Viking has delivered its newest ship bound for the Nile, the Viking Sobek.
The delivery ceremony took place when the new ship was presented at Massara shipyard in Cairo, Egypt. The 82-guest Viking Sobek joins the company’s growing fleet of state-of-the-art ships for the Nile River and will sail Viking’s popular 12-day Pharaohs & Pyramids itinerary.
“We are proud to welcome the Viking Sobek to our award-winning fleet. In our view, these identical sister ships are by far the most elegant vessels on the Nile,” said Torstein Hagen, Chairman and CEO of Viking.
“Egypt has always been a destination of great interest among our guests, and demand for these voyages continues to be strong. With the arrival of the Viking Sobek, we look forward to introducing even more curious travelers to the country’s rich history and fascinating cultural treasures.”
The Viking Sobek & Viking’s Growing Egypt Fleet
The elegantly appointed Viking Sobek will be able to host 82 guests in 41 staterooms. She is an identical sister ship to the Viking Osiris, Viking Aton, and the Viking Hathor.
The Viking Sobek features several aspects familiar to Viking guests, such as a distinctive square bow and an indoor/outdoor Aquavit Terrace.
Other ships in the Egypt fleet include the Viking Ra and the MS Antares. Viking plans to welcome four additional ships in the next two years—the Viking Amun and the Viking Thoth in 2025 and the Viking Sekhmet and the Viking Ptah in 2026—which would bring Viking’s fleet to 10 vessels on the Nile River.
Viking’s Pharaohs & Pyramids Itinerary
During the 12-day Pharaohs & Pyramids itinerary, guests begin with a three-night stay at a hotel in Cairo, where they can sites such as the Great Pyramids of Giza, the Necropolis of Sakkara, the Mosque of Muhammad Ali, or the Grand Egyptian Museum.
Guests then fly to Luxor, where they visit the Temples of Luxor and Karnak before boarding a Viking river ship for an eight-day roundtrip cruise on the Nile River.
The cruise will visit the tomb of Nefertari in the Valley of the Queens and the tomb of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings. There will also be excursions to the Temple of Khnum in Esna, the Dendera Temple complex in Qena, the temples at Abu Simbel, and the High Dam in Aswan.
Highclere Castle, Egypt & Viking
Viking has had a longstanding partnership with the Earl and Countess of Carnarvon who live at Highclere Castle, the filming location of Downton Abbey.
George Herbert, the 8th Earl of Carnarvon, is also the godfather of the Viking Osiris. His great-grandfather, the 5th Earl of Carnarvon, was the benefactor and co-explorer of Howard Carter, the world’s most famous Egyptologist.
They in fact together they discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun on November 4, 1922. The Earl was also an avid amateur photographer and Highclere Castle is currently the home of his photographs that show the excavation of the tomb of Tutankhamun, as well as scenes of daily life in Egypt of the period.
Guests sailing on the new Viking Sobek will have the opportunity to see this unique collection before their sailing in Egypt.
On the five-day British Collections of Ancient Egypt extension, guests will begin the journey in London, where they will meet their Viking Tour Director, an expert Egyptologist. They will get a private early morning visit to the Egyptian Collection at the British Museum before it opens and then access to the home of world-renowned architect, Sir John Soane who was a purveyor of Egyptian antiquities. The museum houses a 3,000-year-old Egyptian sarcophagus.
Guests will also visit London’s Petrie Museum, which houses more than 80,000 artifacts from ancient Egypt and Sudan.
In Oxford, guests will visit the Ashmolean Museum, home to a varied collection of Egyptian mummies and art.
Lastly, guests will get an exclusive visit to Highclere Castle to view the Earl of Carnarvon’s magnificent private collection of Egyptian artifacts, as well as archives and exhibits not normally accessible to the public.
