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The Royal Viking Line was an upmarket cruise line that operated from 1972 until 1998. The company was the brain child of Warren Titus〔Maxtone-Graham, John ''Crossing and Cruising'' New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1992.〕 and had its headquarters at One Embarcadero Center in San Francisco. == History == Each of the line's initial three vessels was owned by one of its initial investing partners. The first, the ''Royal Viking Star'', was completed in July, 1972. Its owner was Bergenske Dampskibsselskab (Bergen Line). The second, the ''Royal Viking Sky'', was owned by Nordenfjeldske Dampskibsselskab of Trondheim. She was completed in July 1973. The third ship, the ''Royal Viking Sea'', was ready in December of the same year. Her owner was A. F. Klaveness & Co, Oslo.〔Dawson, Philip ''Cruise Ships: An Evolution in Design'' London: Conway Maritime Press, 2000.〕 Warren S. Titus became the first president of Royal Viking Line, which established its US head office in San Francisco. The ships were all built by Wärtsilä Helsinki New Shipyard, Finland, and were each approximately and nearly identical in appearance, with a tall superstructure and a single, scooped funnel. However, the ''Star'' was two feet shorter (581 feet), 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 the ''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 the ''Royal Viking Sky'' and ''Royal Viking Star'' became the first sister ships to have transited the Panama Canal simultaneously in different directions, the ''Sky'' sailing westbound and the ''Star'' eastbound. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Royal Viking Line」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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