The Daily Telegraph, October 08, 2013
Itineraries for Viking Ocean Cruises have gone on sale in Britain. Better known as a river-cruise specialist, Viking announced the launch of its new ocean-cruise programme in May, when itineraries were rolled out to the American market .
"The reaction from the US has been fantastic and due to the high demand we have announced additional itineraries for 2015 and 2016," said managing director at Viking Cruises UK Wendy Atkin-Smith.
The line’s maiden sailing in May 2015 will be on board the 928-passenger all-veranda Viking Star, calling at ports in Scandinavia, the Baltic and the Mediterranean. Viking Star will feature five stateroom categories raging from 270 sq ft to 1,448 sq ft for a two-room Explorer Suite.
Features on board will include a Scandinavian inspired spa and two pools - one under a retractable roof, plus an infinity pool where passengers can swim in a glass-backed pool cantilevered off the stern. A second ocean ship is on order for delivery in 2016, with options for four more.
"It is testament to the Viking craftsmanship in terms of design, itinerary and customer experience that the launch has been such a success," said Atkin-Smith. She described the smaller ship as being "smarter in design" compared with mega-liners. "Our state-of-the-art Viking Longships have revolutionised the river-cruise experience and we intend to [do the same] with ocean cruising."
Prices for the 15-day Viking Homelands sailing calling at Stockholm, St Petersburg, Copenhagen, Bergen, Helsinki, Tallinn, Gdansk, Berlin, Aalborg, Stavanger, and Flam start from £2,999 per person. An early booking discount of £50 per person applies until December 31.
