New Viking Venus delivered to Viking Ocean Cruises by Fincantieri
Viking Ocean Cruises has taken delivery of the new Viking Venus, the latest cruise ship to join its rapidly expanding fleet. The new Viking Venus was delivered by the Italian shipyard Fincantieri and will now be repositioned to the UK for new naming ceremony, Viking Ocean Cruises announced.
The delivery ceremony took place when Viking Venus was presented at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Ancona, Italy, with Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking describing it as an important milestone for the cruise line.
“We are especially proud to welcome our newest ship to the fleet this year. Many of us have stayed close to home for months, so this is an important milestone as we begin to get back out into the world again,” said Hagen in a press release. “We look forward to celebrating the naming of Viking Venus by her esteemed godmother, Anne Diamond—and to welcoming our UK guests back on board next month,” he added.
Viking Venus will be named in the UK on May 17th, 2021, by her ceremonial godmother, Anne Diamond, the esteemed British journalist and broadcaster, before sailing spring and summer departures of Viking’s “England’s Scenic Shores” itinerary. Those cruises form part of a collection of new itineraries for Viking in England, Bermuda and Iceland beginning in May, 2021.
All of Viking’s new Welcome Back voyages are available exclusively for vaccinated guests, in accordance with local entry rules in many of the destinations to which Viking ships will be sailing. The cruise line has also implemented the Viking Health & Safety Program, which is designed to protect guests and crew while the COVID-19 vaccine rollout moves forward.
Viking Venus is the newest ship in Viking’s award-winning ocean fleet of eight identical sister ships, with a record 12 still on order of the 16 from last year. The cruise ships have a gross tonnage of 47,800 tons, with 465 staterooms that can host 930 guests; the ships feature all veranda staterooms, Scandinavian design, airy public spaces and abundant al fresco dining options.
Viking Venus, like her sister ships, will feature seven dining options – the main dining room and buffet restaurant, as well as three specialty restaurants (Mamsen’s, the Chef’s Table, the Kitchen Table and Manfredi’s Italian), including the pool grill. The ship also feature a huge spa occupying almost a quarter of an entire deck, a massive theatre, and four lounges (including the hugely popular Wintergarden adjacent the pool and double-level Explorer’s Lounge at the bow).
When it comes to bars and cafes, there’s the Viking Bar on the lower level of the atrium next to the Viking Living Room, Torshavn aft of the theatre and the Explorer’s Lounge. Viking Neptune is the next to be delivered, in 2022, while the keel has been laid for Viking Mars, which is due in 2023. The rest of the cruise line’s order book has not yet been named.
