Viking River Cruises has finally given in to the increasingly popular balcony trend on river cruise ships. The company unveiled plans last week for four 2012 Europe newbuilds, with a total price tag of $120 million, that will feature private balconies and larger staterooms and suites.
French balconies have been commonplace on the ships of other river cruise companies for quite some time, and more recently Viking's competitors have been incorporating full balconies into their cabin configurations. But Viking has held off the trend until now.
Torstein Hagen, Viking's chairman and CEO, said he had asked himself, "Should we have balconies or not? And for a long time I said 'not.'"
Most of Viking's European river fleet, which will number 18 with the four new ships, does not offer balconies, with the exception of the Viking Primadonna, which has balconies off the staterooms, and the Viking Prestige, which has French balconies. Hagen said he has been hesitant about balconies for so long because they eat into the square footage of the cabins.
But Hagen said that by reconfiguring the layout of the ships with changes like shifting the central corridor and adding two suites aft, Viking was able to add balconies without sacrificing cabin square footage. Three-quarters of the cabins on the new ships will feature a balcony, French balcony or both. The new layout is patent pending, according to the company.
"It's clear that many people want to go from ocean cruising to river cruising, and people who have been on ocean cruises want balconies," Hagen said.
The four new ships -- the Viking Freya, Viking Idun, Viking Njord and Viking Odin -- will be the first of a new class of vessels called Viking "Longships." The 190-passenger, 95-room ships will include seven 270-square-foot veranda suites, with full balconies off the living room and French balconies off the bedroom; and 39 205-square-foot veranda staterooms with balconies.
There will also be two Explorer Suites, which will be 445 square feet each, with a separate living room, bedroom, bathroom and a private wraparound balcony at the aft of the ships.
The ships are being designed by maritime architects Yran & Storbraaten and will be 443 feet long.
In addition to the new cabin configurations, the vessels will also have a new indoor/outdoor Aquavit Terrace at the front of the ship, a feature Viking was able to add by squaring off the bow of the ship, rather than have it come to a point like it does on existing Viking ships.
Viking has further improved upon the energy-efficient hybrid engines it installed in the Viking Legend and Prestige, moving from a two-generator system to a four-generator system to reduce vibrations.
There will also be solar panels and an organic herb garden on the sun deck.
As for additional amenities, said Hagen, "I caved in on verandas, I did not cave in on a gym or spa." Rather, Viking will test a "concierge program" in which it will partner with hotels at certain ports to offer guests the use of the properties' spa and fitness facilities.
The four new ships are part of a plan Viking laid out last year to invest $250 million to build eight new ships and do two refurbishments between 2011 and 2013.