Viking Star, the first of three cruise ships which Fincantieri is constructing for the California-headquartered cruse liner company Viking Ocean Cruises, was handed over March 28 at Marghera shipyard.

Viking Star, like its two sister ships Viking Sea and Viking Sky, are intended to operate in the small cruise ship segment.

The ship features a gross tonnage of about 47,800 tons and 465 cabins with accommodation for 930 passengers.

The ceremony was attended by Torstein Hagen, founder and chairman of Viking Cruises, while Fincantieri was represented, among others, by Giuseppe Bono, CEO.

Viking Star will take on her first guests on April 11. She will then set sail from Istanbul, making her way through the Mediterranean and into the Atlantic on her way to be officially christened May 17 in Bergen, Norway.