Viking has revealed the name of its newest ocean vessel – the Viking Venus launched this week in an intimate event on the English Channel.
British journalist and broadcaster Anne Diamond is the ship’s godmother and she offered a blessing of good fortune and safe sailing for the ship.
The ceremony also commemorated the return of Viking to service following 14 months of paused operations. The Viking Venus was floated out on April 2021.
Viking’s Welcome Back ocean voyages are exclusively for vaccinated guests in England, Iceland, Bermuda and Malta. The company is actively working on developing additional Welcome Back itineraries in a variety of other destinations, with the goal of announcing further 2021 sailings as soon as government approvals are given.
On May 22, guests will embark Viking Venus in Portsmouth for the first of five roundtrip sailings of the England’s Scenic Shores itinerary.
“Today is one of the proudest days in Viking’s nearly 24-year history. When we became the first cruise line to suspend operations in March 2020, we certainly did not know it would be 14 months before guests would be welcomed back on board. Now, we are among the first to set sail again—and with our industry-leading health and safety protocols in place, we believe there is no safer way to travel the world than on a Viking voyage,” said Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking.
“On behalf of the entire Viking family, we are delighted to celebrate the naming of our newest ship in England. We are also grateful to her godmother, Anne Diamond, for her many journalistic and selfless contributions—as well as for her tireless efforts fostering a community on Viking.TV each week for more than a year.”
During the naming ceremony festivities, the group of invited guests on board Viking Venus enjoyed scenic sailing along the coast of England, and exclusively recorded concerts from artists that included Sissel Kyrkjebø, one of the world’s leading crossover sopranos and godmother of Viking Jupiter; violinist Tor Jaran Apold; and acclaimed English boys choir LIBERA.
