(11:25 a.m. EST) – Viking took delivery of its first purpose-built expedition ship on Wednesday and welcomed the Viking Octantis to its fleet in a ceremony at Fincantieri’s VARD shipyard in Soviknes, Norway.
The 378 passengers Viking Octantis sets sail for South America on Thursday, where it will make its first trip with revenue in January. There is a season of expedition cruises to Antarctica in the coming months.
Viking Octantis will be named in April in New York City by explorer and educator Liv Arnesen. The ship will then operate summer cruises on the Great Lakes before returning to the polar regions.
Viking Octantis will be joined by its sister ship Viking Polaris, which is still under construction, in August 2022. Viking Polaris will go into service immediately in the Arctic before cruising to Antarctica for the 2022-2023 winter season.
“Today is a proud day for the entire Viking family as we welcome our first expedition ship into the fleet and usher in a new era of exploration,” said Viking Chairman Torstein Hagen.
“Our guests asked us to build on our award-winning river and ocean journeys to take them further, and that is exactly what we did. Drawing on our long history of goal-oriented travel, enrichment and innovative ship design, we are now perfecting expedition travel and providing curious travelers the opportunity to visit the world’s most pristine travel destinations responsibly.
“With the arrival of the Viking Octantis, Viking is now exploring all seven continents and we look forward to welcoming their first guests on board in the coming weeks.”
The launch of the Viking Octantis and Viking Polaris is just one aspect of Viking’s ambitious growth plans for 2022. The line also plans to expand its very first Mississippi river Cruises in August and debuts its new one Vikings Mississippi River cruise ship.
Viking will also take over two new ocean-going vessels, Vikings Mars and Viking Neptune, in 2022.
