Viking River Cruises has pushed back the delivery of two Longships due to construction delays, a move that will impact five sailings, the company said.
The Viking Njord and Viking Freya were supposed to set sail in March, but instead will launch on April 15 and April 18, respectively. Sister ships Viking Idun and Viking Odin will sail their inaugural cruises as scheduled on March 23 and March 24, respectively.
The delays impact the March 22, March 31 and April 9 departures on the Freya, and the March 28 and April 6 departures on the Njord.
The christenings of Viking Odin and Viking Idun will proceed as planned on March 21 in Amsterdam.
“The delay is due to shipyard construction delays,” said Richard Marnell, senior vice president of marketing at Viking. “There’s nothing more specific than that — it’s the effort and complexity of getting four vessels out at the same time.”
Guests booked on canceled sailings can rebook a similar itinerary on a different ship and will receive up to a 50% credit on a future cruise booking.
For guests who do not choose to rebook, Viking is providing a full refund. Travel agent commissions are being protected based on the original booking, Viking stated.
To accommodate affected guests, Viking has extended its 2012 charter of the river cruise ship Bolero, a 172-passenger vessel that sails eight-day Danube itineraries.
The 190-passenger Freya, Idun, Njord and Odin are the first of a new class of vessels called Viking Longships. Two additional Longships, the Embla and Aegir, are slated to launch on July 8 and Aug. 15, respectively.
A defining feature of the new Longships is that three-quarters of the staterooms onboard will feature a balcony, French balcony or both. There will also be more large staterooms and suites than on previous Viking ships.
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