The official launch of Viking’s new China coastal cruises is such a major event for the company, the Chairman and CEO Torstein Hagen made a last minute trip to Shanghai especially to welcome passengers and the world’s press in Shanghai last night just hours before the ship, Viking Yi Dun sets sails for its first 9-night voyage to Hong Kong.
His daughter Karine Hagen, Viking Vice President, joined Torstein on a day which has been described by the company as “a big day in the Viking world”.
The ship is 75% full with American passengers and 30 members of the international media have been flown in to record the historic moment.
Viking Yi Dun is under the command of Captain Bin Li. Hagan addressed journalists and said: “Our first-of-its-kind itinerary China Discovery is a domestic sailing of China’s coast that highlights rarely-seen destinations and ports to which only Viking has access – something that has never before been offered to international visitors.” “Through the China Discovery voyage operated by the first Chinese-flagged luxury cruise ship, Viking Yi Dun, Viking will create a benchmark product for China inbound tourism and mark the launch of the 1st China Inbound Coastal Cruise Tourism Project.” All of the Viking nine ocean ships in its fleet are identical, but there will be some subtle differences on the Yi Dun and Viking has adapted to the region. For example, one of the most popular restaurants called The Restaurant will mostly serve Chinese food, but it will also have western choices. The Chef’s Table has a rotation of Asian menus and Manfredi’s Italian Restaurant remains the same. Entertainment has a local influence and all of the 465 crew are English-speaking Chinese, from what LATTE has experienced, they are a credit to the line, top notch and super friendly. For Chinese guests the experience has been customised with an 18-hour noodle bar and signage is in Chinese. Hagen made reference to some of his competitors – who he called “the big ocean guys” – with 5,000 or 6,000 passengers. “It’s a very different experience from what we are delivering, people go on Viking because we deliver excellent destinations and our ships are small.” “We own and operate those ships ourselves, they are quiet, elegant and we like the light wood and understated elegance rather than huge objects.” Hagen opened up on his likes and cruising dislikes. “We take great care of making things simple and comfortable. Our TV remote control only has nine buttons, you can tell what’s hot and cold water in the shower and one of my obsessions are trash cans. They are all square and placed in a corner, so if you throw in paper there, you can bounce them off either wall and they land in the can,” he quipped. He said all chairs in the restaurants have square back chairs. Why? “So any man can leave his jacket around the back of the chair unlike fancy hotels where they have rounded backs, and there’s nowhere you can put your damn jacket!” He pointed out that his ships all have large showers, anti-fog mirrors and heated floors. Prior to sailing, Viking Yi Dun will be officially launched and farewelled with a ceremony and an opening performance at the Shanghai Port International Cruise Terminal. Lead image: Torstein Hagen, Viking Chairman and CEO and Karine Hagen, Viking Vice President.
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Viking Yi Dun is under the command of Captain Bin Li. Hagan addressed journalists and said: “Our first-of-its-kind itinerary China Discovery is a domestic sailing of China’s coast that highlights rarely-seen destinations and ports to which only Viking has access – something that has never before been offered to international visitors.” “Through the China Discovery voyage operated by the first Chinese-flagged luxury cruise ship, Viking Yi Dun, Viking will create a benchmark product for China inbound tourism and mark the launch of the 1st China Inbound Coastal Cruise Tourism Project.” All of the Viking nine ocean ships in its fleet are identical, but there will be some subtle differences on the Yi Dun and Viking has adapted to the region. For example, one of the most popular restaurants called The Restaurant will mostly serve Chinese food, but it will also have western choices. The Chef’s Table has a rotation of Asian menus and Manfredi’s Italian Restaurant remains the same. Entertainment has a local influence and all of the 465 crew are English-speaking Chinese, from what LATTE has experienced, they are a credit to the line, top notch and super friendly. For Chinese guests the experience has been customised with an 18-hour noodle bar and signage is in Chinese. Hagen made reference to some of his competitors – who he called “the big ocean guys” – with 5,000 or 6,000 passengers. “It’s a very different experience from what we are delivering, people go on Viking because we deliver excellent destinations and our ships are small.” “We own and operate those ships ourselves, they are quiet, elegant and we like the light wood and understated elegance rather than huge objects.” Hagen opened up on his likes and cruising dislikes. “We take great care of making things simple and comfortable. Our TV remote control only has nine buttons, you can tell what’s hot and cold water in the shower and one of my obsessions are trash cans. They are all square and placed in a corner, so if you throw in paper there, you can bounce them off either wall and they land in the can,” he quipped. He said all chairs in the restaurants have square back chairs. Why? “So any man can leave his jacket around the back of the chair unlike fancy hotels where they have rounded backs, and there’s nowhere you can put your damn jacket!” He pointed out that his ships all have large showers, anti-fog mirrors and heated floors. Prior to sailing, Viking Yi Dun will be officially launched and farewelled with a ceremony and an opening performance at the Shanghai Port International Cruise Terminal. Lead image: Torstein Hagen, Viking Chairman and CEO and Karine Hagen, Viking Vice President.
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