Viking Dominates 2017 Cruisers’ Choice Awards

Viking’s Ships Take 10 Categories, including “Best Overall” and “Best for First-Timers,” in 7th Annual Cruise Critic Cruisers’ Choice Awards

Sydney (February 17, 2017) – After another year of impressive travel industry awards, Viking Ocean Cruises® (www.vikingcruises.com.au) this week received a new set of accolades from the popular online cruise resource, Cruise Critic®. The fast-growing cruise line is today celebrating that its 930-guest sister ships, Viking Star® and Viking Sea® , received top honors in ten categories in the Small-Mid Size (400-1,199 passengers) class of the Cruise Critic® 7th Annual Cruisers’ Choice Awards.

Viking’s two ships won the top two placements in nearly every category where they were eligible. Viking Sea received First Place placements in six award categories in its first year of service: Best Overall, Best Entertainment, Best for Fitness & Recreation, Best Public Rooms, Best Service and Best Shore Excursions. Viking Star received First Place placements in four award categories: Best Dining, Best for Value, and for the second year in a row, Best Cabins, and Best for First-Timers. Unsurprisingly, Best for Families was the one category where Viking did not place in one of the top two spots, as the line remains focused on catering to an audience of adults and experienced travelers and does not feature accommodations or activities for children. Cruise Critic is the world’s leading cruise reviews site and online cruise community, and the Cruisers’ Choice Awards name the best cruise ships in the world, based solely on ratings submitted with member reviews published on the Cruise Critic website for cruises taken in 2016.

“It is an honour for our first two ocean ships to be distinguished as the best ships by the members of the Cruise Critic community,” said Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking Cruises. “After just two years in service, I am proud to see Viking Star and Viking Sea receive such high accolades from the industry and our guests. And while awards and cruise line rankings come and go, the Viking scores reflected in the Cruisers’ Choice Awards are entirely consistent with our internal quality ratings, in which 99.8% of our guests rate their Viking experience above or far above expectations.”

“With these awards we consolidate the thousands of reviews submitted to Cruise Critic each year and honor those lines that received the best ratings from cruisers,” explained Colleen McDaniel, Senior Executive Editor, Cruise Critic. “Reviews offer incredibly helpful insights for those planning a cruise but also highlight the remarkable experiences and levels of service that people encounter every day on a cruise. We’re thankful to everyone who added their voice to these awards by taking the time to write a review.”

In addition to the First Place wins, Viking’s ships also took the Second Place honors in most of the same categories. Viking Sea took second place, behind Viking Star, in Best Cabins, Best Dining and Best Value. Viking Star took Second Place, behind Viking Sea, in Best Overall, Best for Fitness and Recreation, Best for Public Rooms, Best for Service and Best for Shore Excursions.

Michelle Black, MD Viking Cruises Australia, commented, "2017 is already shaping up to be a big year for Viking Cruises Australia. The Cruise Critic Annual Cruisers’ Choice Awards are so highly regarded and we are delighted to win so many, especially for such a new fleet, and as a new entrant into ocean cruising, this is really impressive. We can’t wait to share our product offering with even more cruise loving Australians.”

"We are also excited to be strengthening our sales and marketing team with two significant new appointments to support the growth of our ocean cruise product ahead of Viking Sun's arrival in Australia early next year. Jane Moggridge will be spearheading the growth of Viking's marketing efforts responsible for getting our ocean and river message out to consumers and trade. And Keira Smith’s appointment is instrumental in building our trade sales team, with a distinct focus on building and strengthening our valuable trade partnerships."

 

The Viking Difference
The all-veranda, Viking Star, Viking Sea and newly delivered Viking Sky® have a gross tonnage of 47,800 tons, boast 465 cabins and accommodate 930 guests. Viking’s fourth ship, Viking Sun® will be delivered in November and will spend her maiden season sailing the company’s first-ever World Cruise. Viking Spirit® will join the fleet in 2018 and will sail itineraries in Australia, Asia and Alaska. A sixth, yet-to-be-named ship will be delivered in 2019 and will mark Viking as the largest small ship ocean cruise line.

 

Designed for discerning travelers, Viking offers guests “the thinking person’s cruise” as an alternative to mainstream cruises. The Viking Difference is providing guests with extraordinarily well-designed cruises that bring them closer to the cultures of the world. Ships are small to get guests closer to their destination, with more time in port, more overnights and fewer days at sea. Onboard, guests find serene Scandinavian spaces, where every room is beautiful and functional, quiet and filled with light. All-veranda ships mean that guests experience every day with a new, expansive vista. With the most al fresco dining at sea, featuring regional cuisines and always-available American classics, Viking’s guests can truly dine in their destination. A focus on cultural enrichment brings immersive experiences onshore and onboard. And only The Viking Way brings guests itineraries that feature Local Life, Working World and Privileged Access experiences.

In addition, Viking Inclusive Value provides a small ship experience at a big ship value—with every cruise fare including a veranda stateroom, shore excursions in each port of call, all onboard meals, and all port charges and government taxes. Guests also enjoy many complimentary amenities as part of their fare, including: beer and wine with lunch and dinner service; premium dining reservations; Wi-Fi; self-service laundry; access to the Thermal Suite in the LivNordic Spa; and 24-hour room service—an included value of more than $200 per person, per day for an average cruise.

Booking Details
From now until February 28, 2017, receive $1,000 shipboard credit per couple when you book a 2017/2018 ocean cruise.

Media Assets
For additional information, contact Viking Cruises at 1300 845 464 (Australia) & 0800 447 913 (New Zealand) or visit www.vikingcruises.com.au. To join the Viking Cruises community online, visit www.facebook.com/vikingcruisesAUNZ.

About Viking Cruises
Viking Cruises offers destination-centric river and ocean cruising designed for experienced travellers with an interest in geography, culture and history. Featuring onboard cultural enrichment and included shore excursions, Viking’s journeys are competitively priced for genuine value. Debuting its maiden season of ocean cruising in 2015, the sophisticated state-of-the-art Viking Star hosts 930 guests on itineraries in Scandinavia and the Baltic; the Western and Eastern Mediterranean; the British Isles and the Americas. Viking will welcome Viking Sky and Viking Sun, the company’s third and fourth ship, in early and late 2017, respectively. Viking Spirit will be delivered in 2018; the yet-to-be-named sixth ship will be delivered in 2020. As the world’s leading river cruise line, since its 1997 inception the company has grown to a fleet of 64 river vessels (in 2016) offering scenic cruising along the rivers of Europe, Russia, China, and Southeast Asia. Viking has been honoured multiple times in Travel + Leisure’s “World’s Best” Awards and Condé Nast Traveller’s “Gold List” as well as recognised by the editors of Cruise Critic as “Best River Cruise Line,” with the entire Viking Longships® fleet being named “Best New River Ships” in the website’s Editors’ Picks Awards. Viking Cruises has recently been awarded as The World's Best Large-Ship Ocean Cruise Line by Travel + Leisure, 2016.