Viking River Cruises…..

River cruising has been on the increase over the past few years, with Viking certainly making their mark.  Last year they named eight ships in one day, but this time they upped the ante.  In a 24-hour period, spanning three countries, Viking named 16 identical, 190-passenger Longship – style river boats. 

 The central christening event took place on Tuesday in Avignon, France. Some 330 guests sprawled across the sundecks on Viking Buri, Heimdal and Hermod, all tied up together on the Rhone River. As well, a live video feed from Rostock, Germany — location of Neptun Werft shipyard, which is building all the ships in the Longship class — chronicled Champagne-smashing ceremonies on four more new boats. And on Monday, in Amsterdam, an additional seven Longships were christened.

 Two more were name in Porto, on Portugal’s Duoro River.

Viking River now have 30 of these 190-passenger vessels cruising on European rivers such as the Danube, Rhine, Rhone, Seine, Moselle, Gironde, Duoro, and others. What makes these ships unique are features such as the indoor/outdoor Aquavit Terrace and grill, environmentally friendly features such as solar panels, energy-efficient hybrid engines and organic herb gardens on sundecks.

Viking is also adapting the Longships’ design to accommodate restrictions on size and capacity in rivers such as the Elbe and Porto; the two new vessels being named in Porto today carry just 106 passengers.  Viking River plans to introduce more than 50 Longship-style vessels.