New Viking Mars touches water for first time during float out in Italy

Viking Mars, the new cruise ship for Viking Cruises, has floated out at the Fincantieri shipyard in Ancona, Italy, marking the first time the vessel has touched water.

The major milestone in the construction of the ship was celebrated by cruise line and shipyard officials, with the ship now due to undergo outfitting at a wet berth before departing on her sea trials.

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Viking Mars is 47,800 gross tons, and has 465 cabins for 930 passengers. She is eighth cruise ship to join the fleet, and is identical to the seven that preceded her.

Viking Mars was designed by naval architects and engineers, including an interior design team of London-based SMC Design and Los Angeles-based Rottet Studios, who gave the Viking Mars a modern design of Scandinavian inspiration, characterized by sophisticated yet functional elegance.

In addition to the all-veranda staterooms, the ship also has spacious suites, two pools, of which one is an infinity pool off the stern, various options for al fresco dining, and a spa with a sauna and a snow grotto.

According to Fincantieri, the Viking units are all built according to the latest navigation regulations and equipped with the most modern safety systems, as well as energy-efficient engines, optimized hydrodynamics and hull thereby reducing consumption.

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They also feature systems that minimize pollution produced by exhaust gases, meeting the strictest environmental regulations.

The Viking fleet’s robust design was put to the test in real-world conditions in March 2019 when Viking Sky got into difficulty during rough weather off the coast of Norway. All passengers were evacuated safely during the incident.

Fincantieri’s partnership with Viking started in 2012 when the river cruise line entered the ocean segment for the first time with an order for two ocean-going cruise ships.

It later expanded that to 20, all with an identical design. It has also ordered two explorer cruise ships from Vard: Viking Octantis and Viking Polaris.

According to Fincantieri, this is the largest number of cruise ships built by a shipbuilder for one sole shipowner. It also made Viking the cruise line with the most cruise ships on order in the world, before that title was claimed in 2019 by MSC Cruises.

With the delivery of MSC Virtuosa and Grandiosa in 2019, however, Viking has now reclaimed that position, as it has 12 cruise ships due for delivery between now and 2027, while MSC Cruises has 11 on order until 2027.