By
Rebecca Gibson |
Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri laid the first 280-ton block for the keel of Viking Sun, the fourth of six new ships on order for Viking Ocean Cruises, at its Ancona yard on 6 April.
To be delivered in late 2017, the 47,800gt Viking Sun will be able to accommodate 930 passengers and feature modern Scandinavian designs created by London-based SMC Design and Los Angeles-based Rottet Studios.
Viking Sun will offer five stateroom categories – all with private verandas, king-size beds, large showers and LCD TVs – as well as 14 Explorer Suites, which have wraparound private verandas. She will also have a pool with a retractable dome roof; a glass-backed infinity pool, cantilevered off the stern; a two-deck Explorers’ Lounge; the Wintergarden; and a spa with a sauna and a traditional ‘snow grotto’.
In addition, Viking Sun will offer multiple dining venues including The Restaurant and the World Café, The Chef’s Table, Italian Grill and The Kitchen Table. Passengers will be able to enjoy a range of entertainment in the three-deck atrium, enrichment lectures in the Theater, an onboard cookery school and a piano lounge.
The ship will feature energy-efficient hybrid engines and a hydrodynamically optimised streamlined hull and bow for maximum fuel efficiency. In addition, onboard solar panels and equipment that minimises exhaust pollution will enable her to meet strict environmental regulations.
The first of Viking’s six new ocean ships, Viking Star, was delivered by Fincantieri’s Marghera yard in spring 2015 and was officially christened in Bergen, Norway on 17 May 2015. The second, Viking Sea, was delivered to Viking at the Ancona yard on 24 March and is due to be named on 5 May in Greenwich, London. Viking Sky, the company’s third ship, was floated out at the Ancona yard on 23 March and is scheduled to set sail in February 2017.
Viking’s three additional ships will be identical to the first three and will be delivered in late 2017, 2018 and 2020, respectively.