Viking announce ocean cruises

Viking have announced they are joining the ocean cruise market by purchasing 2 ocean liners.

The first ship will launch in 2015 and will be named the Viking Star and will be cruising the Baltic and Eastern and Western Mediterranean.

The 2^nd ship will launch in 2016

I am pleased to say they will be small ships , similar in size to the likes of Azamara, Regent and Oceania.

Viking are an award winning river cruise line who will be applying the same standards to these ocean cruises.

They will offer soft drinks, beer and wine with lunch and dinner, 24 hour room service, free wi-fi and shore excursions.

They will also maximise the time in port by offering late departures or an overnight in port to give passengers flexibility to go ashore in the evening’s .

This is really popular, I know from speaking to people that they like the idea of having this extra time in the evenings and not be so worried about time contraints.

The ship will be all balcony staterooms and there will be 2 swimming pools including one with a retractable roof which is fantastic when cruising in the cooler climates.

At least you can still sit around a pool and read a book if you want to have some relaxation time.

Talking of relaxing there will of course be a spa and an unusual feature of this will be a snow grotto. Snowflakes will descend from the ceiling through chilled air.

Dining has always been excellent with Viking River and this is set to continue with Viking ocean with a Chef’s Table, Italian Grill, Viking Deli serving Scandinavian speciality’s, world café and cooking school and an intimate restaurant called the Kitchen Table all in addition to the main dining room.

So with many new ships being introduced into the market do you think this will be a successful move for Viking ?

I believe it will as they have many loyal guests who have perhaps experienced all of the rivers that Viking have to offer and are looking for something different yet want to guarantee with same level of service they have been used to with the same company.

There are lots of other cruise lines operating in these regions but a lot are put off by the larger cruise ships in the market.

There is definitely a market there for smaller ships and hopefully Viking will make them as popular as their river cruises

After all they must be doing something right if they sell out over a year in advance on many of their sailings.