Viking names two newest Nile river ships in Luxor

Viking, one of the leading river and ocean cruise companies has just named a couple of its newest river vessels. The two ships are called Viking Hathor and the Viking Sobek.

The Honourable 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 4th November 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. “We are very grateful for our continued close friendship with the Carnarvon family and that Eddie has honoured us by serving as the godfather of the Viking Hathor. For more than 15 years, Mohamed El Banna has been a part of the extended Viking family, helping to take good care of our guests in Egypt, and it is a great honour that he is serving as the godfather of the Viking Sobek. As our award-winning fleet on the Nile continues to grow, we look forward to introducing even more curious travellers to this phenomenal destination.”

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.

The Viking Hathor, the Viking Sobek & Viking's Growing Egypt Fleet

Hosting 82 guests in 41 staterooms, the new Viking Hathor and Viking Sobek are inspired by Viking’s award-winning river and ocean ships with the elegant 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 was rated #1 for Rivers, as well as #1 for Oceans and #1 for Expeditions, by Condé Nast Traveller in the 2024 Readers’ Choice Awards for the second consecutive year. This achievement marked the first time a travel company won these three categories in back-to-back years. Viking’s Egypt ships have also been included in Condé Nast Traveler’s “Hot List” for the last two years. Viking was also named a “Best Luxury River Cruise of 2024” in Forbes’ “Best Luxury Cruises” list. Additionally, TIME magazine featured both Giza and Saqqara on its “World’s Greatest Places” 2023 list, mentioning sailing the Nile River with Viking. TIME notes that Viking is among the very few who stop in both Giza and the village of Sakkara, where excavation sites, like the megatombs of animal and human mummies, are active.

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 colourful 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.