Viking invaders head for the ocean

FROM TODAY’S COLUMN IN THE DAILY MIRROR

Images of Viking’s river cruise ships will be familiar to anyone who has watched mysteries, thrillers and drama on ITV – the company’s sponsorship commercials are on screen almost every night.
There’s no mystery about its success – Viking launched 10 new ships this year and another 14 are being built for 2014. Not content with the Rhine, the Danube and the Seine, the company is now planning to conquer the oceans – in a rather gentler version of the invasions of more than a thousand years ago.
The 930-passenger Viking Star is expected to make its first voyage from Stockholm to the Baltic capitals in May 2015 and the ship’s maiden season was put on sale in the UK for the first time this week.
The ship will have a spectacular infinity pool cantilevered over the stern and, true to its roots, a luxurious Scandinavian-inspired spa.
UK managing director Wendy Atkin-Smith says the ship will be “smarter in design” compared with mega-liners. “Our state-of-the-art Viking Longships have revolutionised the river-cruise experience and we will do the same with ocean cruising.”
A second ocean-going ship is on order for delivery in 2016, and the company has options for four more.
Viking chairman Tor Hagen says: “Many cruise lines have lost sight of the destinations their ships sail to. Our ports-of-call will appeal to those with an interest in art, history and culture.”
CRUISE ship Disney Magic left dry dock in Spain this week after a month-long refurbishment including the addition of breath-taking vertical-drop waterslides.
Passengers will be able to enjoy Magic’s new facilities for the first time when the ship sails from Miami to the Caribbean on November 20, and it will be back in the Mediterranean for summer 2014.