By
Rebecca Gibson |
Viking Ocean Cruises officially welcomed its second ship, Viking Sea, to its fleet during a christening ceremony on the Thames River in Greenwich, London on 5 May.
Named by Karine Hagen, Viking’s senior vice president and daughter of owner Torstein Hagen, the 930-guest, 47,800gt Viking Sea is the largest ship ever launched in London. After passing through the Thames Barrier, the ship was welcomed by a traditional maritime salute from 28 seamen who manned the yardarms of the Cutty Sark, a famed 19th century British clipper ship located in Greenwich.
Several elements of the ceremony paid homage to the company’s Norwegian heritage. Rather than using champagne for the traditional bottle breaking, Viking used a bottle of Gammel Opland aquavit, which originates from the town where Torstein Hagen’s mother, Ragnhild, was born. Meanwhile, a replica of an 11th-century Viking axe discovered at the bottom of the River Thames in the 1920s was used to cut the cord for the aquavit to honour the original Vikings who explored the British Isles.
Guests were also able to enjoy a concert by Norwegian soprano Sissel and The Olav’s Choir; a talk by Stein Olav Henrichsen, the director of Oslo’s Munch Museum; and a fireworks show in the middle of the River Thames.
“London is one of my favourite cities, and Greenwich is a significant port for Viking, so we look forward to bringing more guests here this spring and in future years,” said Torstein Hagen, chairman of Viking Cruises. “Our ships are built for exploration; they are vessels that help our guests spend more time immersed in and surrounded by their destination. With the arrival of our second ship – and with four more sister ships on the way – we are focused on introducing travellers to the Viking way of destination-centred cruising, a unique style that was inspired by our success on the rivers.”
On 6 May, Viking Sea set sail for Bergen in Norway as part of a 15-day ‘Viking Homelands’ itinerary that will call in Oslo, Norway; Copenhagen, Denmark; Berlin, Germany; St. Petersburg, Russia; Tallinn, Estonia; Helsinki, Finland; and Stockholm, Sweden.
Following this cruise, Viking Sea will spend the summer sailing itineraries in Scandinavia and the Baltic, and will return to Greenwich in June as part of Viking’s new ‘Into the Midnight Sun’ itinerary that sails between London and Bergen and explores the northernmost reaches of Scandinavia and the Arctic Circle.