Thursday, March 21, 2013

  Most Ships Inaugurated in One Day: Viking River Cruises breaks Guinness world record (VIDEO)

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands -- Viking River Cruises set a world record with the christening of 10 new Viking Longships; The first-of-its-kind simultaneous christening ceremony in Amsterdam debuted the ships –Viking Aegir, Viking Atla, Viking Bragi, Viking Embla, Viking Forseti, Viking Jarl, Viking Rinda, Viking Skadi, Viking Tor and Viking Var – and was certified as 'The Most Ships Inaugurated in One Day by One Company,' according to the World Record Academy: www.worldrecordacademy.com/ .

  Photo: Viking River Cruises sets a World Record for "The Most Ships Inaugurated in One Day by One Company" with the simultaneous christening of 10 new Viking Longships on March 20 in Amsterdam. Photo: Viking River Cruises/WRA ( enlarge photo )

 The previous Guinness world record for most ships inaugurated in one day by one company was two and was achieved by Costa (Italy), in Genova, Italy.

  Guinness World Records also recognized the world record for the Most ships named/launched by an individual was set by Süreyya Ulusoy (Turkey), who has launched eight ships for the shipping company U.N. Ro-Ro Isletmeleri between May 2000 and April 2005.The vessels were built by Flensburger Schiffbau-Geseellschaft of Flensburg, Germany. Süreyya Ulusoy is the wife of the U.N Ro-Ro Isletmeleri President.

  Playing an integral role in the event were 10 distinguished women from around the world, representing the key Viking brand pillars of history, art, education, exploration and discovery, to serve as ceremonial godmothers for the new ships.

  "Today is a proud day for Viking and for river cruising. We are honored to showcase 10 of our revolutionary new Longships and to have had such a celebrated group of women helping us christen them," said Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking Cruises.

  "Our guests are explorers, just like the ancient Vikings of our Norse heritage, which is why we deliver authentic and enriching travel experiences like no other cruise line."

  Guests at the christening ceremony enjoyed remarks by each godmother and a presentation on the growth of river cruising by Hagen.

  In 2014, Viking plans to break its own record with the launch of 12 new Longships; all of the new ships will sail the line's most popular European itineraries: Tulips & Windmills (10 days, Amsterdam-Antwerp-Amsterdam); Passage to Eastern Europe (11 days, Budapest-Bucharest); Romantic Danube (8 days, Budapest-Nuremberg); Grand European Tour (15 days, Amsterdam-Budapest); Danube Waltz (8 days, Passau-Budapest) and Rhine Getaway (8 days, Amsterdam-Basel).