Viking Sets World Record; Christens 16 New Ships in 24-hour Period
Viking River Cruises Launches 18 New Longships
In five short days in March 2014, Viking River Cruises had four gala christening events. The company christened nine Longships in Amsterdam; four in Rostock, Germany; three in Avignon, France; and two in Porto, Portugal. The first sixteen of these were officially named in less than 24 hours, earning Viking a Guinness World Record for "The Most Ships Inaugurated in One Day by One Company".
The river cruise line now has 52 ships, with over 30 vessels launched since 2012.
Viking doesn't seem to be slowing down in its growth and plans to launch 12 new river vessels in 2015, along with its first ocean-going ship, the 930-guest Viking Star.
I attended the 2014 Viking christening event in Avignon, France, which was an amazing affair that started with the christening of the three new Longships that will sail its 8-day, "Portraits of Southern France" itinerary between Avignon and Chalon-sur-Saône. Like all the Viking Longships, they bear the names of popular gods and heroes of Norse mythology, and these three are named the Viking Heimdal, Viking Buri, and Viking Hermod.
The event started on the Rhône River in Avignon and continued later in the day and into the late evening at a gala cocktail party, dinner, and light show at one of France's most famous sites--Pont du Gard.
Avignon Naming Event
The christening event for the three ships sailing Rhône River itineraries appropriately started on the river. The ships took a cruise of their own to reach the dock at Avignon--they rode on a barge from the shipyard at Rostock, Germany. Looking at a map, that's quite a journey along the coast of northern Europe, France, Spain, and Portugal, through the Strait of Gibraltar and then across the Mediterranean to the mouth of the river near Arles.
These river ships aren't designed to sail in ocean waters for such a lengthy voyage, thus necessitating the hitchhiking.
Viking River Cruises' management, the seven Godmothers of the ships to be named (three in Avignon and four in Rostock) and their families, representatives from travel agencies and other travel partners, and members of the media gathered on the sun decks of the three ships--the Viking Heimdal, Viking Buri, and Viking Hermod, for the naming. Rostock was connected via live video link. Most of the guests had spent the night on one of the three ships prior to the event, and the Godmothers of the ships named in Amsterdam also traveled to Avignon. The day started out cloudy, but the sun was shining by the 2:30 start time.
I stood near the Guinness World Record adjudicator, who had attended the event in Amsterdam the day before. Viking needed to complete the christening for all 16 ships in less than 24 hours, so the event was short and sweet. She had her stopwatch in hand, and Viking made the deadline with about 10 minutes to spare.
The company chose a varied group of women to be Godmothers of the 16 new Longships. Some represented entertainment or fine arts, others culinary arts or wine, and the rest came from Viking's travel and business partners. It was a fascinating group, and all were worthy. Each Godmother first blessed her ship, its crew and passengers, and then pushed a button to ceremoniously release a bottle of champagne to break against the bow. Following the naming of the last ship, the champagne flowed into glasses (instead of against the ships), fireworks boomed overhead, and confetti cannons covered the ships with red and white streamers. It was very exciting, but just a forerunner of things to come later in the day when everyone traveled to Pont du Gard.
Pont du Gard Christening Event
The 300+ attendees for the Viking River Cruises' gala at Pont du Gard made the 16-mile trip from Avignon to Pont du Gard on large buses. Exiting the buses, we had a short walk to the edge of the Gardon River, where a huge tent had been set up for the christening dinner. The tent also featured a magnificent view of this famous Roman aqueduct that dates back over 2000 years.
Guests sipped wine and nibbled on snacks while exploring this UNESCO World Heritage site.
Most of us walked down to the river and across the Pont du Gard.
Stroll Along the Gardon River at Pont du Gard
The Gardon River at Pont du Gard is lovely, with rocks and quiet rapids when we were there. Both sides of the river feature walking trails, so it's a great place to do some hiking. The site also features a great museum, a movie, and a kid's place, all of which are designed to enhance visitor's appreciation and understanding of Pont du Gard and the Roman system of aqueducts in France.
Pont du Gard - Roman Aqueduct near Avignon
Pont du Gard is part of a 31-mile long aqueduct that once supplied over 44 million gallons of water a day from the Uzès springs to the city of Nîmes. The aqueduct stands 165-feet tall and stretches over 1200 feet across the Gardon River. It's not surprising that this section of the aqueduct was the most challenging for the builders. The structure is impressive today, and it's difficult to imagine the effort involved to construct it.
The stones are placed perfectly on top one another, so there's no mortar used, making it even more amazing.
Viking Chairman Receives Guinness World Record Certificate
After enjoying the pleasant afternoon along the Gardon River and strolling across the Pont du Gard, the attendees at the 2014 Viking River Cruises' Longships Christening gathered in the special tent for a delicious dinner, followed by speeches and entertainment. The dinner menu consisted of:
Two delicious French (of course!) wines accompanied the meal.
After dinner, Mr. Tor Hagen, chairman of the company (a real Norwegian who claims to be a Viking) spoke about the fast growth of the company and their success over the past 17 years. Mr. Bernard Meyer, head of the Rostock shipyard, also spoke. Mr. Hagen accepted the certificate of the world record from the Guiness World Record adjudicator.
Following the speeches and presentations, one of the Godmothers, French singer Mireille Mathieu, entertained us with a selection of her music.
Viking Godmother Mireille Mathieu
Mireille Mathieu, Godmother of the Viking Buri, is originally from Avignon, and her 90+ year old mother was at the dinner, along with other family members. (Her mom had 14 children, including Mireille). Ms. Mathieu is very famous in Europe, has sung on stages all over the world, and her career has lasted 50 years. With more than 130 million albums, 1,200 songs in nine languages, and 55 singles sold worldwide, Ms.
Mathieu, or "Marianne de France" as she is called, is one of France's greatest artists. She sang in about 7 or 8 languages and was very good. We all took home a souvenir CD of her top songs.
After Ms. Mathieu's performance, we went outside to watch the Pont du Gard light show.
Pont du Gard Light Show
The music boomed and lights flashed as the Pont du Gard was lit up during the dancing light show. In this photo, the aqueduct is bathed in quiet blue lights, but, as is seen in the next photo, much of the time it was lit up with psychedelic lights right out of the 1960's.
As the music changed during the light show at Pont du Gard, so did the look of the aqueduct. This is one of many psychedelic prints that covered the bridge.
Viking River Cruises projected the company logo on the opposite side of the river and, as seen on the first page of this article, on the huge rock formation near the tent. Great idea, wasn't it?
In five short days in March 2014, Viking River Cruises had four gala christening events. The company christened nine Longships in Amsterdam; four in Rostock, Germany; three in Avignon, France; and two in Porto, Portugal. The first sixteen of these were officially named in less than 24 hours, earning Viking a Guinness World Record for "The Most Ships Inaugurated in One Day by One Company".
The river cruise line now has 52 ships, with over 30 vessels launched since 2012.
Viking doesn't seem to be slowing down in its growth and plans to launch 12 new river vessels in 2015, along with its first ocean-going ship, the 930-guest Viking Star.
I attended the 2014 Viking christening event in Avignon, France, which was an amazing affair that started with the christening of the three new Longships that will sail its 8-day, "Portraits of Southern France" itinerary between Avignon and Chalon-sur-Saône. Like all the Viking Longships, they bear the names of popular gods and heroes of Norse mythology, and these three are named the Viking Heimdal, Viking Buri, and Viking Hermod.
The event started on the Rhône River in Avignon and continued later in the day and into the late evening at a gala cocktail party, dinner, and light show at one of France's most famous sites--Pont du Gard.
Avignon Naming Event
The christening event for the three ships sailing Rhône River itineraries appropriately started on the river. The ships took a cruise of their own to reach the dock at Avignon--they rode on a barge from the shipyard at Rostock, Germany. Looking at a map, that's quite a journey along the coast of northern Europe, France, Spain, and Portugal, through the Strait of Gibraltar and then across the Mediterranean to the mouth of the river near Arles.
These river ships aren't designed to sail in ocean waters for such a lengthy voyage, thus necessitating the hitchhiking.
Viking River Cruises' management, the seven Godmothers of the ships to be named (three in Avignon and four in Rostock) and their families, representatives from travel agencies and other travel partners, and members of the media gathered on the sun decks of the three ships--the Viking Heimdal, Viking Buri, and Viking Hermod, for the naming. Rostock was connected via live video link. Most of the guests had spent the night on one of the three ships prior to the event, and the Godmothers of the ships named in Amsterdam also traveled to Avignon. The day started out cloudy, but the sun was shining by the 2:30 start time.
I stood near the Guinness World Record adjudicator, who had attended the event in Amsterdam the day before. Viking needed to complete the christening for all 16 ships in less than 24 hours, so the event was short and sweet. She had her stopwatch in hand, and Viking made the deadline with about 10 minutes to spare.
The company chose a varied group of women to be Godmothers of the 16 new Longships. Some represented entertainment or fine arts, others culinary arts or wine, and the rest came from Viking's travel and business partners. It was a fascinating group, and all were worthy. Each Godmother first blessed her ship, its crew and passengers, and then pushed a button to ceremoniously release a bottle of champagne to break against the bow. Following the naming of the last ship, the champagne flowed into glasses (instead of against the ships), fireworks boomed overhead, and confetti cannons covered the ships with red and white streamers. It was very exciting, but just a forerunner of things to come later in the day when everyone traveled to Pont du Gard.
Pont du Gard Christening Event
The 300+ attendees for the Viking River Cruises' gala at Pont du Gard made the 16-mile trip from Avignon to Pont du Gard on large buses. Exiting the buses, we had a short walk to the edge of the Gardon River, where a huge tent had been set up for the christening dinner. The tent also featured a magnificent view of this famous Roman aqueduct that dates back over 2000 years.
Guests sipped wine and nibbled on snacks while exploring this UNESCO World Heritage site.
Most of us walked down to the river and across the Pont du Gard.
Stroll Along the Gardon River at Pont du Gard
The Gardon River at Pont du Gard is lovely, with rocks and quiet rapids when we were there. Both sides of the river feature walking trails, so it's a great place to do some hiking. The site also features a great museum, a movie, and a kid's place, all of which are designed to enhance visitor's appreciation and understanding of Pont du Gard and the Roman system of aqueducts in France.
Pont du Gard - Roman Aqueduct near Avignon
Pont du Gard is part of a 31-mile long aqueduct that once supplied over 44 million gallons of water a day from the Uzès springs to the city of Nîmes. The aqueduct stands 165-feet tall and stretches over 1200 feet across the Gardon River. It's not surprising that this section of the aqueduct was the most challenging for the builders. The structure is impressive today, and it's difficult to imagine the effort involved to construct it.
The stones are placed perfectly on top one another, so there's no mortar used, making it even more amazing.
Viking Chairman Receives Guinness World Record Certificate
After enjoying the pleasant afternoon along the Gardon River and strolling across the Pont du Gard, the attendees at the 2014 Viking River Cruises' Longships Christening gathered in the special tent for a delicious dinner, followed by speeches and entertainment. The dinner menu consisted of:
- Mousse of Green Asparagus
- Red Mullet on Melting Potato
- Surf and Turf
- Pecan Nut and Pear William's Cream
- Trilogy of Cheese
Two delicious French (of course!) wines accompanied the meal.
After dinner, Mr. Tor Hagen, chairman of the company (a real Norwegian who claims to be a Viking) spoke about the fast growth of the company and their success over the past 17 years. Mr. Bernard Meyer, head of the Rostock shipyard, also spoke. Mr. Hagen accepted the certificate of the world record from the Guiness World Record adjudicator.
Following the speeches and presentations, one of the Godmothers, French singer Mireille Mathieu, entertained us with a selection of her music.
Viking Godmother Mireille Mathieu
Mireille Mathieu, Godmother of the Viking Buri, is originally from Avignon, and her 90+ year old mother was at the dinner, along with other family members. (Her mom had 14 children, including Mireille). Ms. Mathieu is very famous in Europe, has sung on stages all over the world, and her career has lasted 50 years. With more than 130 million albums, 1,200 songs in nine languages, and 55 singles sold worldwide, Ms.
Mathieu, or "Marianne de France" as she is called, is one of France's greatest artists. She sang in about 7 or 8 languages and was very good. We all took home a souvenir CD of her top songs.
After Ms. Mathieu's performance, we went outside to watch the Pont du Gard light show.
Pont du Gard Light Show
The music boomed and lights flashed as the Pont du Gard was lit up during the dancing light show. In this photo, the aqueduct is bathed in quiet blue lights, but, as is seen in the next photo, much of the time it was lit up with psychedelic lights right out of the 1960's.
As the music changed during the light show at Pont du Gard, so did the look of the aqueduct. This is one of many psychedelic prints that covered the bridge.
Viking River Cruises projected the company logo on the opposite side of the river and, as seen on the first page of this article, on the huge rock formation near the tent. Great idea, wasn't it?
Source...