Viking has taken delivery of the company’s newest ocean ship, the Viking Saturn. The delivery ceremony was held at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Ancona, Italy. Viking also announced that the Viking Saturn will be officially named in New York City on June 6, 2023, by its ceremonial godmother, Ann Ziff, philanthropist and chairman of the Metropolitan Opera, a longtime Viking cultural partner.
A dedicated philanthropist focused on the arts, education, culture and environmental conservation, Ziff serves on several boards, including the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Sing for Hope, the World Science Festival and the Los Angeles Opera. She co-founded Smile Train and was a board member at Maloto, an organization that provides education and housing for abused and abandoned girls in Malawi. She also designs and creates one-of-a-kind pieces for her jewelry brand, Tamsen Z, inspired by her love of culture, art, music and her travels as a Viking guest.
Following the naming ceremony, the ship will spend its inaugural summer sailing two new itineraries: “Iconic Iceland, Greenland & Canada,” between New York City and Reykjavik; and “Iceland & Norway’s Arctic Explorer,” between Reykjavik and Bergen.
Viking Saturn is the newest ship in the line’s ocean fleet of identical sister ships. The delivery of the Viking Saturn comes as the luxury cruise line celebrates its 25th anniversary. In January 2023, the company had its most successful single month of bookings following recent years of strong growth. Since 2020, Viking has welcomed 17 new ships to its fleet—including eight new Viking Longships on the rivers of Europe; new purpose-built vessels on the Mekong, Nile and Mississippi rivers; four new, identical ocean ships; and two Polar Class expedition vessels.
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