THE SHIP IS THE STAR

Six months after its float out, our beautiful new ocean ship, Viking Star took to the ocean for the first time for its sea trials. The sea trials are a marathon. For nearly a week a team of maritime experts put the ship through its paces during a relentless battery of tests and retests. Painstaking methodical analysis is carried out, around the clock.

Jon Rusten, architect of Viking Star, likened the technology of the ship to that of NASA. He described how the innovative design of the ship sets it apart. “A cruise ship is always made of several smaller modules. We’ve taken every single module out and spun it around with a number of very talented and skilled cruise professionals, and we have upgraded every module. It’s a major step forward for the cruise industry.”

Long gone are the days of a noisy, bumpy ride. Richard Goodwin, Vice President Engineering, was also pleased with the quiet, vibration-free sailing. “The ship can be stationary or the ship can be doing 20 knots and you can’t really tell that it’s actually started moving, and that for me is a very satisfying result.”

With the sea trials now complete and living up to its name in every respect, Viking Star moves on to its fit out, right on schedule.

Take a few minutes to watch this exciting film of the sea trials >

MORE IN THIS MONTH'S AMULET:

I ♥ Cologne
Then and Now: St. Petersburg
Three of the Best: Travel Umbrellas