VIKING Cruises is stepping on the accelerator, with plans well advanced for the debut of new cruise offerings in South and North America. The company, which just last month revealed details of its two new expedition ships to launch in 2022 (CW 17 Jan), has this week gone live with...
VIKING Cruises is stepping on the accelerator, with plans well advanced for the debut of new cruise offerings in South and North America.
The company, which just last month revealed details of its two new expedition ships to launch in 2022 (CW 17 Jan), has this week gone live with a new Galapagos program, which will have its first sailings in Dec 2020.
Viking has undertaken an exclusive charter of the 90-passenger Santa Cruz II (pictured) which is undergoing a full renovation “to reflect the clean, elegant Scandinavian design for which Viking is known”.
The inaugural season is currently being promoted to past Viking passengers, but full itinerary details and pricing for the Galapagos trips are live on the Viking website including 13- and 14-day trips combining the cruises with land content including Machu Picchu and Peru.
The Galapagos isn’t the only new frontier being broached by Viking, with founder Torstein Hagen also believed to be about to formally launch the company’s long-rumoured Mississippi River cruise program.
Invitations have been sent to trade partners in the USA for a launch announcement in New Orleans where Hagen will “officially reveal the introduction of modern river cruising in the US”.
Viking has long been planning to operate on US rivers, having actively developed its river cruise infrastructure along the Mississippi with docking agreements and suggestions of up to six vessels with capacity of around 335 passengers.
The rumoured announcement has sparked a swift reaction from American Cruise Line – see p2.
