Viking announced today that its new ocean-going vessel, the Viking Vela, with a capacity for 998 passengers, has been launched, marking a milestone in its construction and touching the water for the first time.
The Viking Vela, whose debut is scheduled for December 2024, will spend its inaugural season making trips around the Mediterranean and northern Europe.
“Together with Fincantieri, we have built the most elegant ocean-going vessels in the world, and it is always a proud day when our newest vessel touches the water for the first time,” said Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking.
“Our small, elegant ocean-going ships consistently rank first in Travel + Leisure and Condé Nast Traveler. We're different from other cruise lines in everything we do, but Viking is also distinguished by everything we don't do. No children. No casinos. We look forward to welcoming Viking Vela to our award-winning fleet next year and introducing even more curious travelers to Viking's way of exploring“.
The traditional launching ceremony took place at the Fincantieri shipyard in Ancona and is significant because it denotes the passage of a vessel to its final phase of construction.
The Viking Vela's launch began at about 11 a.m. local time, when the Viking team cut a rope indicating that water should enter the ship's construction dock.
After a two-day process that will launch the Viking Vela, it will be moved to a nearby outfitting dock for final construction and interior outfitting.
Classified as a small ship, the Viking Vela has a gross tonnage of 54,300, with 499 cabins that can accommodate 998 guests. It will join the ocean-going fleet of sister ships, which includes the Viking Star, Viking Sea, Viking Sky, Viking Orion, Viking Jupiter, Viking Venus, Viking Mars, Viking Neptune, and Viking Saturn.
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