Viking Cruises, known to its fans for fleets of nearly identical ships with familiar decor and features is stepping out of line, just a little, in its orders for its eleventh and twelfth ocean cruise ships.
The big change will be out of sight to passengers, but it's a big one. They'll be powered by new hyrdogen fuel cell hybrid systems, greatly reducing the cruisers' carbon footprint. But to accommodate the fuel system, the ships will add eleven metres to their length, and add up to about 25 more cabins. They're scheduled to join the fleet in 2025.
The extra cabins would still leave them with a passenger count under 1,000; the existing ships are all rated for a maximum of 930 passengers. They'll all be recognizably Viking, though, with casual Scandinavian decor, no casino and no kids. Torstein Hagen, Chairman and Founder, told Cruise Critic "we don't do modifications."
Except, maybe, for having modified significant portions of the river and ocean cruise industries.
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