Viking celebrates 20 years in style
Since it’s the end of the year, I’m already unfolding my river cruise brochures to plan for the 2017 European river cruise season — and it’s shaping up to be a great one. There are new itineraries, new ships, and new features coming online that make river cruising more exciting than ever.
But it’s also a special year for one of my favourite lines, Viking River Cruises (www.cruise.center/vikingriver), which is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2017. Back in 1997, Viking got its start in Russia, sailing itineraries along the Volga River. In the new year, the line will offer one of the largest seasons on the Volga of any river cruise line, with 59 departures between May and October.
Viking’s 13-day Waterways of the Tsars itinerary operates between the historic cities of St. Petersburg and Moscow, or reverse. The itinerary features three full days in both cities, overnighting onboard Viking’s elegant river cruise ships. Along the way, Viking calls on other historically important cities. You might have never heard of Uglich, but it’s home to the imposing Church of St. Dmitry On Blood, built to commemorate the death of Ivan the Terrible’s son, Dmitry Ivanovich, in 1591, who was either accidentally or purposefully killed when he was just 10.
This itinerary also visits four UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the gorgeous Open Air Museum of Architecture in Kizhi, Russia.
If you’ve sailed with the line before, its Russian fleet is quite different from the company’s Viking Longships that ply the Danube and the Rhine, but they’ve been heavily refitted to provide that “Longship-esque” experience in Russia. There are all kinds of rules and regulations for building new ships in Russia that prohibit bringing the Longships there, but Viking Akun, Viking Helgi, Viking Ingvar and Viking Truvor were all stripped down to the steel a few years ago and rebuilt, making them essentially new ships.
It’s worth noting that obtaining a Russian visa is quite a complicated process, but Viking takes great pains to try to help booked guests through it. The rewards for travelling there, however, are immeasurable. Few folks I’ve talked to have come back and said they didn’t enjoy it. I wouldn’t recommend it if I didn’t believe in it — and I do. That’s why I’ll be setting out on my own voyage from St. Petersburg to Moscow aboard Viking Akun this coming June.
Elsewhere in Europe, it’s gearing up to be quite a season for Viking’s iconic Longships. With their two-storey atriums topped with glass skylights and surrounded with floor-to-ceiling windows, these modern and spacious ships are so quiet that you can barely hear them when you’re sailing along the rivers. Because of this, you can enjoy afternoons of scenic cruising as if you were out on a rowboat for the day.
New for 2017 is the 12-day Paris to the Swiss Alps voyage that operates between Paris and Zurich, with land-based touring in both cities before sailing a week-long voyage between Basel (Switzerland) and Trier (Germany). Along the way, this new itinerary includes visits to Strasbourg (France) as well as Speyer, Mainz, Cochem and Bernkastel (Germany).
Of course, Viking still offers its popular river cruises along the Rhine and the Danube, including the comprehensive Grand European Tour; a 15-day journey between Amsterdam and Budapest that provides a great introduction to Europe and European river cruising, all rolled into a single voyage.
Viking chairman Torstein Hagen likes to call these voyages “the thinking person’s cruise,” and it’s not hard to see why. Shore excursions are intended to let you experience the authentic local culture and history of each port, from home-hosted visits in small villages to adventures that explore the pleasures of local wines and cuisines.
If you’re looking to head out on any of Europe’s rivers next year, now is the time to plan your river cruise. Availability is good, airfares are still reasonable, and the full crop of 2017 Viking itineraries
Sports fans can start the
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is still available. Expect some great things next year as Viking celebrates two decades in business.
Happy cruising. Visit portsandbows.com, sponsored by Expedia CruiseShipCenters, 1-800-707-7327, www.cruiseshipcenters.com, for daily updates on the latest cruise news, best deals and behind-the-scenes stories from the industry. You can also sign up for an email newsletter on the site for even more cruise information. Aaron Saunders may be contacted directly at portsandbowsaaron@gmail.com.