By
Rebecca Gibson |
Viking River Cruises broke the Guinness World Records title for the ‘Most ships inaugurated in one day by one company’ when it simultaneously christened 10 longships in Amsterdam on 20 March 2013.
Viking Atla, Viking Bragi, Viking Forseti, Viking Jarl, Viking Rinda, Viking Skadi, Viking Tor, Viking Var, Viking Aegir and Viking Embla were all named in the ceremony, the first of its kind for the industry. Four ships were christened in front of around 500 people in Amsterdam, while the remaining six were conducted live via satellite from the Neptun shipyard in Germany.
The 10 godmothers were chosen to represent the important aspects of the Viking brand, including history, art, education, exploration and discovery.
Presentations were given by each godmother, as well as Torstein Hagen, chairman of Viking River Cruises, Yran & Storbraaten, the maritime architects who designed the longships and an adjudicator from Guinness World Records. The celebration ended with an onboard dinner and maiden cruise around the Amsterdam harbour.
“Today is a proud day for Viking and for river cruising. We are honoured to showcase 10 of our revolutionary new longships,” said Hagen. “Our guests are explorers, just like the ancient Vikings of our Norse heritage, which is why we deliver authentic and enriching travel experiences like no other cruise line.”
The newly named ships will sail the line’s most popular European itineraries including: Tulips and Windmills, a 10-day round trip from Amsterdam to Antwerp; Passage to Eastern Europe, an 11-day cruise from Budapest to Bucharest; Romantic Danube, an eight-day cruise from Budapest to Nuremberg and a Grand European Tour.
Viking plans to break its own record with the launch of 12 new longships in 2014.