For six weeks this summer, Finns will have a unique opportunity to experience the legendary Viking Cinderella, which last visited Helsinki in early 2022. The vessel will take its passengers to Stockholm, where they can enjoy the cheap Swedish krona, or on a day cruise to Tallinn. Viking Cinderella offers holidaymakers both nostalgia and a modern cruise experience for the whole family.
Viking Cinderella was the world's largest car ferry when it was placed in service in 1989 and is still one of the beauties of the Baltic Sea, with its white exterior and panoramic windows extending over three decks. So it is a noteworthy event for many hard-core cruise lovers that the vessel will sail to Helsinki in tandem with M/S Gabriella. At the same time, Viking Line's passenger capacity on the Helsinki–Stockholm route will double during the summer season with the addition of Viking Cinderella's 2,500 berths.
On Viking Cinderella, people can still marvel at the wonderful features of the vessel's original interiors – different kinds of marble, copper and dark wood surfaces – as well as the impressive atrium with a lightwell that runs from Deck 5 to Deck 8. The original look of the interiors has also been preserved in the à la carte restaurant Seaview Dining. However, many other spaces on board have been updated over the years. Some cabins were recently renovated, with double beds replacing bunk beds, in line with passenger requests.
"There is great interest in Cinderella, and ticket sales have been lively ever since we announced that the vessel will return to Helsinki over the summer. For some of our customers, Cinderella is an old friend whereas for others the vessel is a new acquaintance that they absolutely want to experience," says Ninna Suominen, Vice President of Marketing at Viking Line.
"Stockholm is also really attractive this summer. The Swedish krona is cheap, and Stockholm is literally overflowing with interesting events for the whole family. In the city this summer, people can take part in royal festivities: King Carl Gustaf was crowned 50 years ago and Gustav Vasa was crowned 500 years ago. The amusement park Gröna Lund is celebrating its 250th anniversary, and after a visit to the amusement park people can conveniently take the city boat Emelie from the island of Djurgården to the city centre."
On Viking Cinderella, like on all of Viking Line's vessels, many resources have been invested this summer especially in fun for children and young adults. The vessel's conference deck has been converted into Ville Viking Adventure Island, and a new feature this summer is the themed LEGO® Room, where passengers can build with LEGO's new Ninjago products.
For more mature appetites, there are the vessel's four restaurants and elegant Bottega Prosecco Bar, the traditional English Admiral Hornblower´s Pub and the night club Étage, which extends out onto the terraces on the aft deck. Many people who were young in the 1990’s will remember Viking Cinderella in particular for the wild entertainment cruises.
"Whatever the day of the week, it was always a party on Cinderella. On the car deck there was the night club La Strada and Röda torget, a marketplace set up in old train cars where Estonian products were sold – cheese, jam and crystal, for instance. Today it is difficult to imagine anything like that. 'Sintserella' was the Love Boat, the place where a whole lot of love affairs and marriages got their start," says Jamppe Haakana, a former cruise director on Viking Cinderella and today tax-free manager at Viking Glory.
5 facts about Viking Cinderella
- The vessel, built in 1989 at the Perno shipyard in Turku, was the world's largest car ferry during its first years of service.
- In the 1990s, Cinderella was the Baltic Sea's entertainment centre, where top artists liked to appear. A number of Finnish TV programmes were also filmed on the vessel, including Passi ja hammasharja, Noppapotti and Joonas Hytönen Show.
- Over the years, many Finnish sports award ceremonies were held on Cinderella. The Formula One World Drivers' Champion Mika Häkkinen, named Finland's athlete of the year in 1998, nearly caused pandemonium on board when he was surrounded by eager fans.
- In 2003, Cinderella started sailing under a Swedish flag, having changed its name to Viking Cinderella since the name Cinderella was already recorded in Sweden's Ship Registry. The sides of the vessel were painted white, unlike on Viking Line's other vessels, which are painted red and white.
- Over the past 20 years, Viking Cinderella has provided cruise service between Stockholm and Mariehamn. In the summer of 2023, Viking Cinderella will sail the Helsinki–Stockholm route from June 30 to August 6 in tandem with M/S Gabriella and also make day cruises to Tallinn.
