By
Alex Smith |
Viking has named its newest river cruise ship, Viking Aton, with a celebration in Aswan, Egypt.
The ship’s godfather and founding principal of interior design firm Rottet Studio, Richard Riveire, offered a blessing of good fortune and safe sailing for the ship at the ceremony. The firm has designed the interiors of Viking’s river, ocean and expedition ships.
“It is an incredible honour to be the godfather of the Viking Aton and to celebrate the growing Viking fleet,” said Riveire. “For well over a decade, I have been proud to work alongside Tor, Karine and the Viking team to help design how the Viking brand comes to life on board. Together, we share the belief that the design of each Viking ship should showcase the destination, wherever you may be in the world.”
The 82-passenger Viking Aton is identical to sister ship Viking Osiris, which it will join in sailing Viking’s ‘Pharaohs & Pyramids’ itinerary along the Nile River. The 12-day trip begins in Cairo before guests are flown to Luxor to embark on one of the Viking river cruise shops for an eight-day roundtrip cruise, visiting the Valley of the Kings, the Temple of Khnum in Esna, and the High Dam in Aswan. Once they return to Luxor, guests are then flown back to Cairo for a final night.
“Today, we are pleased to welcome Viking Aton to our growing fleet,” said Torstein Hagen, chairman of Viking. “With extraordinarily strong interest in Egypt among our guests, we are proud to bring another state-of-the-art vessel to this region, and we look forward to introducing even more curious travellers to the country’s rich cultural treasures.”