Viking Heads Out To Sea

with Martha Chapman

In an era when the big-ship lines are looking over their shoulders at the soaring popularity of river cruising, here’s a switcheroo: Viking Cruises has announced they are entering the ocean-going business.

Such was the news delivered at the always lovely Fairmont Royal York hotel as senior execs from Viking introduced some 120 top producing agents to their exciting new product. Even the food was a foretaste of what will be on board, with tasting stations ranging from Greece to France, Russia to Spain.

2015 will see the launch of the Viking Star which will accommodate just 928 passengers. It’s a well known fact that big-ship cruisers tend to ‘graduate’ to river cruising and, “Our passengers told us they were ready to go back on the ocean,” Michele Saegesser, V.P. of Sales told the group. “But the other ships were too big. They loved the included shore excursions on our river cruises and wanted overnights in port.”

So the Viking Star will include one shore excursion in each port… surcharge-free specialty restaurants… specialty coffees… wine and beer with lunch and dinner… access to the spa and ‘snow grotto’ where snowflakes float through the air (no shovelling required). And if that’s just too chilling, the ship features fireplaces throughout. There will be no NCFs (enthusiastic applause from the crowd) and port taxes are also included (ditto).

The ship will also overnight in legendary cities such as Rouen, St. Petersburg and Barcelona.

What there won’t be is gambling as Viking’s research concluded that their target audience is more interested in culture than casinos. Nor a ship’s photographer – but there will be artists sketching.

There will be 4 itineraries, ranging from 10 to 15 days and comprising Stockholm to Bergen; Bergen to Barcelona; Barcelona to Venice and Venice to Istanbul. Or of course you can combine them all for what would surely be an unforgettable voyage.

All staterooms have verandahs, with the smallest at 270 sq. ft. featuring a king size bed, sitting area, mini-bar restocked daily, use of an iPad and free wi-fi in port. Or clients can treat themselves to the 1,448 sq. ft. Owner’s Suite (“My home’s not that big!” says Saegesser). With each upgrade in stateroom, clients will enjoy added goodies such as specialty dining access and higher priority shore excursion reservations.

“We love the support of our trade friends,” said Saegesser. “You work hard and you deserve revenue for all you sell.” Judging by the crowd’s reaction and enthusiasm, it’s a mutual affair.