Viking Cruises floats Viking Star

River cruise specialist Viking marked a construction milestone for its inaugural ocean ship today, by floating out the Viking Star at the Fincantieri shipyard in Italy.

The vessel, which is one of three currently being built, has already sold out its first season, a testament to destination-focused ships, according to the company’s chairman Torstein Hagen.

He said: “Today is a proud day for our entire Viking family, as we are one step closer to launching a new era of ocean cruising. Viking Star’s maiden season was sold out before she even touched water, which just demonstrates how enthusiastic our guests are for destination-focused ocean cruises.

“It is this enthusiasm that has led us to place orders for two additional sister ships, Viking Sea and Viking Sky.”

Viking Star will sail Scandinavia, Baltic and British Isles cruises when it debuts in early 2015.