Viking River Cruises announced that two of the four newbuilds scheduled for a March 21 christening are being delayed. The company said shipyard delays mean the Viking Freya and Viking Njord now have a scheduled delivery date of mid-April. The Viking Odin and Viking Idun will be christened as planned on March 21 in Amsterdam. Two more of Viking’s “Longships” class Viking Embla and Viking Aegir – are still scheduled for delivery in July and August 2012.

“We are disappointed about this change in our 2012 launch schedule, and truly regret any inconvenience that it may cause our guests,” said Torstein Hagen, founder and chairman of Viking River Cruises. 

The rescheduled arrival of Viking Freya and Viking Njord will impact five scheduled sailings, and all affected guests are being contacted to discuss alternate cruise options. Guests booked on impacted sailings have the option to rebook a similar itinerary on a different ship and receive up to a 50 percent credit on a future cruise booking.

For guests who do not choose to rebook, Viking River Cruises is providing a full refund. Travel agent commissions will also be protected. Cancelled sailings are the “Tulips & Windmills” cruises departing March 22, March 31 and April 9 on the Viking Freya and the March 28 and April 6 departures on Viking Njord.