Viking went from zero ocean cruise ships in their fleet 10 years ago to adding their 11th vessel when they took delivery of their newest ship, Viking Vela.
Viking Vela is not only the 11th ocean ship in Viking’s fleet, but it is also their largest at 54,300 gross tons.
It has 499 cabins, 34 more than the rest of the fleet. It can carry up to 998 passengers.
Viking had the ship built slightly larger so it can be retrofitted in the future to run on hydrogen. This will allow the cruise line to operate zero-emission cruises in the Norwegian Fjords and other sensitive environments.
Viking Vela was built by Fincantieri’s Ancona shipyard and marks the 13th vessel (11 ocean ships and two expedition from Vard) they have built for Viking.
The ship will spend her first season sailing cruises in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe.
Torstein Hagen, Chairman and CEO of Viking, gave the following statement about the cruise line taking delivery of their newest ship:
“We are proud to welcome the newest sister ship to our award-winning ocean fleet. Together with Fincantieri we have built the world’s most elegant small ocean ships. With the arrival of our newest vessel, we look forward to introducing even more curious travelers to the Viking way of exploration.”
Viking has another nine ocean cruise ships either under construction, on order, or options for them. This includes Viking Vesta which will debut in 2025 and Viking Mira in 2026.
The other unnamed seven ships are currently scheduled to debut in 2026, 2027, 2028, two in 2029, and two in 2030.
