Ten new Viking longships christened by ten luminary "Godmothers" today in historic Amsterdam event.
LOS ANGELES – River cruising is the hottest segment of travel right now, and in a fitting feat for the world’s leading river cruise line, Viking River Cruises set a world record with the christening of 10 new Viking Longships. The first-of-its-kind simultaneous christening ceremony in Amsterdam debuted the ships –Viking Aegir, Viking Atla, Viking Bragi, Viking Embla, Viking Forseti, Viking Jarl, Viking Rinda, Viking Skadi, Viking Tor and Viking Var– and was certified by a Guiness World Records adjudicator as ‘The Most Ships Inaugurated in One Day by One Company.’ Playing an integral role in the event were 10 distinguished women from around the world, representing the key Viking brand pillars of history, art, education, exploration and discovery, to serve as ceremonial godmothers for the new ships.
“Today is a proud day for Viking and for river cruising. We are honored to showcase 10 of our revolutionary new Longships and to have had such a celebrated group of women helping us christen them,” said Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking Cruises. “Our guests are explorers, just like the ancient Vikings of our Norse heritage, which is why we deliver authentic and enriching travel experiences like no other cruise line.”
Guests at the christening ceremony enjoyed remarks by each godmother and a presentation on the growth of river cruising by Hagen. A Guiness World Records adjudicator also presented Hagen with an official recognition of the record breaking achievement, ‘The Most Ships Inaugurated in One Day by One Company’ –eight– breaking the previous record of two ships. A first in modern history, four of the christenings took place in front of a crowd of approximately 700 in Amsterdam, and the remaining six were conducted live via satellite from the Neptun shipyard in Germany. The celebration concluded with an onboard dinner and maiden voyage cruise around the Amsterdam harbor.
