The Viking Mississippi to depart from downtown St. Paul Saturday with 300 passengers heading toward St. Louis
On Saturday, a 386-passenger luxury cruise ship custom built to ply the famous waters of the Mississippi River will dock at Lambert’s Landing in downtown St. Paul, but it won’t stick around for long. By 10 p.m. that night, some 300 passengers from across the globe will board for an eight-day cruise to St. Louis.
The Viking Mississippi will make its long-awaited and repeatedly-delayed inaugural trip from Minnesota’s capital city, the first of what Swiss-based Viking River Cruises has promoted as a regular occurrence. The ship returns to St. Paul from St. Louis on Sept. 17, and then heads out the same day from Lambert’s Landing on the 15-day “America’s Great River” cruise to New Orleans, which is sold out. Another sold-out departure from St. Paul is scheduled in mid-October.
“Nobody does it better than Viking Cruise Lines,” said Terry Mattson, president and chief executive officer of Visit St. Paul, the city’s tourism bureau and convention center operator. “This is huge for us.”
Visit St. Paul, tour operators such as Experience the Twin Cities and downtown promoters such as the St. Paul Downtown Alliance and St. Paul Hotel have waited for literal years for the opportunity to showcase the city and region.
“Very rarely do people fly in on the day they’re going to leave,” Mattson said. “They usually give themselves a day or two on each end, which is good for St. Paul. That’s some well-heeled clientele interested in everything that St. Paul has to offer.”
That said, Mattson acknowledged that the sailing to date hasn’t all been smooth. When the Viking Mississippi sails into downtown on Saturday, it will carry no more than its sizable crew, rather than hundreds of passengers who would have boarded in St. Louis, as previously planned.
A LONG VOYAGE TO THE STARTING LINE
The voyage to the starting line has taken the better part of a decade, spanning a pandemic, supply chain shortages and years of legal wrangling with U.S. regulators. In early 2015, the European river cruise giant — which had gained added prominence by sponsoring break-through television shows such as “Downton Abbey” — announced it would put $1 billion into a new venture sailing from a new home port of New Orleans to St. Paul beginning in late 2017 or shortly thereafter.
That didn’t happen, largely because of century-old legislation known as the Jones Act, which requires that all goods transported by water between U.S. ports be carried on U.S.-flag ships constructed in the U.S., owned by U.S. citizens, and crewed by U.S. citizens and permanent residents.
In March, the U.S. Maritime Administration, or MARAD, reaffirmed its previous opinion that Viking would be allowed an eight-year charter through a U.S.-based partner, vessel builders Edison Chouest Offshore and their limited liability company, River 1 LLC. The charter includes options to renew for up to 30 years.
Also in March, when the Viking Mississippi made its ceremonial debut and first touched water in Louisiana, the international cruise company promoted trips in the lower Mississippi River beginning in June. Trips advertised to and from St. Paul in July and August were later canceled, apparently for last-minute tweaks and repairs that officials suspect have been further complicated by supply chain shortages.
“I couldn’t speak to the details of the delay, but I think that would be a pretty good assumption,” said Mattson, who said last-minute improvements are still unfolding aboard the five-deck, 450-feet-long, 75-feet wide vessel. “What hasn’t been delayed through the pandemic?”
Largely as a result, city and tourism officials have opted for “a low-key arrival” without the “usual pomp and circumstance,” Mattson said. “Let’s just get this first one under our belt.”
SMOOTHER SAILS AHEAD?
Over the course of eight days, the “America’s Heartland” cruise will make stops with guided city tours in Red Wing, Minn., LaCrosse, Wis., Dubuque, Iowa, Quad Cities, Iowa, Burlington, Iowa, Hannibal, Missouri and St. Louis.
“Even though it’s a little later than we planned, it’s still a pretty big deal having this kind of addition to downtown St. Paul,” said Joe Spencer, president of the St. Paul Downtown Alliance, which has helped to coordinate hospitality for the cruise visitors. “It’s a pretty major attraction, whether it’s departing from St. Paul or arriving in St. Paul. I think this will be a pretty cool addition.”
Interested in hopping aboard? Tickets for the Sept. 3 and Sept. 10 “Heartland” trips on the Viking website are sold out. They’re advertised as starting at $4,500 on Aug. 5, 2023. Some tickets may still be available on the secondary market.
