New Viking Vela luxury cruise ship floated out at Fincantieri shipyard

Viking Vela has touched water for the first time at the Fincantieri shipyard in Italy where the latest luxury Viking cruise liner is being built.

The float out of the ship marks the end of her major external construction works, with attention now turning to the fit and finish of her interiors and engineering spaces.

The 998-guest Viking Vela is the 11th ship of her design and the tenth to join Viking, which operates a fleet of near-identical sister ships, while one is operated by Viking’s joint venture with China Merchants.

“Together with Fincantieri, we have built the world’s most elegant ocean vessels, and it is always a proud day when our newest ship meets water for the first time,” said Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking. 

“We are different than other lines because of all that we do, but Viking also stands apart for all that we do not do,” he added. 

“No children. No casinos. No nickel and diming. We look forward to welcoming the Viking Vela to our award-winning fleet next year and introducing even more curious travelers to the Viking way of exploration,” he said.

The float out of Viking Vela began at approximately 11:00 a.m. local time when the Viking team cut a cord that signaled water to flow into the ship’s building dock. 

Following a two-day process that set Viking Vela afloat, she then moved to a nearby outfitting dock for final construction and interior build-out.

Scheduled to debut in December 2024, the Viking Vela will spend her inaugural season sailing voyages in the Mediterranean and in Northern Europe.

Viking Vela has a gross tonnage of 54,300 tons, with 499 staterooms that can host 998 guests. 

Viking Ocean Fleet:

Viking Vela: Built in 2024, 998 passengers

Viking Saturn: Built in 2023, 930 passengers

Viking Polaris: Built in 2022, 378 passengers

Viking Neptune: Built in 2022, 930 passengers

Viking Mars: Built in 2022, 930 passengers

Viking Venus: Built in 2021, 930 passengers

Viking Octantis: Built in 2021, 378 passengers

Viking Jupiter: Built in 2019, 930 passengers

Viking Orion: Built in 2018, 930 passengers

Viking Sky: Built in 2017, 930 passengers

Viking Sea: Built in 2016, 930 passengers

Viking Star: Built in 2015, 930 passengers