Viking Cruises

T H E V I K I N G S T O R Y How one man's vision led to a new way to sail WHEN TORSTEIN HAGEN FOUNDED VIKING in 1997 with four river ships, he had few supporters and even fewer who believed in his vision. He was 54 years old and had spent much of his career in Norway in shipping, bearing witness to an industry that was ripe for change. Our Norwegian-born patriarch had a deep desire to create something different – and as anyone who has travelled with us will tell you, different is exactly what you get on a Viking voyage. For more than 29 years our Chairman Torstein – who the Viking family knows simply as 'Tor' – has built an award-winning fleet of ships over 80 strong. First, we set the standard for modern river journeys, then we reinvented ocean voyages with the launch of our award-winning small ship voyages and then we perfected expedition voyages, with our, state-of-the-art expedition ships, Viking Octantis, and Viking Polaris. TO R S T E I N H AG E N , T R I ES T E , I TA LY "From the beginning, we have chosen to do things differently. We remain committed to that philosophy as we continue to welcome more curious travellers to experience the Viking way of exploration around the world." To r s t e i n H a g e n , V i k i n g C h a i r m a n Viking is established by Torstein Hagen in 1997 with four river ships. Nine additional vessels join the fleet in 1998, expanding operations across Europe. 2000 Viking launches four state- of-the-art Longships®, redefining the modern river voyage experience. 2015 Viking is named the World's #1 Ocean Cruise Line by readers of Travel + Leisure. 2017- 2019 1997 -1998 Viking acquires KD River Cruises, becoming the largest river cruise operator in Europe. 2012 Viking enters the ocean cruise market with the christening of the Viking Star® in Bergen, Norway. 2016 Four additional ocean ships join the fleet, establishing Viking as the world's largest small-ship ocean cruise line. 2020 Viking announces its entry into the expedition cruise sector with two purpose-built expedition vessels. 6 | For pricing, availability and more details visit viking.com

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