A cruise ship is first initiated when it is floated out, not yet fully completed nor christened but well on her way, and yesterday, on Dec. 15, 2016, Viking Ocean Cruises celebrated the event for its fourth vessel - the 930-guest Viking Sun - set to launch late next year.
The vessel's superstructure has been entirely constructed, and only interior finishing work has still yet to be done. At a special ceremony at the Fincantieri shipyard in Ancona, Italy, Mrs. Yi Lou served as the ship's honored madrina, welding coins beneath the ship's mast.
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Lou is Vice President of China Merchant Bank Financial Leasing (CMBFL), a Viking Cruises partner, and perhaps a sign that a future ocean ship like some of its riverboats may one day be dedicated to the China outbound market, a possibility according to Viking Cruises Chairman Torstein Hagen. For now, however, the Viking Sun will primarily host guests from North America, the U.K., Australia and New Zealand but will be the company's first to call on China.
"It is always a proud moment for the entire Viking family when a new ship meets water for the first time," said Hagen. "CMBFL is an important partner, and we wanted to honor our relationship by naming one of their executives as madrina to our newest ship."
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The commemorative coins included representations of Lou's birth year, her parents' birth years and a 1911-dated one for Ragnhild "Mamsen" Hagen, the mother of the company's chairman and inspiration for the ship's Norwegian deli Mamsen's. Following a 10:30 a.m. start, Lou cut a cord that commenced the flow of water below the ship's keel, and over a period of two days, the Viking Sun will be fully floated.
After the ship's construction is finalized at an outfitting dock, it will set sail for the Caribbean calling on Cuba several times before its 141-day world cruise visiting 5 continents, 35 countries and 66 ports. The Viking Sun is one of two ocean vessels debuting from the cruise line in 2017 along with sister-ship Viking Sky before her in February.
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