A major milestone was reached this week with the return of river cruising to St. Paul.
Viking's highly-anticipated Mississippi River cruises between New Orleans and St. Paul are a step closer to reality as the company celebrated the "float out" of its new 386-guest Viking Mississippi ship on Monday.
It's a major construction milestone and the first time the ship has touched water. The event happened at Edison Chouest Offshore's LaShip shipyard in Houma, Louisiana. The company says it's the final stage of construction ahead of a maiden voyage in June. Its ports of call include seven states: Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota.
Cruises that include St. Paul will either start or finish there, plus there are options between Memphis and New Orleans with the longest cruise going from St. Paul all the way to New Orleans.
The Mississippi is the latest river cruise from Viking which also has trips along several European rivers, the Nile, plus ocean-going vessels. The Swiss-based cruise company is known for high-end clientele and the Mississippi cruises are on the pricier side with voyages starting at $3,699 for eight days.
If you're hoping to get on a voyage out of St. Paul in 2022, you'll need to act quickly. Trips that travel between St. Paul and St. Louis in August are sold out. There are spaces on a couple of the St. Paul to New Orleans voyages in July and August however.
“It is a proud moment that this new ship has met an American waterway for the first time,” said Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking. “Our guests have long wanted to sail the Mississippi River with Viking, and we very much look forward to welcoming them on board this summer. We are grateful to our American partner, Edison Chouest Offshore, who has helped bring to life our vision of exploring the Mississippi in the ‘Viking way.’”
Viking also says their arrival to the Mississippi. “will represent a major commitment to tourism and economic development in many communities along the river.” Their new cruises are expected to bring more than 7,500 guests to the region in 2022 and that number will go way up during the first full sailing season in 2023.
Currently scheduled ports of call on these Mississippi River itineraries include Baton Rouge, Darrow, New Orleans, Natchez and Vicksburg, Mississippi, Memphis, St. Louis, Burlington, Dubuque and Davenport, Iowa, La Crosse Wisconsin before reaching Red Wing and then St. Paul, Minnesota.
The actual cruise ship, called The Viking Mississippi will host up to 386 guests in 193 all outside staterooms. Like all Viking ships, they feature Scandinavian designs. The company said the ship is “purpose-built for the Mississippi”, with five-decks, expansive windows and comfortable amenities.
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