard in Italy, the next Viking Cruises ocean vessel will be named Viking Vela.

According to the company’s website, the ship is set to debut in 2024 and will be slightly larger than its predecessors.

Eleventh in a series of vessels that was started with the Viking Star in 2015, the Viking Vela will be ten meters longer, as well as two meters wider than its sister ships.

With the extra space, the new build will also carry more passengers: 998 versus 930.

The Viking Cruises website has already published the deployment of the ship as well.

After entering service in 2024, the Viking Vela is scheduled to spend its inaugural season in Northern Europe, offering itineraries to Scandinavia, the British Isles, Iceland, the Norwegian Fjords and more.

According to Viking, the new Vela will offer all-balcony accommodations and is ideally sized to reach destinations where the larger ships cannot dock. The company’s website also highlights the vessel’s “understated elegance and modern Scandinavian design.”

In addition to a large fleet of identical mid-sized luxury ships, the cruise line also operates two purpose-built expedition ships, the Viking Octantis and the Viking Polaris.

Another ocean vessel, the Zhao Shang Yi Dun, is also in service for the company in Asia. Part of a joint venture with China Merchants, the ship was formerly named Viking Sun and is now serving the Chinese domestic market.

Continuing its fleet expansion, Viking Cruises is set to take delivery of five additional oceangoing vessels through 2027.

Fincantieri is to build four more ships for Viking

Viking Venus cruising down the River Mersey into Liverpool Photo credit Spacejunkie2 (Flickr)

Fincantieri is to build four more ships for Viking after the companies put into effect contracts for the third and fourth ships and signed new contracts for a fifth and sixth, all of which were additional options in an initial agreement signed in March 2018.

The design of the batch of six ocean vessels was developed by Fincantieri in partnership with Viking, upgrading the design of the cruise line’s previous 10 vessels with new safety and navigation systems. The ships are also designed to be able to make use of hydrogen fuel cells once they are available.

The total value of the agreements is around €1.7 billion ($1.72 billion). Deliveries are scheduled in 2026 and 2027, followed by a further two ships in 2028.

A subjective list of awards for cruise experiences

Seven Seas Explorer

here's no shortage of travel industry awards and accolades. 

Today I'll offer some cruise-only nods -- a mini Academy Awards lineup, if you will --  based on my seven years of cruising for Travel Weekly. Unlike the Oscars, in which categories of longstanding tradition are properly judged, my award categories and winners are completely subjective and based mostly on one moment on one ship, rather than a studious fleetwide evaluation over time.

Plus, mine aren't broadcast on national television. And there's no statuette. But they're fun. See what you think, and offer your own winners in the comment section below.

So, with no further ado:

Best naming ceremony: Princess Cruises. Skies were grey in Southampton, England, on that June day in 2013, but who can beat royal princess Kate Middleton christening the Royal Princess? The British pomp and pageantry and the ladies in their gowns and fascinators made it unforgettable. Runner up: More royals, plus opera great Andrea Bocelli singing "Nessun Dorma" for the Seven Seas Explorer in Monaco.

Meal: Celebrity Cruises. I think it was on the Celebrity Reflection with former Celebrity public relations spokeswoman Liz Jakeway that I had a nearly flawless Italian dinner at the Tuscan Grille. Runner up: Guy Fieri's burgers on Carnival Cruise Line.

Suite:  Viking Ocean Cruises. The Owner's Suite on the Viking Star duplicates owner Tor Hagen's book collection and comes with a (faux) fireplace and a sauna with a floor-to-ceiling glass wall for ocean viewing. Runner up: the duplex suites on Royal Caribbean.

Service: Azamara. I know, not what you're expecting, but I say: try it. The relaxed style really made me feel at home on a 2016 Central America and Mexico cruise on the Azamara Journey. When my time was up, I didn't want to leave. Runner up: Seabourn.

Entertainment: Norwegian Cruise Line. "After Midnight" and "Million Dollar Quartet" on the Norwegian Escape in 2016 was a knockout one-two punch, and Norwegian has kept up the pace with each new ship: "Jersey Boys," "Kinky Boots." Great value for guests. Runner up: Royal Caribbean, where too much is never enough.

Pool: Seabourn. The cosy aft pool on Seabourn's 450-passenger ships puts sunbathers close to the water in stylish luxury. Runner up: the Solarium Pool on Celebrity, with its dancing waters fountain.

Cruise Director: Star Clippers. The line's longest-serving cruise director, Peter Kissner, hails from Bavaria and is the most personable, knowledgeable, interesting person I've yet encountered in the job.  Runner up: Azamara cruise director Eric de Gray does it all.

Internet: Royal Caribbean gets the nod for its Voom, which not only is fast and simple but was first to market. What a difference in seven years. Runner up: MedallionNet on Princess Cruises is also fast and simple (but was not first).

Children's character: Disney Cruise Line for Cinderella. As played by one of Disney's cast members, the Cinderella I saw could have stepped out of the 1950 animated feature film. The children were enchanted. Runner Up:  Ellie, the towel elephant that prowls the post-turn-down cabins on Carnival ships.

Deck BBQ: Windstar Cruises. A twilight summer deck party anchored off the coast of Portofino. Trust me, it doesn't get any better than that. Runner up: Regent Seven Seas Cruises.

14 Cruise Ships Received a Perfect 100 Health Score

PHOTO: Disney Fantasy by Disney Cruise Line. (photo via Marina113 / iStock Editorial / Getty Images Plus)

According to the CDC, 14 cruise ships earned a perfect health score during their surprise inspections in the last year.

The ships can be found among 10 different cruise lines and include Celebrity Summit, Rhapsody of the Seas, Norwegian Gem, Disney Wonder, Seabourn Quest, Viking Star, Auroa, Disney Fantasy, Noordam, Sea Princess, Disney Dream, Amsterdam, AIDAVITA and Emerald Princess.

All cruise ships that sail to or from the U.S. must undergo a surprise health inspection by the VSP or Vessel Sanitation Program.

Everything from the medical facilities to the swimming pools, portable water systems, child centres, rooms, ventilation systems and common areas of the ship are inspected.

There are 44 items on the VSP’s checklist, so to get a score of 100, the cruise ship had to receive perfect scores on every single item.

Alternatively, a score of 85 or below is considered failing which occurred with the following ships: Ocean Insignia, Ocean Dream, Silver Spirit, Safari Endeavor and Le Boreal.

Viking Takes Delivery of Fifth Ocean Ship

PHOTO: Infinity pool on Viking Cruises ship (photo courtesy Viking Cruises)

Viking took delivery of Viking Orion today at Fincantieri's shipyard in Ancona, Italy.

The line’s fifth ocean ship will be officially named in Livorno, Italy June 14, with retired NASA astronaut Dr Anna Fisher serving as the ship’s ceremonial godmother. Dr Fisher’s work on NASA's Orion exploration vehicle project inspired the ship’s name.

Viking Orion will spend her maiden season in the Mediterranean. She’ll then venture to Australia, Asia, and Alaska, where she’ll be the line’s first ship to call on The Great Land.

"Today we celebrate the delivery of our fifth ocean ship, just three years after launching our ocean business," said Torstein Hagen, Viking chairman. "We are pleased to welcome Viking Orion to our award-winning fleet and look forward to introducing more guests to the Viking way of travel, through culturally-immersive and destination-focused itineraries as we expand to new destinations in Asia and Alaska."

Viking Orion features a modern Scandinavian-inspired design; two pools, including an infinity pool off the stern, and an expansive Spa with a sauna and snow grotto.

Viking Orion joins a fleet consisting of Viking Star, Viking Sea, Viking Sky and Viking Sun. The 465-stateroom vessels accommodate 930 guests. Viking Jupiter will debut in spring 2019. Ten additional ships are set for delivery beginning in 2021.

All cruise fares include a complimentary shore excursion in every port. Also included are beer and wine with lunch and dinner service; alternative restaurant dining; Wi-Fi; self-service laundry; access to the Thermal Suite in the LivNordic Spa; and 24-hour room service.

Viking Comes Home, Names New Ship

PHOTO: Viking Cruises' Viking Sun makes its inaugural call on Los Angeles, California. (photo by Jason Leppert)

On its first-ever world voyage, Viking Cruises just made its inaugural call on Los Angeles. For a company that started as a river line based in the California city, the event marks a full circle for what has become a very successful ocean line as well.

During a day tour of the line’s newest Viking Sun, Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking, also announced the next name for its ocean ships.

In 2019, Viking Jupiter will embark on a pair of fresh South America itineraries. The 22-day Southern Atlantic Crossing will head from Barcelona to Buenos Aires twice a year stopping in Morocco, Senegal, Brazil and Uruguay along the way. The 18-day South America & the Chilean Fjords one will visit Uruguay, the Falkland Islands and Chile around Cape Horn from Buenos Aires to Santiago six times a year. The new routes are on sale now.

The ship will be the sixth sister-ship following the Viking Star, Viking Sea, Viking Sky, Viking Sun and upcoming Viking Orion launching in June 2018. By the time Jupiter is introduced in February 2019, Viking will be the largest small ship cruise line.

Remarkably, four more yet-to-be-named sisters are set to follow in January 2021, February 2022, September 2022 and April 2023—making for a total fleet of ten—and apparently, the company does not intend to stop there.

It's no secret Viking was pursuing hydrogen as a possible fuel source for future ships. While we originally suspected that might be a new form of propulsion for one of the currently scheduled ships, Hagen has now indicated that any alternative form of propulsion will potentially be implemented for ship number 11 and beyond.

While zero-emission hydrogen is clearly preferred, he said methanol and LNG are being considered as well. A final decision on which direction future vessels take is expected in the next year or so.

Either way, several additional ships are likely on their way. A photo of Hagen with Giuseppe Bono, CEO of Fincantieri, shows the two holding up their hands—each with every finger extended, in celebration of the first 10 options ordered. Between the two of them, twenty fingers can be counted in total, which may foreshadow many more.

The message is clear no matter how it all plays out: Viking Cruises is now a major ocean operator.

“We have always been a travel company that focuses on exploration and cultural immersion,” added Hagen, in a press release.

“In the last two decades we have led the industry in river cruising, and as we become the leading small ship ocean cruise line we have an opportunity to introduce many new travellers to the Viking way of exploration. Our new ‘Did You Know?’ campaign is aimed at inspiring people who may not yet know what makes us so different in the industry, why we are the most award-winning cruise line and how we can provide more included value than any other cruise company.”

While all the ocean ships are advertised as identical—and they nearly are—there are a few small differences. The Sky was modified a bit from the Star and Sea mostly with a larger fitness centre and smaller salon, plus a few retail and sports deck reconfigurations, and the Sun carries those over. Upon very close inspection, the newest ship has also newly added table tennis to the latter and retooled the Cruise Consultant desk a tad.

Specifically for the world cruise, there’s one of six ageing casks of “Linje” Aquavit on display in The Viking Living Room atrium as well as special merchandise available to buy in the gift shop. A cool new “Nordic Style” coffee table book further showcases the ships’ signature Scandinavian decor.

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.

With ocean line expansion, Viking will bring first ship stateside

Viking Ocean Cruises is a little more than two months away from accepting its second ship, the Viking Sea, an event that will multiply the fledgling line’s ability to offer varied itineraries.

Already Viking has said that its first ship, the Viking Star, will reposition to North America starting in September.

After a transition cruise that follows the route of the Viking explorers from Norway to the New World, the Viking Star will offer some fall cruises in Canada and a trip down the eastern seaboard before making its home for the winter of 2016-17 in Puerto Rico.

Richard Marnell, senior vice president of marketing for Viking River Cruises, said the company intends to hold the line on pricing.

“It is our intent to maintain the value at what it is today and essentially to fill the ships as quickly as we can build them,” he said.

Marnell said the company, which is new to the ocean side of cruising, had some kinks to work out in its first few months, but its debut received positive feedback from media and customers.

He said a rating of 5 from the editors of the Cruise Critic website and a “Loved It” endorsement from 86% of the site’s readers were especially exciting. Internally, the line’s surveys are “very, very good and encouraging,” Marnell said.

“What people are applauding is the understated elegance, the residential feel, the great bathrooms, king-size beds, the housekeeping,” he said. “Food is a surprise, and people are quite pleased with our food.”

One of the kinks had to do with an electrical transformer problem that led to the early termination of a cruise in Estonia. Another involved sudden breakage of glass shower partitions in the bathrooms.

Marnell said both problems have been fixed, and Viking might be making a design modification on future ships to ensure that the glass breakage doesn’t reoccur but added that “from a safety perspective and a utility perspective it’s fine.”

There was also an IT problem that torpedoed the television system on early cruises; that, too, has been resolved.

In addition, he said, Viking has learned from experience that some things aren’t working as expected. A singular reception area on the Star has been split into separate shore excursion and guest services desks. The gangways have been modified because the ship is too small for most air bridges, which are designed for bigger vessels, Marnell said.

By bringing the Viking Star to North America, Viking hopes to give more people a chance to see the ship. On its transition cruise from Canada to Puerto Rico, it will be making stops in Boston, New York and Florida.

Those stops, Marnell said, “will give the opportunity for those who weren’t able to attend other functions — and this is particularly important to agents — to be able to see the vessel and experience it.”

For the winter months, the Viking Star will do a series of nine 11-night roundtrips from San Juan, visiting Tortola, British Virgin Islands; Antigua; St. Lucia; Barbados; St. Kitts; Guadeloupe; St. Maarten; and St. Thomas.

Marnell said that homeporting in San Juan saves time that would otherwise be taken up sailing from South Florida for more port time in the Caribbean, a key brand promise.

Also, Viking’s overall value continues to get high marks in customer surveys, according to Marnell, and that remains a key point of differentiation.

“So we feel like we’re in a very good position, and it’s our intention to maintain that moving forward,” he said.

Viking, Crystal and navigating new waters

Less than one year after Viking launched into ocean cruising with the delivery of the Viking Star in March, Crystal Cruises announced that it would go from ocean to rivers, with the launch of its first river cruise ship slated for 2016.

So what are some of the potential advantages and disadvantages of each approach? Of bringing your past river cruisers onto new ocean ships and of introducing your ocean cruisers to your new river program?

The key to success in these ventures is likely the fact that ocean and river cruising are just similar and different enough to offer something both distinct and yet familiar to the other. They are products that complement each other perhaps more than they compete with each other. Yes, they’re both a form of cruising. But that’s just about where the similarities end.

And yet, it’s still a bit of a risk, right? If you’re Viking and you introduce your past river cruise passengers to ocean cruising and they realize they like ocean cruising more — maybe you’ve just lost some river cruise customers. Ditto Crystal introducing ocean cruisers to the rivers with the chance of converting some customers away from the company’s core product.

It’s hard to say whether that risk is higher in one direction or the other: Avid river cruisers might say ocean cruisers are bound to be courted by the central docking locations and intimate environments on river cruise vessels, and ocean cruisers might feel that once river cruisers come onboard they’ll never go back to smaller vessels with fewer amenities and shorter itineraries.

But clearly for Viking and Crystal, the benefits outweigh any potential drawbacks. Perhaps rather than lose their customers to other companies, they’d rather keep them within their fold by offering river cruisers ocean vessels and by offering ocean cruisers river vessels — keeping them in the family, so to speak.

Viking Star to sail Caribbean cruises from San Juan

Viking Ocean Cruises said its first sailings in North America and the Caribbean will occur from September 2016 to February 2017, when the Viking Star will sail from San Juan.

The ship will make a series of nine 11-night round trips from San Juan, visiting Tortola, Antigua, St. Lucia, Barbados, St. Kitts, Guadeloupe, St. Maarten and St. Thomas.

Prior to arriving in San Juan, the Viking Star will do several re-positioning cruises, starting with a 15-day Bergen to Montreal trip that departs Sept. 18.

From Montreal, the ship will do a 13-day voyage up the St. Lawrence River, through the Canadian Maritime and New England to New York.  A 15-day Eastern Seaboard itinerary departs New York for San Juan on Oct. 18.

At the end of the season, the Viking Star will offer an 18-day San Juan-to-Barcelona cruise that departs Feb. 25, 2017.

Since its debut in April, Viking Star has been sailing in the Mediterranean and elsewhere in Europe.

Shower glass reinstalled on Viking Star after shattering incidents

Viking Cruises said it has re-installed the shower glass in virtually all of the cabins on its Viking Star ship because several shower panels have shattered unexpectedly at sea.

A spokesman for Viking said the incidents were isolated and were related to the installation process of the glass.

A Viking passenger posted an account on the Cruise Critic message board about how she was injured when the shower glass exploded in her cabin.

The 920-passenger Viking Star is the company's first ocean ship. It debuted in April and has been sailing on European itineraries.

The spokesman said the Fincantieri shipyard in Italy where Viking Star was built has "taken care of the situation” by re-installing almost all of the shower glass.

"The safety of our guests and staff is always our top priority and we regret that some of our guests experienced this situation,” the spokesman said.

10 Amazing cruise ship swimming pools

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Disappointed by cruise ship swimming pools? Here are 11 that will make you want to jump right in

The showpiece pool – Viking Star infinity pool

Gorgeous to look at and offering matchless sea views, this glass-walled infinity pool cantilevered off the stern (Deck 7, aft) of the new ocean ship Viking Star is in a league of its own. Look down and it feels like you’re floating in the ocean; at night it looks like a sapphire, shimmering in the inky night. 

The details: 6.775m x 4.195m (too small for lengths). Open 6am to 6pm.
What else is on deck? The (not much bigger) main pool is next to the attractive Winter Garden and a hidden movie screen. This entire area can be covered by a retractable glass dome.

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The showtime pool – Allure of the Seas Oceanaria

The deepest freshwater pool (5.45m/17.9ft) at sea – on the biggest cruise ship in the world (so far) with 5,500 passengers – is not for passengers to swim in! However, as the sun sets, a choreographed fountain show comes into its own with jets, music and lights and water acrobats performing dizzying high dives and underwater feats (viewed from giant screens). As a piece of aqua theatre it’s hard to beat. 

The details: 15.7m x 6.75m. Decks 8/9/10.
What else is on deck? On Deck 15, the H2O zone is open from 7am-midnight each day and has three other pools – the Sports Pool, the Main Pool, for those seeking a simple swim and the faux-rock-lined Beach Pool, which features a sloped entry, allowing passengers to sit with loungers partially submerged 

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The family fun pools – Disney Magic

It’s the Disney “we’ve thought of everyone” factor. The three fresh water swimming pools on Disney Magic are all located on Deck 9, each with a different theme or purpose. AquaLab, aft, is a dedicated water play area for children with pop jets, geysers, bubblers and a freshwater pool. It also includes the Twist ’n’ Spout Slide, and the Nephews’ Splash Zone, a water playground for children (aged three and under). Goofy’s Pool and pool deck (with giant screen), is located mid-ships and has two hot tubs for families. 

The details: AquaLab and Goofy’s Pool are open 8am-10pm. Approx 167 sqm and 1.2 m deep.
What else is on deck? Quiet Cove, forward, is the adults-only area. The pool is large enough for laps and is open from 8am to midnight. The maximum depth is 1.2m 

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Swimming with the stars – Emerald Sky indoor pool

Like its sister ships (Star, Sun and Dawn), Emerald Sky has pioneered the pool-cum-cinema on river ships. It has a retractable roof and in the evening the swimming pool base rises to create a floor. Pool loungers are rearranged to face the large pull-down screen at the aft of the ship. Films range from modern-day blockbusters to old favourites such as the The Sound of Music, screened when cruising through Austria. 

The details: 6m x 4m. Horizon deck, open from 6am until 6pm daily.
What else is on deck? There’s a bar in the corner and in the evening filmgoers get complimentary popcorn

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The wow-factor pool – Bar du Leopard, Uniworld’s SS Catherine

Why is it special? Tucked away behind floor-to-ceiling glass walls on this river ship is a small resistance pool with a mosaic-clad interior depicting a jungle/rainforest scene, with leopards and other wildlife. The pool glows emerald-green at night, adding a wild, ‘Me Tarzan, you Jane’ ambience. This pool yearns for Audrey Hepburn, or Ursula Andress.
The details: measurements are irrelevant. This one's for dipping and sipping something exotic, while posing in a palm-leaf bikini. Find it on the Camargue Deck. 

What else is on deck? Beyond its room-with-a-pool innovation the Bar du Leopard is a cool and peaceful space. At dinner, it’s home to a bistro

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The thrillseekers' pools – Norwegian Escape Aqua Park

Almost too many thrills! There’s the Aqua Racer slide, the newest tandem waterslide at sea, where competitors can race side-by-side as they twist and turn to the finish line. There is also the Free Fall, where sensation seekers free fall, as the floor drops from underneath, propelling them into a thrilling loop. Or a more sedate, relaxing ride, in the family-friendly open-flume body slide.

The details: the Aquapark (Deck 16) features four multi-story water slides, a dedicated children’s Aqua Park, two pools and four hot tubs.
What else is on deck? Spice H2O, on Deck 17, is an adults-only space with waterfall grotto and hot tubs during the day. At night there’s dancing beneath the stars and a huge LED screen.

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The big splash pool – Carnival Sunshine Serenity

By far the biggest adults-only area Carnival has on any of its ships, Serenity is an adults-only retreat complete with a triple-height waterfall and plunge pool, plus hot tubs, cabanas and bars. 

The details: it’s a small, round plunge pool set directly beneath the waterfall. Find it on Deck 9.
What else is on deck? The on-board waterpark (WaterWorks – entrance on Deck 14) has five slides including Speedway Splash (72m long) and cork-screw Twister (102m) and a SplashZone for children 

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The tranquility pool – Oceania Nautica

Why is it special? Like all Oceania ships, Nautica has a tranquil saltwater pool (on Deck 9) straddled by a pair of whirlpool tubs. There are comfortable, cushion-topped loungers and stylish “outdoor living” areas featuring plush couches and deep armchairs positioned for shade. 

The details: 6.4 x 4 x 1 (forward) and 1.5 m (aft). Open 6am-10pm.
What else is on deck? The Canyon Ranch Spa Club has its own thalassotherapy pool and sun deck area with unlimited access for spa-goers and Concierge and Suite guests. For other passengers it’s free for one hour before or after a treatment,

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The private pool – MSC Yacht Club

Why is it special? Because it’s exclusively for the use of MSC Yacht Club members, on MSC Fantasia, Splendida, Divinia and Preziosa, so there’s a butler to serve you drinks. 

The details: Though small, it is on Deck 18, so only club members are allowed to use it. MSC Fantastia class ships have four adult pools (the biggest is 11m x 5m) and one for children with splash park and waterslides, plus 12 whirlpool baths. Opening times vary but the longest is 7am-10pm.
What else is on deck? For MSC Yacht club members, The One Bar and on Deck 16, the spa.

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The serious swimming pool – the Crystal Pool on P&O Oriana

For serious swimmers size is everything and this is largest of any cruise ship. Stylish, with hints of art deco, you can contemplate a striking bronze water sculpture by Andre Wallace. The timeless Oriana is an adults-only ship. 

The details: 12m x 5.25m. Midship of the Lido Deck (12), Open 24 hours.
What else is on deck? The Riviera and the Terrace pool – each 4m shorter than the Crystal.

Viking Star draws thousands to christening

Viking Star's Christening.

Viking Cruises christened its first new ship in Bergen, Norway, in a ceremony that attracted thousands on the nation’s Constitution Day.

The May 17 christening marks the formal debut of the 930-passenger Viking Star, which has been sailing with passengers since early April. 

“We believe the arrival of Viking Star signals a new era in destination-focused cruising, and I could not be more proud that she will call my favorite city in the world home,” said Viking Chairman Torstein Hagen, who got his start in the cruise business four decades ago in Bergen.

The city’s mayor, Trude Drevland, served as ceremonial godmother and offered a blessing of good fortune and safe sailing for the 47,800-gross-ton  ship.

Extending a river cruise at sea

By Tom Stieghorst 

Many of the passengers I shared a voyage with recently on the new Viking Star ocean cruise ship were past passengers on Viking’s river cruise vessels.

I was surprised to hear from more than one of them that river cruises in general are too short.

Unlike on the ocean, where one can find world cruises of more than 100 days, river cruises are limited by the length of the river they sail on and rarely span more than two weeks.

Tom Stieghorst

One woman said that to justify the trouble of packing, taking an overseas flight with all of the security and customs procedures that involves, and adjusting to jet lag in Europe, she wanted to vacation for longer than a typical river cruise allows.

This woman had enjoyed a 15-day river cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest, and said she wouldn’t mind doing the reverse cruise back-to-back in order to get more mileage from her overseas trip.

Mind you, nearly one third of the passengers on my cruise from Istanbul had signed on for a full 50-night, 33-port grand ocean tour of Europe that will finish in Stockholm at the end of May.

So clearly, while there is some overlap between ocean and river cruise customers, there’s a certain contingent that prefers a longer voyage than is possible on the average river itinerary.

One solution is to combine the two, a concept that first launched last fall when Celebrity Cruises linked up with river operator Amras Cruises to create ocean-and-river cruise packages. 

Viking could take that idea to the next level by being one company that offers both types of cruises.

There is already a lot of conversation about the topic at Viking's headquarters in Los Angeles, according to Sara Conley, Viking's director of public relations and social media, who added that it is logistically more difficult than it might appear.

Ocean and river cruises do not share many home ports, so there might be land transfers involved between one ship and the other. And the schedules of the two sides of the cruise business were not designed with coordination in mind, so they don’t necessarily match up in convenient ways. 

At this point, Viking has just one ocean ship, the 930-passenger Star. Next year it expects to have another delivered, with a third to follow either late in 2016 or early 2017.

By that time Viking may have figured out a solution to offering the combo cruise that would give some passengers both a river cruise and a more extended cruise vacation in Europe.