Viking celebrates 25 years with new ships and Aussie deployments

By Alexandra Coulton

Viking is celebrating 25 years of “exploring the world in comfort” with several milestones and an anticipated return to Aussie waters.

Since 1997, chairman Torstein Hagen has built an award-winning fleet of over 80 river, ocean and expedition ships, and 2022 is shaping up to be the biggest yet.

In January, the cruise line welcomed its first expedition ship Viking Octantis to the fleet, with a second vessel, Viking Polaris, on the way. With the launch of Viking Expeditions, the cruise line is now officially exploring all seven continents.

This week, Viking will expand its river cruise ship fleet of 72 ships with simultaneous ceremonies are taking place in Amsterdam and Paris to welcome four new longships and to christen four new custom-built ships for the Seine. Later this year, three new custom-built ships are set to sail the rivers of South East Asia, Egypt and the United States.

To top off the list of new ships, Viking Ocean Cruises will introduce two new small ships this year Viking Mars and Viking Neptune, to join the fleet of six identical sister ships.

Viking has also announced that two of its ocean ships will arrive in local waters for the 2022-2023 Australia and New Zealand cruise season to round out the year.

Viking Orion will return to her seasonal Sydney and Auckland home ports between November 2022 and March 2023, while Viking Mars, launching in May, will spend her maiden season sailing itineraries in Northern Europe and the Mediterranean before embarking on voyages in Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

She is scheduled to arrive in Sydney on 27 December 2022 before departing on a special New Year’s Eve sailing from Sydney to Auckland.

Michelle Black, Viking’s ANZ managing director, said this is the first time two Viking ships will be in the region.

“We are excited to have two of our ocean ships in local waters later this year. Having two ships deployed to the region shows our ongoing commitment to supporting cruising in our local market,” Black said.

“We cannot wait to welcome Viking Orion back. After what will be nearly three years since she was last here, it will be fantastic to finally welcome our guests back on board while also providing them with the option of experiencing Viking Mars – one of our newest ships in the fleet.”

2022/23 Australia and New Zealand itineraries include a 15-day Australia & New Zealand from Sydney to Auckland or v.v,
a 17-day Komodo & the Australian Coast from Bali to Sydney or v.v, 29-day South Pacific Sojourn from Sydney to Bangkok or v.v, and a 31-day Australia, New Zealand & Indonesia from Auckland to Bali or v.v.

Plus, when you book before 31 March 2022, you’ll enjoy the peace of mind of Viking’s Risk-Free Guarantee with the flexibility to change cruise dates up until 14 days before departure.

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Michelle Black river cruise Torstein Hagen viking Viking Expeditions Viking Mars Viking Neptune Viking Octantis Viking Orion Viking Polaris