Hydrogen aboard, and what that means exactly
Viking Neptune carries a hydrogen fuel cell module rated at one hundred
kilowatts. The yard and the line presented it as a world first on a cruise ship,
and it is one.
Here is what it does not mean. The module is a test bed meant to validate the
technology aboard, not the ship's propulsion. One hundred kilowatts, on a hull
of 47,842 gross tons, supplies a fraction of the ship's needs. The announced
next step aims at a multi-megawatt system, which would allow emission-free
operation alongside. That system is intended for a future ship, not this one.
We write this caveat because it travels badly. A traveller who books
believing they are boarding a hydrogen ship is mistaken, and the disappointment
would be nobody's fault but whoever wrote the short version.
The hull
Two hundred and twenty-eight metres, 47,842 gross tons, nine decks, 930 guests
in 465 cabins all fitted with a veranda, about 465 crew. Delivered in November
2022. Viking Saturn is its closest sister in age, and Viking Jupiter shares the same hull with a
planetarium added.
Elsewhere in the fleet
Viking Vela belongs to a newer and larger series whose machinery is prepared for a
future hydrogen conversion. Viking Sky is a strict sister of this ship.
Included, and not included
Included: one excursion per port, all meals, beer and wine at the two main
meals, Wi-Fi with Viking's own note that speed varies, access to the Nordic Spa
and the fitness centre, port taxes and fees.
Not included: gratuities. It is the point travellers used to high-end river
cruising notice first, because the practice there is often the reverse. They are
prepaid or settled aboard.
Also not included: optional excursions, drinks outside mealtimes, spa
treatments and flights outside the line's air package.
A ship without a casino or a kids' club
Viking fits no casino, no children's programme, no production show and no
formal night. The fleet is for eighteen and over, checked on embarkation day.
Cabins have no third berth: there is physically no room for a family.
The line's founder explained the choice by the time spent ashore. In the
evening, the ship's life sits in lectures, a pianist, a quartet and a library.
It is not less. It is something else.
From Montreal
The port of embarkation is reached by air, with a connection in most cases.
Arriving the day before is the prudent rule. On polar itineraries, where the
flight ends at Ushuaia or Longyearbyen, the margin should be wider still.
Voyages AquaTerra operates under a licence from Quebec's Office de la
protection du consommateur. Your payments are held in the trust account required
by the Travel Agents Act, and the Compensation Fund for Customers of Travel
Agents covers your file.
