Viking has held a ‘float-out’ ceremony for its newest ocean ship, the 998-guest Viking Vela, marking the first time the ship has touched water.
Scheduled to debut in December 2024, the Viking Vela will spend its inaugural season sailing voyages in the Mediterranean and in Northern Europe.
The traditional float-out ceremony was at Fincantieri’s Ancona shipyard in Italy and is marks how the ship is moving into its final stage of construction.
The vessel will be moved to a nearby outfitting dock for final construction and interior build-out.
Torstein Hagen, chairman of Viking, said: “Together with Fincantieri, we have built the world’s most elegant ocean vessels, and it is always a proud day when our newest ship meets water for the first time.
“We are different than other lines because of all that we do, but Viking also stands apart for all that we do not do. No children. No casinos. No nickel and diming.
“We look forward to welcoming the Viking Vela to our award-winning fleet next year and introducing even more curious travellers to the Viking way of exploration.”
The Viking Vela will join the fleet of sister ships, which includes the Viking Star, the Viking Sea, the Viking Sky, the Viking Orion, the Viking Jupiter, the Viking Venu, the Viking Mars, the Viking Neptune and the Viking Saturn.