Viking has named its newest Nile river ships the Viking Hathor and the Viking Sobek at a special ceremony in Luxor, as it prepares to further ramp up its Egyptian river cruise fleet.
At the event, The Hon. Edward Herbert became ceremonial godfather of the Viking Hathor. His great-great-grandfather, the fifth Earl of Carnarvon, was the benefactor and co-explorer of Howard Carter, whose excavation uncovered the tomb of King Tutankhamen near Luxor on November 4, 1922.
Cosmos Egypt Founder and member of the Egyptian Senate Mohamed El Banna, served as the ceremonial godfather of the Viking Sobek. Cosmos is Viking’s exclusive tour operator in Egypt, with El Banna also helping the company create its operational division in Egypt.
“Today, we are proud to welcome the Viking Hathor and the Viking Sobek to our growing fleet in Egypt. Along with their sister ships, we believe they are by far the most elegant vessels on the Nile,” Viking Chairman and CEO Torstein Hagen said.
“As our award-winning fleet on the Nile continues to grow, we look forward to introducing even more curious travellers to this phenomenal destination.”
The naming ceremony was held at Viking’s exclusive docking location in Luxor and was followed by a celebratory dinner inside the nearby Karnak Temple. There was also a performance by Sissel Kyrkjebø, one of the world’s leading crossover sopranos and godmother of the Viking Jupiter.
In a further development, the Carnarvons have agreed that Viking can share its private collection of Egyptian artifacts with guests sailing on board the Viking Hathor and the Viking Sobek, as well as their sister ships, the Viking Osiris and the Viking Aton.
The collection, located at Highclere Castle, forms part of a program of pre- and post extensions that enable guests to extend their exploration of Egypt’s treasures with visits to a number of collections of Egyptian artefacts in the UK.
Earlier this week, Viking bolstered its Egyptian program with a massive 221 new departures in 2027 for its Pharaohs & Pyramids voyage, confirming four new 82-guest ships on the Nile, taking Viking’s Egypt fleet to 10 vessels by 2026.
