MS Viking Glory is a cruiseferry owned and operated by Viking Line. The ship was launched in January 2021 and entered service in March 2022.Viking Glory laskettiin vesille Kiinassa ja tilaisuus lähetettiin netissä - tiedotusjohtaja: "Innokkaimmat haluavat kyytiin jopa Kiinasta saakka", Yle Uutiset 28 January 2021. Accessed on 26 January 2021. Viking Glory was built at the Xiamen Shipbuilding Industry shipyard in China. The order was worth 225 million euro.M/S Viking Glory luovutettu Viking Linelle, Viking Line 23 December 2021. Accessed on 7 January 2022. The ship operates the Turku-Åland-Stockholm route, where she replaced the Amorella.Brännare, Stina: Viking Linen uusi Turusta risteilevä alus oli halvempi tilata Kiinasta – "Suomessa lähes 100 miljoonaa kalliimpi", Yle Uutiset 17 October 2017. Accessed on 5 April 2018.
Viking Glory was built on the foundation of Viking Grace, but her energy efficiency was sought to improve. The ship is slightly longer and wider than Viking Grace, making her nine percent larger.Vastuullisuus 2017 (CEO review) 2018. Viking Line. Accessed on 20 June 2018. In terms of gross tonnage (GT) Viking Glory is the largest cruiseferry on the northern Baltic Sea.Uuden ajan viikinkilaiva Viking Glory - kunniallinen ja ilmastoviisas, Moottori magazine 9 November 2019. Accessed on 2 February 2022.
Viking Glory leaves from Turku in the morning and arrives at Mariehamn together with its sister ship Viking Grace in the afternoon on the same day. The ship stops at Mariehamn for 15 minutes. In the evening the ship arrives in Stockholm and stays there for an hour, after which it continues back towards Turku via Långnäs. Because of this, a full cruise takes 23 hours. Viking Glory usually leaves Turku in the morning, but it has also made evening departures for several days or even a week on end.https://www.vikingline.fi/valitse-matka/aikataulut-yhteydet-satamiin/poikkeusaikataulut/
Decks Deck 11 Kobba Restaurant & Bar, Archipelago Spa & Wellness, Viking Terrace, sun deck Deck 10 The Buffet, Mimmi's Restaurant, Market Restaurant, Bar & Bakery, Vista Room Club / Vista Lounge, Casino, Algoth's Bar, Vista Deck Deck 9 Torget Café & Bar, Conference, Shopping World, Info, Kids' playroom, The Hangout, bridge Deck 8 cabins, crew quarters Deck 7 cabins, outer deck, crew quarters Deck 6 cabins, outer deck, Drivers' club, crew quarters Deck 5 cabins, car dek Deck 4 car deck Deck 3 car deck Deck 2 engine room, kitchen, crew quarters Deck 1 engine room Viking Gloryn kansikartta, Viking Line. Accessed on 19 June 2022.
Services Restaurants Kobba Restaurant and Bar Fyren Mimmi's The Buffet Market Viking Terrace Torget Café & Bar
Bars and nightclubs Vista Room Vista Deck Algoth's
Shops Shopping World Tax Free
Children and youth Kids' playroom (on holidays outside the summer) The Hangout Leikkihuone Adventure Island (in the summer)Pohjapiirros (alustava), Viking Line. Accessed on 2 February 2022.
Wellness Archipelago Spa & Wellness
Others Info Conference
Facts The shellfish restaurant Kobba was named after the island of Kobbaklintar in the Åland islands. The "speakeasy" Algoths next to the Vista room was named after the famous Finnish smuggler Algoth Niska. The hamburger restaurant Mimmi's was named after the female sailor Wilhelmina "Mimmi" Widbom.
Construction The ship was ordered on April 5, 2017Viking Line on allekirjoittanut alusrakennussopimuksen Xiamen Shipbuilding Industry Co:n kanssa, 5 April 2017, Viking Line. Accessed on 27 May 2019. and construction was started in China on September 3, 2018. The keel was landed on June 3, 2019. Nordic companion companies of the ship construction include Wärtsilä, Kone, Deltamarin and Almaco.Viking Linen uutta matkustaja-alusta aletaan rakentaa tänään, 3 September 2018, Viking Line. Accessed on 3 September 2018. Under construction, the working name for the ship was NB 488A.
The ship was launched on January 26, 2021 and delivered to Viking Line in December 2021.Viking Glory luovutettiin Viking Linelle - alus matkaa seuraavaksi Kiinasta Suomeen, Yle Uutiset 23 December 2021. Accessed on 23 December 2021. Viking Glory's first cruise was on March 1, 2022.
The contract included an option for another ship, but Viking Line has not made any announcement about a possible sister ship.Viking Line on allekirjoittanut alusrakennussopimuksen Xiamen Shipbuilding Industry Co:n kanssa, Viking Line. Accessed on 29 March 2022.
Naming contest In spring 2019 a naming contest was held for the ship, where the public could suggest a name for the new ship. Viking Line picked ten finalists from the suggestions, where the public could vote for their favourite. The finalists included names Arielle, Estelle, Glory, Lady, Mary, Panorama, Rose, Sophia, Stelle and Vista.https://www.iltalehti.fi/matkajutut/a/887302e6-e6b4-410b-9202-f1d8f5a23617 The name of the ship was published on May 27, 2019.Nimikilpailun tulos, 27 May 2019, Viking Line. Accessed on 27 May 2019.
Lateness Viking Glory was originally supposed to start traffic in spring 2020. This was later moved to autumn 2020 and then again to spring 2021. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic starting from spring 2020, the delivery of the ship was moved to summer 2021. As the pandemic worsened the delivery was moved again to autumn 2021. On 26 January 2021 the delivery was moved to spring 2022. In the end the delivery was made almost two years late.
Because of the lateness the budget for the ship increased from 194 million Euro to 225 million Euro.
Viking Line is planning to seek compensation from the Xiamen Shipbuilding Industry dockyards because of the late delivery and overflow of the budget.ÅU: Viking Glory saapuu Turkuun vasta joulukuussa - varustamo vaatii kiinalaiselta telakalta korvauksia, Yle Uutiset 27 October 2021. Accessed on 14 January 2022.
According to Jan Hansen, CEO of Viking Line, Viking Glory was the longest and most difficult project in the history of the company.https://www.iltalehti.fi/matkajutut/a/bd03bb73-3444-4c25-b636-c2f9fba775fd
Incidents On 3 August 2022 Viking Glory was travelling from Turku to Stockholm and suffered a power cut at about 11:00 in the morning. The ship continued to Stockholm arriving about an hour late, and continued back to Turku on the same evening. Because of the power cut, the ship Viking Grace on the same route had to wait in Mariehamn for picnic cruise passengers arriving from Viking Glory from Turku for about an hour.Viking Glory kulkee myöhässä teknisen vian vuoksi, Turun Sanomat 3 August 2022. Accessed on 6 February 2026.
Home voyage to Finland and preparations Home voyage From 28 December 2021 to 6 February 2022Viking Glory myöhästyy hieman - saapuu Turkuun aikaisintaan sunnuntaina, Yle Uutiset 2 February 2022. Accessed on 2 February 2022. Viking Glory went on a 41-day-long voyage from Xiamen to Turku via Malesia, Sri Lanka, Djibouti, the Suez canal, Cyprus, the strait of Gibraltar and Copenhagen. In front of Sri Lanka the ship was caught in nets set out by local fishermen.Rosvall, Minna: Kiinassa rakennettu Viking Glory saapui Turun satamaan, Yle Uutiset 6 February 2022. Accessed on 6 February 2022.Viking Glory saapuu Turkuun helmikuun alussa - kalastajien verkot pysäyttivät muuten hyvin edenneen matkan Sri Lankassa, Turun Sanomat 25 January 2022. Accessed on 7 February 2022. By the time Viking Glory arrived at the Suez canal, it had not been registered for the passage list even though it had reserved a passage spot in advance.Viking Glory seilasi läpi Suezin kanavan - "Merimiesjutuissa oli kuin olikin perää", Viking Line. Accessed on 2 February 2022. The ship also had to stay at the Gibraltar harbour for a longer time than expected because of storms on the Atlantic Ocean. Viking Glory arrived at the Port of Turku with celebrations ongoing on 6 February 2022 at about 11:00 in the morning.Kiinassa rakennettu Viking Glory saapui Turun satamaan, takana viisi viikkoa maailman merillä - katso tallenteelta laivan tulo ja kiinnittyminen laituriin, Yle Uutiset 6 February 2022. Accessed on 6 February 2022.
Preparations for traffic From 24 to 26 February 2022 Viking Glory tested docking at the piers in Långnäs, Mariehamn and Stockholm. Because of the large size of the ship, it had to test the conditions at the narrow harbours at Långnäs and Mariehamn.
Maiden voyage The maiden voyage of Viking Glory was held on 1 March 2022. The cruise was sold out quickly, as were many subsequent cruises.Turkuun saapunut jättialus kiinnostaa risteilymatkustajia - jo useita lähtöjä loppuunmyyty: "Edustaa jotain ihan uutta Itämerellä", MTV Uutiset 6 February 2022. Accessed on 6 February 2022.
Inside pictures
References
External links
Site about the ship under construction