Royal Viking Line

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The Royal Viking Line was an upmarket cruise line that operated from 1972 until 1999. The company was the brain child of Warren Titus^[1] and had its headquarters at One Embarcadero Center in San Francisco.

1 History
2 References
3 External Links

[edit] History

Each of the line's initial three vessels was owned by one of its initial investing partners. The first, the Royal Viking Star, was completed in May, 1971. Its owner was Bergenske Dampskibsselskab (Bergen Line). The second, the Royal Viking Sky, was owned by Nordenfjeldske Dampskibsselskab of Trondheim. She was completed in July of 1973. The third ship, the Royal Viking Sea, was ready in December of the same year. Her owner was AF Klaveness & Co., Oslo.^[2]

The ships were all built by Wärtsilä in Helsinki, Finland, and were each approximately 21,500 GRT and nearly identical in appearance, with a tall superstructure and a single, scooped funnel. However, the Star was two feet shorter (581 feet), and her interior arrangement differed slightly from her two fleet-mates. Each ship featured a double-height theatre occupying an interior space on the two lowest passenger decks; however, on the Star the space just forward of the theatre on the higher of these decks was occupied by a chapel, a feature not found on either of her fleet-mates, nor any of the Scandinavian-built cruise ships of that generation. Other differences included the placement of small lounges and facilities such as the library.

These vessels were intended for longer voyages to exotic destinations, and a significant percentage of the line's passengers were wealthy retirees. As such, they featured numerous single staterooms and suites, and thus their capacity was only about 550 compared to 750-850 on similarly-sized ships of other lines. Royal Viking Line prided itself on single-seating dining, and the restaurant was situated unusually high in the ship, with large windows. Another popular feature was a glass-enclosed lounge high atop the bridge, which afforded excellent views.

[edit] Stretching

Beginning in 1980, each of the three ships was "stretched" to 28,000 GRT by adding a 93-foot prefabricated midships section at the A.G. Weser shipyard in Bremerhaven. This increased each ship's capacity by 200 passengers, and mainly included the addition of cabins. Aft of the observation lounge, a new lounge and nine penthouse suites with balconies were added. The size of the main restaurant was also doubled and now occupied nearly half of one deck in order to maintain single-seating dining.

The line's management had determined the expansion was more economical than building a fourth ship; however, the plan backfired, because many of their loyal passengers felt the larger ships had lost their intimate appeal.

[edit] Purchase by Kloster

In 1986 the line was purchased by Norwegian Caribbean Line, then part of the Kloster group. The offices were moved to Coral Gables, Florida, and Warren Titus departed in 1987. While under Kloster ownership, Royal Viking built a fourth ship, the Royal Viking Sun. Constructed by Wärtsilä in Turku, Finland, she was 39,000 GRT and carried 850 passengers. The final ship built for Royal Viking was the Royal Viking Queen completed in 1992. She was just 10,000 GRT, carrying only 212 passengers and sharing a general arrangement with the Seabourn Pride and Seabourn Spirit of Seabourn Cruise Line, the new home of Warren Titus.

In 1990, Kloster moved the Royal Viking Sea to its Royal Cruise Line brand, where she took the name Royal Odyssey, and the Star to its Norwegian Cruise Line brand, where she became the Westward.

In 1991, the Royal Viking Sky was transferred to NCL and renamed Sunward.

In 1993, the Westward ex Royal Viking Star became the Star Odyssey for Royal Cruise Line. The passenger capacity on each of the original three ships had been increased to 850, mainly with the addition of staterooms amidships on the Bridge Deck, in what used to be officers' quarters. A buffet was also added in the lounge on the top deck, since the ships did not have the casual indoor/outdoor dining area (often called a Lido) that was becoming de rigeur.

In 1994, the Royal Viking brand and the two remaining ships (the Queen and the Sun) were sold to Cunard Line. By 1999 they, too, had been re-assigned and the Royal Viking Name became a dormant asset of Carnival Corporation, Cunard's parent.

[edit] The Royal Viking fleet today

The Royal Viking Queen operated briefly as the Queen Odyssey for Royal Cruise Line, then joined her sister ships at Seabourne as the Seabourne Legend, where she remains today. Cunard operated the Sun with her current name until 1999, then she joined her former fleetmate as the Seabourne Sun. This phase lasted until 2002, when she was moved again to the Holland America Line (another Carnival brand), becoming the MS Prinsendam, where she remains today.

After several more changes of name and ownership, the former Royal Viking Star and Royal Viking Sky sail with Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, the Star as the Black Watch and the Sky as the Boudicca. Aboard both ships, the lounge/buffet on the top deck has been replaced with staterooms (Black Watch) or suites (Boudicca), while the observation lounge above the bridge remains. The length of Bridge Deck is now occupied by passenger cabins, and aboard the Black Watch, the aft portion of the formerly vast main dining-room has been converted to two smaller restaurants and an additional lounge. The changes on Boudicca are even more radical, where the dining-room space was broken up into no fewer than four separate restaurants and the space formerly occupied by the theatre has been converted into additional staterooms and a fitness centre.

The former Royal Viking Sea sails for the German company Phoenix Reisen as the Albatros.

[edit] References

^ Maxtone-Graham, John Crossing and Cruising New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1992.
^ Dawson, Philip Cruise Ships: An Evolution in Design London: Conway Maritime Press, 2000.