Viking Adds 4th Egyptian River Ship, Teases ‘Slew Of New Nile Ships’

Forbes Lifestyle Travel Viking Adds 4th Egyptian River Ship, Teases ‘Slew Of New Nile Ships’ Ramsey Qubein Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Ramsey flies 450,000 miles a year covering the latest trends in travel Following Aug 27, 2023, 11:43am EDT | Press play to listen to this article! Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Viking Aton makes its maiden journey on the Nile River this month. Viking Following a celebration and naming ceremony in Aswan, Egypt, Viking added its fourth river ship in the country, Viking Aton.

The ship was named for its godfather, Richard Riveire, principal of an award-winning interior design firm and the designer of several river, ocean and expedition ships. Viking’s ship will set a new standard in the Nile River cruise industry, in part because its ship cost almost three times as much as others and have a special square bow design that adds space while being efficient. On European rivers, Viking has more than 51% of the market share among competitors with more than 82% of passengers coming from the U.

S. This growth on the Nile positions it for similar success. Torstein Hagen, chairman of Viking, explains how this is just the beginning for Viking, teasing a “slew of new” ships in the coming years for Egypt.

How much capacity do you foresee on the Nile for Viking? Torstein Hagen, chairman of Viking, with a representative from the Ministry of Tourism and . . .

[+] Antiquities Viking We have two ships under construction now, but expect that the options are endless and are planning for many, many more. The opportunity is there, and technically, we can operate year round in Egypt. For 2024, the sailings are almost entirely sold out with 2025 more than a third sold, at the moment.

For Viking, the Nile is the fastest selling product. This puts Viking in a strong position compared to the competition, but also fits with the tourism growth goals of the tourism ministry. When did you enter the market? Viking Ra was one of the first ships for the cruise line that is still operating now.

Viking MORE FOR YOU New Apple Exclusive Reveals iPhone 15 Price Shock Apple Leaks iPhone 15 Pro Details In New iOS 17 Release Google Warns Gmail Users Ahead Of New Security Alerts Set Up 2FA Now Viking started in Egypt in 2008 with two charter ships, but then the country underwent a revolution in 2011. Instead of leaving the market, Viking doubled down to show commitment to the country by adding ships in 2018, and today, the projection for growth it quite strong. Today, it is one of the only cruise lines to both own and operate its ships on the Nile.

What sets Nile River ships apart from Viking Longships? The main atrium of Viking Osiris Viking Nile ships have to be certain length and certain depth because the river is shallow at around 30 feet at its deepest. Aton is identical in size to sibling Viking Osiris with 41 staterooms. Past Viking guests will recognize the signature Scandinavian design aboard, but there are also Egyptian art and photography filling the ship.

The new ships will operate with around half the crew coming from other existing ships to help guide the process for the local crew to meet the line’s high standards. This is part of the startup process, but will eventually revert to a mostly Egyptian crew. Viking’s expedition ships are designed to sail between the two poles, but also visit the Great Lakes .

. . [+] during the summer months.

Viking Expedition ships typically take two years to design and then two years to build while the Nile ships take 1. 5 years to design and about as long to build. Since the Nile construction standards are quite specific, we use an existing ship’s hull and then build an entirely new ship on top of it.

The next two ships will join in 2024 and 2025. These ships take passengers to iconic sights like the Great Pyramids of Giza as well as special access to the tomb of Nefertari in the Valley of the Queens and the tomb of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings How did you decide on Aton’s godfather? Left to right: Alastair Miller, Award-winning British photographer, Harald Seebacher, Viking SVP . .

. [+] Passenger Operations, River, Viking Aton Captain Adb El Fattah, Sherif El Bana, Viking Egyptian Partner, Ghada Shalaby, Vice Minister for Tourism at the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, Arab Republic of Egypt, Viking Chairman Torstein Hagen, Mohamed El Bana, Viking Egyptian Partner, Ayman Attya, Board Member, The Arab Contractors, and Richard Riveire. Viking Riveire has been a reliable and trusted design partner for so many of our ships.

He is only the second godfather for a Viking ship; the first was for Viking Osiris. His creative storytelling behind each ship is based on the destination where it sails. But, he also takes the design to new levels.

For example, some choices like adding terrazzo floors, which shipyards have been hesitant to do, have resulted in less maintenance or replacement costs while improving the design. The eighth Earl of Carnarvon and Countess of Carnarvon in front of the Viking Osiris on Egypt’s Nile . .

. [+] River. Viking He also manages to find unique design pieces for each ship like the rarely seen photographs of Egypt sourced from Lord Carnarvon’s personal collection.

Carnarvon was a financial supporter of the search and excavation of King Tutankhamun’s tomb. On the expedition ships, which have a strong focus on nature and the animals in destinations like the Arctic, Antarctic and Great Lakes reason. Does Viking still have its Covid-testing labs on ocean ships? Viking took a strong stance against the Covid pandemic by introducing full-scale Covid testing labs .

. . [+] aboard all of its ocean vessels.

Viking Yes although we would only use them when necessary. Viking was the first to introduce free daily testing for passengers on its ocean ships. At one point during the pandemic, the line was spending more money on testing than on fuel.

It’s behind us now, but guests really appreciated it. In 2022, 54% of passengers are returning guests across the 100+ ships representing four product lines including 79 river ships, two expedition ships and one on the Mississippi River. Ten more ocean ships will join the fleet by 2030 joining the current nine vessels in operation.

How have the U. S. sailings performed for Viking? Viking was a “disruptor” in adding a modern river cruise ship on the Mississippi.

Viking The expedition sailing for the Great Lakes does very well and is one of the popular itineraries for repeat guests. The Mississippi River ship has had some teething problems due to staff on its vessels (the use of American staff is required by law) and some speed issues. While not entirely perfect yet, it is well on its way.

It’s the best ship in the market with some competitors already changing their paddle wheel ships to modern vessels. There is huge potential there, and once we get this one right, we will probably add more given the popularity of the product. What destinations are next for Viking? This map shows the itinerary of one of Viking’s popular world cruises.

Viking As of now, Viking serves 88 ships, 418 ports across seven continents. What’s next? There is a lot of opportunity in Africa, on both coasts. It’s something that we want to do right, but like Egypt, there are many countries on the continent where the potential is strong.

The Red Sea represents another opportunity; there’s something we could do there. Oman and Saudi Arabia are other wonderful destinations in the Middle East Viking sees as interesting for the future. Follow me on Twitter .

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