Viking has announced that its new purpose-built Viking Octantis has begun its inaugural season in the Great Lakes. The vessel recently completed a roundtrip through the Welland Canal—a key section of the St. Lawrence Seaway connecting Lake Ontario and Lake Erie—making it the largest passenger vessel to transit the canal. The ship will remain in the Great Lakes until early October this year, sailing a range of itineraries between Toronto and Duluth. A second expedition vessel, the Viking Polaris, will debut later this year and join the Viking Octantis in the Great Lakes for the 2023 season.
Viking’s arrival to the Great Lakes region of North America underlines its commitment to local tourism and economic development for the states of Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Ohio (beginning in 2023) and the Canadian province of Ontario.
Viking has partnered with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL), which conducts research on the environment and ecosystem of the Great Lakes and coastal regions. Viking’s expedition ships have also been designated official NOAA/U.S. National Weather Service weather balloon stations, from which regular launches are undertaken.
During Viking’s inaugural 2022 season, the company is operating four new itineraries in the Great Lakes: the eight-day “Undiscovered Great Lakes” (Thunder Bay to Milwaukee); the eight-day “Great Lakes Explorer” (Milwaukee to Thunder Bay); the eight-day “Niagara & The Great Lakes” (Toronto to Milwaukee); and the 13-day “Canadian Discovery” (New York to Toronto).
In 2023, Viking will add a new “Great Lakes Collection” itinerary (Toronto to Duluth) spanning 15 days.
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