Viking Mississippi cruise ship touches water for first time

HOUMA, La. (AP) — Viking’s highly-anticipated voyages on the Mississippi River, between New Orleans and St. Paul, Minnesota, is a step closer to reality. The company on Monday (March 7, 2022) celebrated the “float out” of its new 386-guest Viking Mississippi ship, marking a major construction milestone and the first time the ship has touched water. The event happened at Edison Chouest Offshore’s LaShip shipyard in Houma, Louisiana, and the company said in a news release that it denotes a ship moving into its final stage of construction. The ship is set to debut in June. Its ports of call include seven states: Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota.