'The Vikings are coming, just not on Monday': Mississippi River cruise delayed until September
The inaugural voyage of Viking Cruises' new ship has again been delayed, pushing back its Burlington docking date to Sept. 8.
"Of course, given the unpredictability of river commerce and conditions, that schedule may also change," said Chris Gram, program coordinator for the Greater Burlington Convention and Visitors Bureau. "Given their stature in the industry, it’s no surprise that Viking holds themselves to an incredibly high standard. They are not going to stop working on their beautiful new ship until it’s absolutely perfect and ready for its debut."
The Viking Mississippi, a five-deck, 193-room cruise ship, initially had been expected to arrive in Burlington on July 18, the first of three stops in Iowa it will make on its way upriver from Louisiana. But supply-chain issues pushed back the finishing touches needed on the new ship, and its first docking was rescheduled for Aug. 15.
Chinks in the supply chain have persisted, and the ship most recently had been set to dock alongside the Port of Burlington on Monday.
"I'm 100% confident that the Vikings are coming, just not on Monday," said Greater Burlington Partnership CEO and President Della Schmidt. "Viking wants their first boat excursions to be perfect, and they just don't want to do it if it's not right."
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Viking is far from the only one to have been impacted by the supply-chain issues that have plagued businesses and municipalities during the pandemic. Schmidt said materials ordered to restore lighting to the Great River Bridge connecting Burlington to Illinois have been delayed twice.
"That does happen," Schmidt said, "But the bridge is still going to get lit up this fall."
Burlington is among 14 cities in which the ship will dock along its 2,350-mile America's Great River cruise from New Orleans to St. Paul, Minnesota, and among seven stops along its 2,340-mile America's Heartland cruise from St. Paul to St. Louis.
At each of those stops, guests will be offered excursions.
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In Burlington, they will be able to choose from among six:
Historic Burlington consists of a 3.5-hour motor coach tour whose visits will include Mosquito Park, the Garrett-Phelps House Museum and Snake Alley;
Art Around Burlington, a 3.5-hour excursion featuring Cecile Houel's art studio and the Art Center of Burlington;
Flavors of the Midwest, a 5.5-hour excursion whose stops will include Parkside Brewing Co., Lindon Wines, Wildlife Lakes Elk Farm and The Drake;
Old Fort Madison, a 2.5-hour excursion that will take passengers to the upper Mississippi River Valley's oldest military garrison in Fort Madison as well as a cemetery where 22 soldiers and an unknown number of civilians are buried;
Hinterland Dairy, a 3.5-hour excursion to a family-owned and -operated dairy farm in Donnellson; and
Historic Nauvoo, a three-hour, 45-minute excursion to Nauvoo, Illinois, where Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints founder Joseph Smith and his followers settled in 1839.
Those interested in becoming a tour guide or volunteering for the docking may contact Gram at (319) 752-8731 or cgram@greaterburlington.com.
Michaele Niehaus covers business, development, environment and agriculture for The Hawk Eye. She can be reached at mniehaus@thehawkeye.com.
This article originally appeared on The Hawk Eye: Viking cruise delayed; Burlington docking pushed to Sept. 8
