Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Royal Viking Line
The Royal Viking Line was a luxury cruise line that operated from 1972 until 1998. The company was the brainchild of Warren Titus and had its headquarters at One Embarcadero Center in San Francisco, California.
Each of the line's initial three vessels was owned by one of its initial investing partners. The first, Royal Viking Star, was completed in July, 1972. Its owner was Bergenske Dampskibsselskab (Bergen Line). The second, Royal Viking Sky, was owned by Nordenfjeldske Dampskibsselskab of Trondheim. She was completed in July 1973. The third ship, Royal Viking Sea, was ready in December of the same year. Her owner was A. F. Klaveness & Co, Oslo.
Warren S. Titus became the first president of Royal Viking Line, which established its United States head office in San Francisco.
The ships were all built by Wärtsilä Helsinki New Shipyard, Finland, and were each approximately 21,500 gross register tons (GRT) and nearly identical in appearance, with a tall superstructure and a single, scooped Queen Elizabeth 2-esque funnel. However, the Royal Viking Star was two feet (0.61 m) shorter (581 feet, 177 m), and her interior arrangement differed slightly from her two fleet-mates. Each ship featured a double-height theatre occupying an interior space on the two lowest passenger decks; however, on Royal Viking Star the space just forward of the theatre on the higher of these decks was occupied by a chapel, a feature not found on either of her fleet-mates nor any of the Scandinavian-built cruise ships of that generation. Other differences included the placement of small lounges and facilities such as the library.
These vessels were intended for longer voyages to exotic destinations, and a significant percentage of the line's passengers were wealthy retirees. As such, they featured numerous single staterooms and suites, and thus their capacity was only about 550 compared to 750–850 on similarly-sized ships of other lines. Royal Viking Line prided itself on single-seating dining, and the restaurant was situated unusually high in the ship, with large windows. Another popular feature was a glass-enclosed lounge high atop the bridge, which afforded excellent views. On May 1, 1976, Royal Viking Sky and Royal Viking Star became the first sister ships to transit the Panama Canal simultaneously in different directions, with Royal Viking Sky sailing westbound and Royal Viking Star eastbound.
Beginning in 1980, under the leadership of then CEO Torstein Hagen, each of the three ships was stretched to 28,000 GRT by adding a 93-foot (28 m) prefabricated midships section at the AG Weser shipyard in Bremerhaven. This increased each ship's capacity by 200 passengers and mainly included the addition of cabins. The size of the main restaurant was also doubled and now occupied nearly half of one deck in order to maintain single-seating dining. Royal Viking Star was stretched in 1981, followed by Royal Viking Sky in 1982 and Royal Viking Sea in 1983. The lengthening of the ships improved both their profiles and their economics. In 1984, Hagen arranged a $240 million management buyout of the company, with the assistance of venture capital firm JH Whitney.[citation needed] After the buyout had been announced, but before it closed, the two companies owning Royal Viking decided to sell the company instead to Norwegian Caribbean Line, then part of the Kloster group.
The offices were moved to Coral Gables, Florida, and Warren Titus departed in 1987. While under Kloster ownership, Royal Viking built a fourth ship, Royal Viking Sun. Constructed by Wärtsilä in Turku, Finland, she was 38,848 GT and carried 850 passengers. The final ship built for Royal Viking was Royal Viking Queen completed in 1992. She was just 9,961 GT, carrying only 212 passengers and sharing a general arrangement with Seabourn Pride and Seabourn Spirit of Seabourn Cruise Line; the new home of Warren Titus.
In 1990 and 1991, Kloster moved Royal Viking Star and Royal Viking Sky to its Norwegian Cruise Line brand, where they became Westward and Sunward and Royal Viking Sea to its Royal Cruise Line brand, where she took the name Royal Odyssey.
Hub AI
Royal Viking Line AI simulator
(@Royal Viking Line_simulator)
Royal Viking Line
The Royal Viking Line was a luxury cruise line that operated from 1972 until 1998. The company was the brainchild of Warren Titus and had its headquarters at One Embarcadero Center in San Francisco, California.
Each of the line's initial three vessels was owned by one of its initial investing partners. The first, Royal Viking Star, was completed in July, 1972. Its owner was Bergenske Dampskibsselskab (Bergen Line). The second, Royal Viking Sky, was owned by Nordenfjeldske Dampskibsselskab of Trondheim. She was completed in July 1973. The third ship, Royal Viking Sea, was ready in December of the same year. Her owner was A. F. Klaveness & Co, Oslo.
Warren S. Titus became the first president of Royal Viking Line, which established its United States head office in San Francisco.
The ships were all built by Wärtsilä Helsinki New Shipyard, Finland, and were each approximately 21,500 gross register tons (GRT) and nearly identical in appearance, with a tall superstructure and a single, scooped Queen Elizabeth 2-esque funnel. However, the Royal Viking Star was two feet (0.61 m) shorter (581 feet, 177 m), and her interior arrangement differed slightly from her two fleet-mates. Each ship featured a double-height theatre occupying an interior space on the two lowest passenger decks; however, on Royal Viking Star the space just forward of the theatre on the higher of these decks was occupied by a chapel, a feature not found on either of her fleet-mates nor any of the Scandinavian-built cruise ships of that generation. Other differences included the placement of small lounges and facilities such as the library.
These vessels were intended for longer voyages to exotic destinations, and a significant percentage of the line's passengers were wealthy retirees. As such, they featured numerous single staterooms and suites, and thus their capacity was only about 550 compared to 750–850 on similarly-sized ships of other lines. Royal Viking Line prided itself on single-seating dining, and the restaurant was situated unusually high in the ship, with large windows. Another popular feature was a glass-enclosed lounge high atop the bridge, which afforded excellent views. On May 1, 1976, Royal Viking Sky and Royal Viking Star became the first sister ships to transit the Panama Canal simultaneously in different directions, with Royal Viking Sky sailing westbound and Royal Viking Star eastbound.
Beginning in 1980, under the leadership of then CEO Torstein Hagen, each of the three ships was stretched to 28,000 GRT by adding a 93-foot (28 m) prefabricated midships section at the AG Weser shipyard in Bremerhaven. This increased each ship's capacity by 200 passengers and mainly included the addition of cabins. The size of the main restaurant was also doubled and now occupied nearly half of one deck in order to maintain single-seating dining. Royal Viking Star was stretched in 1981, followed by Royal Viking Sky in 1982 and Royal Viking Sea in 1983. The lengthening of the ships improved both their profiles and their economics. In 1984, Hagen arranged a $240 million management buyout of the company, with the assistance of venture capital firm JH Whitney.[citation needed] After the buyout had been announced, but before it closed, the two companies owning Royal Viking decided to sell the company instead to Norwegian Caribbean Line, then part of the Kloster group.
The offices were moved to Coral Gables, Florida, and Warren Titus departed in 1987. While under Kloster ownership, Royal Viking built a fourth ship, Royal Viking Sun. Constructed by Wärtsilä in Turku, Finland, she was 38,848 GT and carried 850 passengers. The final ship built for Royal Viking was Royal Viking Queen completed in 1992. She was just 9,961 GT, carrying only 212 passengers and sharing a general arrangement with Seabourn Pride and Seabourn Spirit of Seabourn Cruise Line; the new home of Warren Titus.
In 1990 and 1991, Kloster moved Royal Viking Star and Royal Viking Sky to its Norwegian Cruise Line brand, where they became Westward and Sunward and Royal Viking Sea to its Royal Cruise Line brand, where she took the name Royal Odyssey.