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Viking Cruises is an international company that operates a fleet of river cruising vessels along the rivers of Europe, Russia, Ukraine, China, Southeast Asia, and Egypt; in 2015 it will begin offering ocean cruises as well. Viking has a primary sales office in the United States, secondary sales offices in the United Kingdom and Australia, and operational offices in Switzerland. ==Company history== Viking Cruises, a global corporation with headquarters in the United States, was initially established as Viking River Cruises in 1997 by a Scandinavian and Dutch consortium. Viking River Cruises expanded into the American market in 2000, establishing U.S. headquarters in Los Angeles, California.〔http://www.cybercruises.com/vicetwyeusapr02.htm〕 As a result of acquisitions and new builds, as of 2014, Viking Cruises will operate a fleet of 52 ships with nearly 9,200 berths. The company employs more than 2,500 staff worldwide. River cruises are marketed primarily to English-speaking customers in North America, the UK, and Australia.〔 In the mid-1990s, the company’s founder and chairman, Torstein Hagen, took a river cruise through Russia and decided to create a river cruising company so that others could enjoy similar experiences. Educated at Norwegian Institute of Technology and Harvard Business School, Mr. Hagen was formerly CEO of Royal Viking Line, and also served on the boards of Holland America Line and Kloster Cruise Ltd.〔http://www.milkeninstitute.org/events/gcprogram.taf?function=bio&EventID=GC06&SPID=2213〕 The company started with the purchase of four Russian vessels in 1997. In 2000, Viking purchased the multi-night portion of Europe’s KD River Cruises, founded in 1827.〔Lizz Dinnigan, ''Travel Agent'' magazine cover story, September 10, 2001〕 KD retained its Rhine Line passenger ferries, scheduled services, and day-excursion operations. Viking's combined fleet consisted of 26 river cruise vessels accommodating approximately 4,200 passengers, resulting in Viking managing the largest fleet of river cruise vessels in the world.〔''Insight Guide to Great River Cruises'', 2006, 2007, ISBN 978-981-258-397-0, p. 22〕 The KD acquisition included the landing stages (docks), an extremely valuable asset—Viking owns docks in more European cities than it stops in, ensuring prime docking locations for easy passenger access and the ability to walk directly into town in many ports, while sailing past other ports without stopping. The company expanded into China in April 2004 with Yangtze River "cruisetours" that include hotel stays in various cities like Beijing and Shanghai.〔http://www.sealetter.com/news/viking.html〕 The company's latest acquisition, in 2006, was the UK river cruise specialist Travel Renaissance, which is now known as Viking Cruises in the UK.〔''Insight Guide to Great River Cruises'', 2006, 2007, ISBN 978-981-258-397-0, p. 37〕 On May 17, 2013 the company announced the launch of an ocean cruise division〔http://www.vikingrivercruises.com/media/launch-new-ocean-cruise-line.aspx〕 and modified its name to Viking Cruises. The ocean cruise division focuses on destination-centric cruising in the small ship category, priced for value. Debuting its maiden season in 2015, its first ship, the ''Viking Star'', will sail ocean cruise itineraries in Scandinavia and the Baltic, and on the Mediterranean Sea.〔http://www.travelagentcentral.com/cruises/viking-cruises-lays-keel-first-ocean-ship-viking-star-43998〕 A planned expansion into the United States along the Mississippi River was announced on February 24, 2015. Viking's home port will be New Orleans, Louisiana with vessels cruising north to Memphis, Tennessee, St. Louis, Missouri, or St. Paul, Minnesota, with endpoints varying by season. Service is expected to begin in late 2017 using two ships, with the fleet expanding to six by 2019. Each vessel will have a capacity of about 300. 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「Viking Cruises」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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