The new Viking Cruises’ ship Viking Venus set sail from Portsmouth Port (England UK) on Monday, May 17, on her maiden voyage and official naming ceremony.
Like her sisterships, Venus has GT tonnage 47,800 tons, 9 decks, 465 staterooms (max capacity 930 passengers plus 465 crew).
In the English Channel, the newbuild was christened by journalist and broadcaster Anne Diamond serving as godmother who wielded a historic Viking broad axe in order to cut a ribbon that sent the bottle of Norwegian aquavit against the hull of the ship. An 'Air Fountain' was designed and installed by artist Daniel Wurtzel in the atrium of Viking Venus for the event.
1954-born British journalist and broadcaster Anne Diamond is best known as the host of the popular in the UK morning TV shows - Good Morning Britain (1983-1992) and Good Morning with Anne and Nick (1992-96). She also worked for Loose Women (talk show), Daily Mail (journalist) and Since 2003 is a regular guest on the discussion TV shows "The Wright Stuff" and "Jeremy Vine". Since March 2020, Anne Diamond is a key figure on Viking.TV (Viking's online TV channel).
The first passenger sailings are scheduled to commence on May 22 as Portsmouth UK becomes the homeport for the initial 5 voyages of Viking Venus.
In late September 2020, Viking Ocean released a new departure for Viking Venus. The 29-day "Baltic Jewels and The Midnight Sun" itinerary (London-Greenwich to Stockholm Sweden) is scheduled to depart on July 22 (2021), visits 10 countries, and includes 19 guided (complimentary to all passengers) shore excursions. Prices start from USD 18500 (~EUR 15830) per person for Veranda stateroom (double occupancy).
In mid-March 2021 were announced the new 8-day "England's Scenic Shores" itineraries for Viking Venus leaving roundtrip from the UK (Liverpool and Portsmouth). These were Viking Ocean's first scheduled for 2021 departures (May 22, May 29, June 5) following the COVID-related fleetwide pause in the company's passenger shipping operations. The voyages were open for booking to UK residents only.
In May were added July-October departures (11-day roundtrips from Valletta Malta) for the ships Viking Sea and Viking Venus.
- The "Malta and Adriatic Jewels" itinerary starts with an overnight in Valletta and visits ports in Montenegro (Kotor) and Croatia (Dubrovnik, Split, Zadar, Sibenik), plus Gozo Island (Malta, Mgarr Harbour).
- The "Malta and Greek Isles Discovery" itinerary also starts with an overnight in Valletta and visits ports in Greece (Kalamata, Piraeus-Athens, Santorini, Rhodes, Crete/Souda).
The return follows months of travel restrictions and major preparation by Port Portsmouth to keep up to date with brand-new health protocols. The completion of a cruise ship berth extension resulted in Noble Caledonia, Virgin Voyages, and Viking announcing summer UK cruises from the Port.
Passengers sailing through Portsmouth can benefit from the latest technology including contactless touchpoints, frequent sanitation, and a non-intrusive temperature scanner.