Viking To Add Two More Twins to Great Lakes-capable Fleet

Viking has just placed an order for two brand-new, ultra-luxury expedition vessels scheduled to set sail in 2030 and 2031. Built by the expert shipbuilders at Fincantieri, these ships will be identical sister ships to the award-winning Viking Octantis and Viking Polaris. mViking’s CEO, Torstein Hagen, has officially confirmed that they are keeping everything exactly the same, no new design features and no new routes. Instead, these new vessels are being built to meet the incredible demand for the current, highly successful itineraries along the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Great Lakes.

The current 77-foot-wide hull design is meticulously engineered to fit perfectly through the narrow locks of the Welland Canal, a tight squeeze that most standard cruise ships simply cannot manage. By keeping the design unchanged, Viking ensures these new ships can seamlessly navigate from the rugged North Shore of Lake Superior all the way through the Soo Locks.

Future guests can look forward to the exact same cutting-edge amenities that made the original fleet famous, including the enclosed “Hangar” marina for easy boat boarding, dual yellow submarines for underwater exploration, a working scientific research lab, and those stunning open-air Nordic Balconies.

Names have not been announced yet for these new vessels. Viking Octantis (South) and Viking Polaris (North) are named after the two pole stars.

Viking