Karine Hagen

Karine Hagen is your host in these award-winning short films sharing some of her favourite insights into world cultures. Be they aspects of local lives, working worlds, or sharing privileged access to places few have the opportunity to visit. A native of Norway, Karine is executive vice president at Viking, and lived in the UK, US, Russia and Asia, and speaks seven languages. She is a great believer in the power of travel to change the world.

Sissel Kyrkjebø

Sissel is recognized as one of the world’s leading crossover sopranos and is responsible for many of Norway’s most treasured musical memories. She has released more than 20 albums in a variety of languages including English, Swedish, Danish, Italian and, of course, her native Norwegian. Sissel has collaborated and shared the stage with many international superstars within such different musical styles as classical, punk, hip-hop, folk, pop and jazz. Sissel has been part of the Viking family since we launched our first ocean ship, and we are proud and honored to have her as the godmother of the Viking Jupiter.

Geir Magne Røvik

Rooted in Nordic ancestry (mother was originally from Lom, Gudbrandsdalen; father came from Gjemnes, Nordmøre), Geir Magne Røvik grew up in the Grorud Valley close to Nordmarka, about 20 km from Nittedal, close to where the Hagen family originated. It is likely Geir shared the same hiking and skiing grounds as the Hagens, particularly on the downhill slopes of Varingskollen, an alpine area just 30 minutes north of Oslo.

“Geir” is derived from the Old Norse name for spear, while “Magne” means to be mighty. A name befitting Geir, a wooden shipbuilder, who specializes in Nordic traditions and Viking shipbuilding. He is one of the founders of the Oseberg Ship project in Tønsberg and was responsible for the famous replica of the Oseberg ship Saga Oseberg, which he also masters as one of her captains.

Torstein Hagen

A Norway native, Torstein (Tor) Hagen's experience in the shipping and cruise industries spans 40 years, including having led Viking since the company’s establishment in 1997. He earned a degree in physics at the Norwegian Institute of Technology, where he completed his master’s thesis related to artificial intelligence in 1966. He was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study computers at Wesleyan University in the United States, and received an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1968.

Tor Jaran Apold

Tor Jaran Apold has been part of every single Viking ocean naming ceremony since 2014. He is one of Norway’s highly acclaimed violinists, partly for his unique, gripping arrangements of Edvard Grieg, Ole Bull and stunning Norwegian hymns, and partly for the very special combination of delicacy and power he displays when he plays his priceless violin, made in the year 1760.

Nicole Stott

A veteran NASA astronaut, Nicole Stott’s experience includes two spaceflights and 104 days spent living and working in space on both the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station (ISS). She performed one space walk and was the first person to fly the robotic arm to capture the free-flying HTV cargo vehicle, the last crew member to fly to and from their ISS mission on a Space Shuttle, and a member of the crew of the final flight of Space Shuttle Discovery, STS-133. Nicole is also a NASA aquanaut who lived and worked on the Aquarius Undersea Habitat for 18 days. She is the author of Back to Earth: What Life In Space Taught Me About Our Home Planet – And Our Mission To Protect It. Also an artist, Nicole painted the first watercolor painting in space—and is a co-founder of the Space for Art Foundation, which unites a planetary community of children through the awe and wonder of space exploration and the healing power of art. Nicole is the godmother of our state-of-the-art expedition vessel, the Viking Neptune.