The Viking Ocean Cruises’ fleet now stands at 13 strong, following the handover of the newest vessel, Viking Vela, on December 3, 2024.
Shipbuilder Fincantieri delivered the ship to Viking officials during a ceremony at the firm’s Ancona, Italy, shipyard. Viking Vela represents a new series of vessel for the growing line, one that is larger than others in the fleet.
A second in the series, Viking Vesta, is under construction at a Fincantieri shipyard and scheduled to debut in mid-2025. Viking Vela, at 54,300-gross tons, is larger than her existing sister ships, which are about 48,000-gross tons.
The new-build will accommodate 998 guests in 499 cabins, while others in the fleet have capacity for just 930. All are considered small by industry standards, since the small-ship category refers to any ship that carries up to 1,000 passengers.
Viking Vela was floated out of her construction bay in November 2023, marking the completion of a ship’s exterior and the start of interior design and outfitting. All Viking Ocean Cruises’ ships are all-balcony vessels and all are adult-only, with guests ages 18 and up.
The date and location of Viking Vela’s christening ceremony have not yet been revealed, but the ship’s inaugural voyage is a 7-night Iconic Western Mediterranean cruise departing December 12, 2024 and sailing from Rome to Barcelona.
Port calls are set for Livorno, Italy; and Nice, Marseille, and Sete, France. Overnights are scheduled in Livorno and Barcelona.
The ship also will sail two 15-day Mediterranean cruises in December before deploying to London for a series of Northern Europe voyages between that city and Bergen, Norway.
The In Search of Northern Lights voyages are 13 days and call at Amsterdam; and Narvik, Alta, and Tromso, Norway. The ship’s cruise schedule also features several British Isles cruises during winter 2025.
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The ship will offer Northern Europe sailings through summer 2025 before repositioning in early October 2025 to the Mediterranean.
Other ocean ships in the Viking fleet include Viking Saturn, Viking Star, Viking Sea, Viking Sky, Viking Orion, Viking Jupiter, Viking Venus, Viking Mars, and Viking Neptune. The company also operates a string of river cruise ships in Europe.
More Ships on Order From Fincantieri
The handover of Viking Vela was seen by Viking and Fincantieri as a celebration of their ongoing partnership.
The latest Fincantieri ship order from Viking was announced in June 2024, when the cruise line confirmed it had ordered two additional ships in the new, larger vessel series. These also will be in the 54,000-gross ton range, with a capacity for 998 guests. The ships have not yet been named, but are slated for delivery in 2028 and 2029.
The new-build Viking Vela was constructed to top environmental standards and has innovative systems, including high-efficiency engines designed to reduce emissions.
A Fincantieri subsidiary, Vard, constructed Viking’s two expedition ships, Viking Octantis and Viking Polaris, both of which were purpose-built for polar region cruising.
Other major cruise lines also have big ship orders pending with Fincantieri. Carnival Cruise Line in July 2024, ordered a new class of ship that will be the largest ever built for the line. Three ships, each approaching 230,000-gross tons, were ordered for delivery in 2029, 2031, and 2033.
In 2022, Norwegian Cruise Line ordered six new ships from Fincantieri in a deal worth about $4 billion.
