Big Month for River Cruises - Three Lines Christen 12 New Ships

In a big month for river cruise ship christenings, actress, L’Oreal spokesmodel and philanthropist Andie MacDowell was recently named the Godmother of Uniworld Boutique River Crusies' Queen Isabel. The ceremony took place in Porto, Portugal on March 22, 2013, and guests at the event were entertained by singer Michael Bolton.

Uniworld’s Queen Isabel is setting sail for her her maiden voyage later this week on March 28, 2013, with a sold-out ship. She will have a 118 passenger capacity, which allows Uniworld to offer 18 junior suites at 215 square feet, and two bigger suites at 323 square feet on the top deck alongside full balconies, and staterooms on the mid-deck with French balconies. 

Just last week, Viking River Cruises christened 10 of its new Longships in two locations – waterside in Amsterdam and at Neptun Werft, the Rostock, Germany, shipyard. Each of the ships have their own individually appointed Godmother, and approximately 1,000 guests attended the multiple christening ceremonies.

Six of the new ships christened - Viking Atla, Viking Forseti, Viking Jarl, Viking Rinda, Viking Tor and Viking Var - were in Rostock. Of the four new ships christened waterside in Amsterdam, two - Viking Bragi and Viking Skadia - are completely new. Two others - Viking Aegir and Viking Embla – were placed in service last year but had not been previously christened. Additionally, three of Viking's ships that launched in 2012 - Viking Freya, Viking Njord and Viking Odin - were also docked in Amsterdam for the event.

Click here to take a more detailed look at the new vessels from Viking River Cruises.

Earlier this month, Sharon Stone was named the Godmother of AmaWaterways' AmaVida, and went on to christen the ship on March 22. The AmaVida will cruise exclusively in  Portugal's pristine Douro River Valley. In an effort to be as environmentally responsible as possible, the AmaVida's design has photovoltaic solar panels on the Sun Deck to generate energy for the ship's operating systems.

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