Mass production
By the end of 2013, the Neptun Werft shipyard in Rostock, Germany, will have built at least 13 river cruise ships for Viking River Cruises since it first signed on with the river cruise line in 2011. Read More
AMSTERDAM -- When Viking River Cruises Chairman Torstein Hagen walked into the office one morning and suggested that the central corridor on future newbuilds be shifted off-center, he changed the traditional way of thinking about river ship design.
The result is the company's newest class of vessels, the Viking Longships. The first two in the class, the Viking Idun and Viking Odin, launched here last week. They feature a wider array of cabin configurations and classes, ranging from 135-square-foot staterooms with French balconies to 270-square-foot, two-room suites with balconies off the living room and French balconies off the bedroom, design elements that result in large part from the off-center corridor. (View a slideshow of the Viking Odin's interior here or by clicking on the photos.)
A few other design modifications were made, as well, including squaring off the bow of the ship, which added some 1,000 square feet to the interior layout. That's the equivalent of about seven additional cabins' worth of space, bringing the total number of cabins onboard the vessels to 95.
With six of the 190-passenger Longships launching this year and six more scheduled to launch in 2013 (not to mention an option for six on top of that in 2014), Viking is flooding the market with capacity. Hagen said he is filling that rapidly expanding capacity with a combination of aggressive marketing and pricing the ships about 20% below the market competition.
It is a recipe, he said, that is pushing Viking "very close to being a billion-dollar company" in terms of sales, a goal Hagen hopes to realize within the next three years.
"Everybody wants a good deal," Hagen said. "All we do is create a maximum number of livable cabins."
Of the ships' 95 cabins, 22 are at the cozy size of 135 square feet. The 25 cabins on the lower deck all measure 150 square feet. The cabins then jump up to the veranda stateroom class, of which there are 39, each measuring 205 square feet and featuring a balcony.
There are seven 270-square-foot veranda suites and two 445-square-foot Explorer suites at the aft of the ship, which Hagen said Viking was able to add thanks to a reduced-vibration propulsion system.
Whatever size and price of cabin passengers choose, they will experience the same sleek, modern decor throughout the ships. The palette is neutral shades of gray and tan, with wood accents on everything from the doors to the trim to the cabinetry.
The ship's entry hall is unusual and impressive in its openness. Natural lighting floods in through skylights above a central atrium.
By squaring off the bow, Viking was also able to add the indoor/outdoor Aquavit Lounge, a casual dining and relaxation area at the front of the ship that can be open-air or enclosed depending on the weather. The Aquavit Lounge exudes the ambience of a sidewalk cafe, and it feels like the place people should go for a quiet conversation on one of the couches or for an after-dinner drink with a view of the passing city or countryside.
The decor throughout the Longships stands out as fresh and modern, with Scandinavian design touches such as artisan plates and vases in the dining room, and in the sleek furnishings in the public areas and the cabins.
There is no question that these are well-designed vessels. Every square foot has been carefully thought out to maximize space. What the Longships gain in efficiency, however, they lose in privacy: 190 passengers is about 15 to 30 more than most other new river ships carry.
Whether those extra couple dozen people make a big difference in the overall experience will be for river cruisers to decide.
Follow Michelle Baran on Twitter @mbtravelweekly.