A welcoming ceremony for the new Viking expedition vessel into the fleet was held on Wednesday at Fincantieri’s VARD shipyard in Soviknes, Norway. Viking Octantis is the company’s first purpose-built cruise ship, allowing the line transporting of the guests to all seven continents. 

This type of cruising is more popular lately in the cruise industry since many lines either build new expedition ships or reconstruct older vessels in order to enable them to sail in icy waters. On Thursday, Viking Octantis headed to South America, where the maiden voyage will start in January, with expedition cruises season to Antarctica in the following months. 

The official naming ceremony will be in New York in April, by Liv Arnesen, an explorer, and educator as a godfather. The 378-passenger ship will start the summer cruises on the Great Lakes, and when completed, it will return to the polar regions.

In August 2022, Viking Octantis will be joined by sister-ship Viking Polaris, still under construction. Viking Polaris will immediately enter service in the Arctic before cruising to Antarctica for the Winter 2022-2023 season.

“Today is a proud day for the entire Viking family as we welcome our first expedition ship to the fleet and usher in a new era of exploration," said Viking chairman Torstein Hagen.

"Our guests have asked us to build on our award-winning river and ocean voyages to take them further, and that is just what we have done. Leveraging our long history of destination-focused travel, enrichment and innovative ship design, we are now perfecting expedition voyages and offering curious travelers the opportunity to visit the world's most pristine destinations in the most responsible way possible.

"With the arrival of Viking Octantis, Viking is now exploring all seven continents, and we look forward to welcoming her first guests on board in the coming weeks."

These cruises are adjusted for the adventurers who want to discover harder-to-reach destinations, staffed by a cadre of naturalists and other scientific experts. In particular, the teams include an expedition leader, photographer, field research scientists, general naturalists, mountain guides, kayak guides, submarine pilots, and other specialists and support staff.

Viking will also take delivery of two new oceangoing vessels, Viking Mars and Viking Neptune, in 2022.