PHOTO: The Viking Star is put through its paces on the Aegean Sea, the first time it met open water. (Courtesy of Viking Ocean Cruises)
Viking Ocean Cruises, the highly anticipated new sister company to the well-established river cruise line, released a new video that provides a rarely-seen glimpse into a ship's first voyage.
The six-minute video shows the 930-passenger Viking Star undergoing sea trials in the Aegean Sea in mid-December. The ship underwent more than 80 tests so maritime experts could evaluate its engine and propulsion performance, navigation systems and cabin acoustics.
Following the trials, Captain Gulleik Svalastog called the ship "one of the most agile, state-of-the-art and seaworthy ships on the water."
"Following six months of nonstop construction since her float-out, this was a major milestone for Viking Star, and we are proud to be another step closer to launch," said Viking Chairman Torstein Hagen. "Now we can focus on the finishing touches, and we look forward to welcoming guests onboard in two months' time."
Back at Fincantieri's Marghera shipyard for final outfitting and interior decorating, Viking Star will board its first guests on April 11 and depart Istanbul, sailing through the Mediterranean and into the Atlantic to the homeland of the Vikings. The ship will be christened on May 17 in Bergen, Norway, by Bergen Mayor Trude Drevland on what is Norwegian Constitution Day.
The all-veranda Viking Star - along with two sister ships under construction - will have a light-filled and modern Scandinavian design. Highlights include veranda staterooms starting at 270 square feet in size, 14 two-room Explorer Suites measuring 757 to 1,163 square feet, two swimming pools, wintergarden, and a spa with a sauna and snow grotto with snowflakes drifting through the chilled air.
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