Viking names two newest Nile River ships in Luxor

Viking named its two of its newest river ships, the Viking Hathor and the Viking Sobek, with a special celebration in Luxor, Egypt this week.

The Hon. Edward Herbert, served as ceremonial godfather of the Viking Hathor; his great-great-grandfather, the 5th Earl of Carnarvon, was Howard Carter’s benefactor and co-explorer, whose excavation uncovered the tomb of King Tutankhamen near Luxor almost exactly 102 years ago on November 4, 1922.

Mohamed El Banna, founder of Cosmos Egypt and a member of the Egyptian Senate, served as the ceremonial godfather of the Viking Sobek.

The Viking Hathor and the Viking Sobek are identical sister ships to the Viking Aton and the Viking Osiris and are state-of-the-art vessels designed specifically to navigate the Nile River on Viking’s popular 12-day Pharaohs & Pyramids itinerary and built at Massara shipyard in Cairo.

"Today, we are proud to welcome the Viking Hathor and the Viking Sobek to our growing fleet in Egypt. Along with their sister ships, we believe they are by far the most elegant vessels on the Nile,” said Torstein Hagen, Chairman and CEO of Viking, in a press release.

The naming ceremony of the Viking Hathor and the Viking Sobek took place at Viking’s exclusive docking location in Luxor and was followed by a celebratory dinner inside the nearby Karnak Temple.

Viking’s guests also enjoyed a performance by Sissel Kyrkjebø, one of the world’s leading crossover sopranos and godmother of the Viking Jupiter, who sang the Egyptian, Norwegian and United Kingdom’s national anthems in their native languages.

Viking's growing Egypt fleet

Hosting 82 guests in 41 staterooms, the new Viking Hathor and Viking Sobek are inspired by Viking’s river and ocean ships with the Scandinavian design for which Viking is known.

An identical sister ship to the Viking Osiris and the Viking Aton, the Viking Hathor and Viking Sobek feature several aspects familiar to Viking guests, such as a distinctive square bow and an indoor/outdoor Aquavit Terrace.

Other ships in the Egypt fleet include the Viking Ra and the MS Antares. Viking plans to welcome four additional ships in the next two years—the Viking Amun and the Viking Thoth in 2025 and the Viking Sekhmet and the Viking Ptah in 2026—which would bring Viking’s fleet to 10 vessels on the Nile River.

Viking's Pharaohs & Pyramids itinerary

During the 12-day Pharaohs & Pyramids itinerary, guests begin with a three-night stay at a first-class hotel in Cairo, where they can visit iconic sites such as the Great Pyramids of Giza, the necropolis of Sakkara, the Mosque of Muhammad Ali, or the Grand Egyptian Museum.

Guests then fly to Luxor, where they visit the Temples of Luxor and Karnak before boarding a Viking river ship for an eight-day roundtrip cruise on the Nile River, featuring visits to the tomb of Nefertari in the Valley of the Queens and the tomb of Tutankhamen in the Valley of the Kings, and excursions to the Temple of Khnum in Esna, the Dendera Temple complex in Qena, the temples at Abu Simbel and the High Dam in Aswan, and a visit to a colorful Nubian village, where guests can experience a traditional elementary school.

Finally, the journey concludes with a flight back to Cairo for a final night in the ancient city.