SHANGHAI — When Viking Sun was christened here to great fanfare in March, the big reveal wasn’t so much the influencer Viking has become in small-ship ocean travel but its powerful connection to China.
Viking — yes, that Viking — is best known for its river ships in Europe. What you probably didn’t know: This year, Viking is offering 100 sailings on the Rhine and Danube exclusively for Chinese travelers. Mandarin is the official onboard language.
“We believe in the Chinese market,” said Torstein Hagen, Viking’s chairman. He said he expects Chinese travelers to eventually account for half of its European river cruise market.
Viking’s history with China dates to 2004, when it began operating river cruises on the Yangtze.
The Chinese connection deepened when China Merchants Bank Financial Leasing financed the construction of the 930-passenger Viking Sun, Viking’s fourth small ship since the line entered ocean cruising in 2015.
The christening took place a little over halfway through a sold-out 141-day world cruise that began in Miami in mid-December and ends in London in May. The ship will spend the summer sailing in the Baltic and Northern Europe, finishing the year in the Mediterranean. An eight-day Western Mediterranean itinerary starts at $1,999 per person. The 128-day world cruise in 2019? A mere $49,995 a person.
A fifth ship, Viking Orion, will launch in July. When Viking Jupiter joins the fleet in 2019, it will make Viking the largest small-ship cruise line in the world. Ten additional ships are in the pipeline. Hagen said it’s not unthinkable that one will be dedicated to the Chinese market.
“It’s Viking on demand,” says Jason Leppert, editor of PopularCruising.com. “Four ships alone is remarkable. With 16, they will be all places all of the time.”
Viking’s ocean ships are all-inclusive, with complimentary beer and wine with meals, Wi-Fi, alternative restaurant dining, and a shore excursion in each port.
Leppert says Viking’s fares are lower than small luxury ships while offering a similar experience. A Viking brochure, for example, states that price per day for comparable veranda staterooms on Northern European itineraries, including air, is $585 on Viking versus $1,140 on Regent Seven Seas.
“They’re leery to say ‘luxury,’ but Viking is realizing it has the chops to go against the big boys,” Leppert says. “It’s just shy of ultimate luxury — no butler. It’s luxury without pretense. You get the comfort and benefits of luxury without having to dress up for it.”
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