Viking delay the launch of the Viking Sky

When it comes to new ships it is a very competitive market with around 30 new ships to grace the seven seas in the next 8 years.

Celebrity Cruises have two new ships, Royal Caribbean have a new Oasis Class and 2 new Quantum Class ships, Princess has a new Royal Class ship and more excitingly Star Clippers have announced a new addition to there fleet.

However majority of them are delivered on time or a month or two late however I have recently read that the Viking Sky Which is the third Ocean going vessel in the Viking Ocean fleet.

This is a completely new venture for Viking as they have built up a strong sought after reputation in River Cruising all over the world. The vessels are only 48,000 gross tons and will hold just 930 guests meaning they can get in to the smaller ports of call which the larger vessels cannot, and it is refreshing as in my last blog I mentioned about all the new ships being the larger build.

This means Viking will be in strong competition with the likes of Azamara and Oceania.

However, Viking have recently announced that the Viking Sky which was originally due to be launched in June 2016 will not be finished until February 2017. This is due to the shipyard being changed at the last minute from the Marghera to the Ancona Shipyard where the Viking Sea which is the second Viking Ocean vessel is currently under construction.

A spokesman from Viking said “We are disappointed in this change to our 2016 schedule, and we truly regret any inconvenience that this may cause our guests,” a spokesman for the line said.”

Viking launched the Viking Star this year which is the first of many vessels for Viking. Hopefully cruising with them will be more smooth sailing than the building of them.