Yesterday in London Viking Ocean Cruises officially welcomed its second ship, Viking Sea, to its fleet during a celebration on the river Thames in Greenwich.

The 930-guest, 47,800-ton Viking Sea is the largest ship ever launched in London.

After passing through the Thames Barrier, it received a warm welcome by 28 able sea men, who manned the yardarms of the Cutty Sark and saluted Viking Sea as she arrived in Greenwich.

“It is is a proud day for our Viking family. London is one of my favuorite cities, and Greenwich is a significant port for Viking. We look forward to bringing more guests here this spring and in future years,” said Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking Cruises.

“Our ships are built for exploration; they are vessels that help our guests spend more time immersed in and surrounded by their destination. With the arrival of our second ship – and with four more sister ships on the way – we are focused on introducing travellers to the Viking way of destination-centered cruising, a unique style that was inspired by our success on the rivers.”

During the christening ceremony, Karine Hagen, Viking’s senior vice president and daughter of Torstein Hagen, served as ceremonial godmother.

Several elements of the christening ceremony paid homage to the company’s Norwegian heritage. Instead of champagne for the traditional bottle-breaking, the ship was christened with a bottle of Gammel Opland aquavit.

Following the christening  a fireworks show was held in the middle of the river Thames.

Viking Sea will set sail tomorrow for Bergen, and will continue on to Oslo, Copenhagen, Berlin, St. Petersburg, Tallinn, Helsinki and Stockholm on the popular 15-day Viking Homelands itinerary.

The ship will spend the summer sailing itineraries in Scandinavia and the Baltic; then call in Greenwich again in June as part of Viking’s new Into the Midnight Sun itinerary that sails between London and Bergen and explores the northernmost reaches of Scandinavia and sails across the Arctic Circle.

vikingcruises.co.uk/oceans