The brand new Viking Neptune has been appropriately christened and formally welcomed into the cruise line’s ocean fleet by a godmother with wonderful connections to each the ocean and to house, astronaut and aquanaut Nicole Stott. The ship is now charting wonderful new programs for company on an epic 138-night world cruise.
Viking Neptune Named
Viking Neptune was formally named in Los Angeles, California, house of the cruise line’s headquarters, on January 8, 2023. The ceremony included all the normal parts of maritime ceremonies to bless new ships with a purpose to ship Viking Neptune on her manner with all applicable fanfare.
“Right this moment is a proud day for the complete Viking household as we title our latest ocean ship in Los Angeles, the house of Viking’s U.S. workplace for greater than 20 years,” mentioned Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking.
In attendance on the occasion had been numerous cruise line executives, ship officers, and different dignitaries, together with a number of “godsisters” representing different ships within the Viking fleet.
A Spacefaring and Seafaring Godmother
Doing the honors to formally christen the ship was Viking Neptune‘s godmother, astronaut and aquanaut Nicole Stott. The title “Neptune” references each house and sea, making Stott an excellent selection because the ship’s godmother.
“The Viking Neptune is a ship named for each the furthest planet in our photo voltaic system and the god of the ocean—and our latest Viking godmother, Nicole Stott, as a NASA astronaut and aquanaut, additionally has connections to house and the ocean,” mentioned Hagen. “We’re grateful for her many contributions to the scientific neighborhood and are proud to have her as a part of the Viking household.”
Stott’s astronaut expertise consists of two spaceflights with 104 days in house on the House Shuttle and the Worldwide House Station (ISS). She carried out one house stroll, was the primary individual to fly the robotic arm to seize the free-flying HTV cargo car, the final crew member to fly to and from their ISS mission on a House Shuttle, and a member of the ultimate flight crew of House Shuttle Discovery, STS-133.
Nicole can also be a NASA aquanaut who lived and labored on the Aquarius Undersea Habitat for 18 days, the one undersea laboratory on the planet. At the moment, Aquarius is positioned 62 ft (19 meters) under the floor, 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) off Key Largo within the Florida Keys Nationwide Marine Sanctuary.
“It’s an honor and privilege to be the godmother of the brand new Viking Neptune. As somebody who has been blessed to discover house, the ocean, and among the otherworldly locations on our planet, I perceive the significance of broadening one’s horizons by means of journey,” mentioned Stott. “I’m very excited for all those that journey world wide on this elegant vessel.”
For the naming ceremony, Stott was introduced with an historic Viking broad axe by Sissel Kyrkjebø, one of many world’s main crossover sopranos and godmother of Viking Jupiter, who used it when naming that ship in January 2020. Stott then used the identical axe to chop a ribbon that allowed a bottle of Norwegian aquavit to interrupt on Viking Neptune‘s hull.
A Exceptional World Cruise
Viking Neptune started its present crusing, a 138-night world cruise, from Fort Lauderdale on December 22, 2022. Previous to arriving in Los Angeles for the naming ceremony, the ship had already visited ports in Mexico, Columbia, Panama, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua, together with transiting the Panama Canal.
The voyage now continues and in complete, the brand new ship will go to 28 nations and 57 ports, together with in a single day stays in 11 cities equivalent to Auckland, Sydney, Saigon, Singapore, Mumbai, Istanbul, and extra. The excellent journey will finish in London on Could 8, 2023.
Viking Neptune is essentially similar to her sister ships, weighing in at 47,842 gross tons and in a position to welcome 930 company aboard, all of whom will take pleasure in verandah staterooms.
What units this ship aside is her small hydrogen gas system. Viking Neptune is the primary ship within the cruise trade to check hydrogen energy for onboard operations, and knowledge from her engines will probably be instrumental in adapting the facility system for bigger future ships.
