Why isn’t there a Viking Mercury?

[SJD117]

Viking’s ship-naming convention is consistent. The company has been marching steadily through the solar system. The Venus, the Mars, the Jupiter, the Saturn, the Neptune…you get the idea.

 

But wait a minute! What about that planet closest to the sun? Why hasn’t Mercury gotten its own ship? After all, the name was good enough for Queen’s lead singer, Freddie Mercury. (RIP Freddie) Shouldn’t it also be good enough for Viking?

 

There must be highly educated planetologists on Cruise Critic. Please weigh in so we can get to the bottom of this! 
 

 

[dd57]

And to add some controversy - should there be a Pluto?

[CCWineLover]

17 minutes ago, dd57 said:

And to add some controversy - should there be a Pluto?

Or Uranus?

[Peregrina651]

They haven't been marching so much as meandering through the planets; and, do you really thinking they are stopping with 9 ships? So, we still have time for Mercury and maybe Pluto before we have to start guessing where they are going from there.  We have an Orion, so maybe back to constellations and stars?

[OneSixtyToOne]

Mercury is in retrograde 

[TayanaLorna]

6 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

They haven't been marching so much as meandering through the planets; and, do you really thinking they are stopping with 9 ships? So, we still have time for Mercury and maybe Pluto before we have to start guessing where they are going from there.  We have an Orion, so maybe back to constellations and stars?

Betelguese, Southern Cross, Milky Way endless names.

[CCWineLover]

1 hour ago, TayanaLorna said:

Betelguese, Southern Cross, Milky Way endless names.

I personally like:  Andromeda 

 

[LindaS272]

8 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

Mercury is in retrograde 

Not for much longer. It’s been a bear this time! April 19~May 10.

Edited May 9, 2023 by LindaS272

[OneSixtyToOne]

1 hour ago, LindaS272 said:

Not for much longer. It’s been a bear this time! April 19~May 10.

https://www.ismercuryinretrograde.com/

[LindaS272]

Close! That’s why the tilda ~😉.

[Heidi13]

The naming convention of the Viking Ocean ships started with the same names as the ships of Royal Viking Line, of which Mr Hagen was CEO. The first 4 ships were almost in the same sequence

 - VO: Star, Sea, Sky, Sun

 - RVL: Star, Sky, Sea, Sun

 

Viking's 5th ship was Orion and all subsequent ones have been planets, so the next one might be Mercury, Uranus, Earth or even Pluto😁

[Jim Avery]

52 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

The naming convention of the Viking Ocean ships started with the same names as the ships of Royal Viking Line, of which Mr Hagen was CEO. The first 4 ships were almost in the same sequence

 - VO: Star, Sea, Sky, Sun

 - RVL: Star, Sky, Sea, Sun

 

Viking's 5th ship was Orion and all subsequent ones have been planets, so the next one might be Mercury, Uranus, Earth or even Pluto😁

Queen Karine??  Has a nice ring to it...

[ssaxsma]

While we were on Polaris in February, the future cruise salesperson let us know the names of the next two Ocean ships. One was predictable, the other one was not (but I rather like it - it continues the theme while also helping to fill a "hole" in the ship naming now that one has departed), but neither happens to be Uranus (though that could be planned for a future one).

Edited May 9, 2023 by ssaxsma
Typo

[aungrl]

20 minutes ago, ssaxsma said:

While we were on Polaris in February, the future cruise salesperson let us know the names of the next two Ocean ships. One was predictable, the other one was not (but I rather like it - it continues the theme while also helping to fill a "hole" in the ship naming now that one has departed), but neither happens to be Uranus (though that could be planned for a future one).

Did he swear you to secrecy, or can you share?

[ssaxsma]

Just now, aungrl said:

Did he swear you to secrecy, or can you share?

I/He did not, but I don't know want to "get in trouble" with my fave cruise line either in case they're monitoring and might care. The way he said it, it was so forthcoming and unprompted (I didn't even ask), as if he was telling me something that everyone was going to know soon enough anyway so he may as well share, though, so I'm rather surprised that 3 months later it's something I've still not heard/read anywhere else.

[Heidi13]

39 minutes ago, Jim Avery said:

Queen Karine??  Has a nice ring to it...

 

Also has links to the RVL naming, as their 5th ship was RV Queen, but that was long after Mr Hagen left the company.

[CurlerRob]

14 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

... so the next one might be Mercury, Uranus, Earth or even Pluto

 

I'd bet against Pluto, as it was demoted from full planetary status to that of a "dwarf planet" or "extreme trans-Neptunian object" (ETNO) ... (try saying that quickly).

 

However, there is theoretical work suggesting the possibility of a new "Planet Nine" further out than Pluto. Some have offered that, if it was confirmed to exist, the name "Persephone" would be appropriate, as she was Pluto's wife.

 

Also a much nicer ship name than mimicking a Disney dog! 🍺🥌

[SJD117]

A little research helps...

 

In 2018, before Viking decided to name its newest ship the Orion, the company was considering naming the ship after a planet. A reporter at a press event suggested the Mercury. Viking's response? "Don't like it," said Hagen's daughter.

 

Since then, Viking has named several ships after planets -- but not after Mercury. Is it because Karine didn't like the name in 2018? Does she like the name now? Inquiring minds want to know! 

 

https://www.travelmarketreport.com/Cruise/articles/Viking-Ocean-Cruises-Names-Newest-Ship-from-Onboard-Viking-Sky

[FetaCheese]

We sailed on X Mercury, a wonderful ship.  Perhaps X still owns the name.

 

Persephone -- Mythological Queen of the Underworld.  

Edited May 10, 2023 by FetaCheese
Addl info

[SJD117]

50 minutes ago, FetaCheese said:

We sailed on X Mercury, a wonderful ship.  Perhaps X still owns the name.

 

Persephone -- Mythological Queen of the Underworld.  

TUI Cruises acquired and renamed the Celebrity Mercury in 2010.

[Berlin Bear]

7 hours ago, SJD117 said:

TUI Cruises acquired and renamed the Celebrity Mercury in 2010.

Which went on to be Mein Schiff 2 and then Mein Schiff Herz and has now moved to Marella and will reappear as Marelle Voyager

[SailorPaulH]

I read somewhere that the deliveries of future VOC ships from 2024 onwards will be ships that are longer (to allow incorporation of fuel cell tech) and will have more staterooms. So perhaps there will be a different series of naming conventions.

[photopro2]

Back in 2018 it was widely reported that ship number eight (which has just gone into service as the Viking Saturn) would be called the Viking Tellus. This name is not (as some might expect 😉) a nod towards towards Viking customer services. In fact it is another name for the planet Earth 🌍

 

Tellus was the Roman counterpart of the Greek earth goddess Gaia. It is suggested that the word Tellus became used in Latin as a personification for the Earth as a whole rather than "terra" which related more to physical properties of earth, in the same way that "aqua" related to water.

 

Hence the phrase "Tellus Mater" (literally Mother Earth) or simply "Tellus" became the name which was used for our planet by Latin speaking scholars into the renaissance and beyond. 

 

So, while the name was not applied to ship number eight as expected, it may come up again further down the line.

[LindaS272]

Isn’t Saturn #9? I think the Sun still figures in the count, though sold to China.

[photopro2]

57 minutes ago, LindaS272 said:

Isn’t Saturn #9?

Sorry - that would be right. In that case it was Neptune that would have been Tellus.