Viking River Cruises put on a real show last week with the simultaneous christening of seven new river cruise ships in four cities and three countries, linked by a simulcast.
Six of the ship were Viking’s standard 190-passenger ‘Longships.’ Viking Einar and Sigrun were named in Basel, Switzerland; Vali and Tir (do we see a pattern?) in Brunsbuttel, Germany and Sigyn and Ullur in Rockstock, Germany. Viking Helgrim’s ceremony was held in Porto, Portugal, where the ship will cruise the Douro.
Each ship got a salute from three Alpenhorn players, and a traditional blessing, each with its own sponsor or ‘godmother’ pressing a button to release a bottle of aquavit against the ship. Viking (get it?) uses Scandinavian spirits instead of Champagne for its ceremonies.
The new ships bring Viking’s river fleet to 72, of which 54 are the Longship type. Viking seems to like doing things in batches; in 2015, it launched a dozen ships and in 2014 launched 16 within 24 hours.
