Torstein Hagen, the line’s Chairman, and Founder stated that the line’s unnamed ocean ships (internally known as Ship 11 and Ship 12) will operate on hydrogen and that in order to accommodate the fuel, these new ships will be a little longer and carry more passengers than their fleet mates.
On the Viking Octantis, which is traveling from the Caribbean to New York City, he delivered the statements to a small gathering of media.
While he didn’t disclose how many extra passengers could sail, he did say the ships will have no more than 25 additional staterooms and a passenger total of less than 1,000.
The 930-passenger Viking Star, Viking’s first ocean ship, launched in 2015, creating a statement for its novel approach to cruising, sailing solely with adults and forsaking cruise staples like the casino. Since then, the line has launched six more ocean ships, with Viking Mars, Viking Neptune, and Viking Saturn, the eighth, ninth, and tenth in the series, set to debut by the end of 2023.
The ships will be propelled by a combination of liquid hydrogen and fuel cells.
We don’t know much about Ship 11 and Ship 12, but we can anticipate them to have many of the same design aspects as their fleet mates, including well-designed staterooms, Scandinavian décor, a range of eateries, and elegant areas. Although they will be larger, they will not be much different from the other ships.
“We don’t do changes,” Hagen explained.
The company’s CEO came to onboard Viking Octantis, the company’s first adventure ship, to join guests as the ship repositions from its recently ended Antarctica season to its forthcoming Great Lakes season. Before continuing north, the ship will make a stop at New York.
“I think it’s close to flawless,” Hagen stated of his new ship.