Viking breaks record with 14 ship christening

Viking Cruises broke its own Guinness World Record yesterday by christening 14 new ships in less than 24 hours.

The cruise line held ceremonies in Amsterdam; Avignon, France and Rostock, Germany to welcome the new ships and in doing so set a new record for the most ships inaugurated in one day by one company.

Great British Bake Off star Mary Berry was on hand to help christen Alsvin in Amsterdam after being named as the ship’s godmother.

Susie Barrie, who has appeared on Saturday Kitchen Live, is also one of the godmothers of the new ships.

“It’s an honour, as well as an amazing experience, to christen a vessel which I know will be home for Viking guests as they embark on river cruising throughout Europe. After spending some time on board the Alsvin, I can see why people are so taken with river cruising. As someone who is fascinated by travel, culture and food destinations you certainly get a sense of the Viking spirit on board,” Berry said.

Each of the christened ships will now sail along the Danube, Rhine and Rhone rivers. Similarly to the other 50 vessels in Viking’s fleet the new ships are named after gods from Norse mythology including Buri, Baldur, Magni, Gullvieg, Lif, Eistla, Ingvi, Bestla, Delling and Heimdal.

Wendy Atkins-Smith, UK managing director of Viking Cruises said: “It’s great to team up with Mary to launch our new longships and set another Guinness World Record. As someone with a reputation for embracing new challenges and reinventing herself all through life, Mary embodies the Viking spirit of exploration – and also the spirit of the curious, experienced travellers who sail with us all over the world. For us, though, the real achievement of these launches comes from being able to offer our guests a fleet of new, state-of-the-art Viking Cruises longships on which to enjoy some of Europe’s most iconic river routes.”