At a celebratory launch in Los Angeles last night (15 January 2020), Viking Cruises announced full details of the company’s new venture, Viking Expeditions.

Viking Cruises has announced that its two new purpose-built expedition ships, Viking Octanis and Viking Polaris, will make their debut journeys in 2022.

Viking Expeditions will begin sailing in January 2022 with its first vessel, Viking Octanis, embarking on voyages to Antarctica and North America’s Great Lakes.

Viking Polaris will make her debut in August 2022, sailing to Antarctica and the Arctic.

Speaking at the event, Viking Cruises’ chairman Torstein Hagen said: “We invented the concept of modern river cruising when we launched in 1997; then we reinvented ocean cruises and became the ‘World’s Best Ocean Cruise Line’ in our first year of operation.

“Now we are perfecting polar expedition cruising, and we will also usher in a new era of comfortable exploration in the heart of North America. Our guests are curious explorers. They want to continue travelling with us to familiar and iconic destinations, but they would also like to travel further.

“We began as Viking River Cruises; then we evolved into Viking Cruises with the addition of ocean cruises; today we stand singularly as Viking, offering destination-focused voyages on more than 20 rivers and five oceans, visiting more than 500 ports in 100 countries and on all seven continents.”

Renowned adventurers and educators Liv Arnesen and Ann Bancroft were also announced as godmothers to Viking Octantis and Viking Polaris, respectively.

To develop its new expedition voyages, Viking has partnered with some of the world’s most prestigious scientific institutions.

The lead partner is the University of Cambridge’s Scott Polar Research Institute; this partnership will be underpinned by a Viking endowment for scientific research into the polar regions, The Viking Chair of Polar Marine Geoscience, a Cambridge University full professorship based at the Scott Polar Research Institute, as well as a sponsorship fund supporting the Institute’s graduate students.

As part of this endowment, the Institute’s scientists will also undertake fieldwork aboard Viking Cruises’ expedition vessels and join voyages to share their expertise with guests.

Viking Cruises has also partnered with The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, a globally recognised bird research facility.

Customers can book from 16 January 2020 with fares starting from £5,795pp.

Visit vikingcruises.co.uk for more information.