When last we talked about new line Viking Ocean Cruises, a sister-line to Viking River Cruises, it had just ordered two 47,000-ton, 944-passenger luxury cruise ships from Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri. Now, this week, the fledgling line — essentially a relaunch of the old Royal Viking Line, led by Royal Viking CEO and Viking River Cruises founder Torstein Hagen — has doubled down, signing an agreement with Fincantieri for two more sister-vessels, and with an option for two more on top of that.

“This additional order indicates just how strong early response has been to our ocean cruise concept which focuses on small ship destination cruising at a great value," said Torstein Hagen in the press release announcing the order. "We are very excited to have Fincantieri as a partner as we work to bring the destination back to ocean cruising.”

Royal Viking Line was the top name in luxury cruising between 1972 and the late 1980s, when it was purchased first by Kloster/Norwegian Caribbean Line and then by Cunard Line, which eventually folded its ships into its own fleet. The new and clearly gung-ho Viking initiative represents the most significant recent investment in the luxury segment of the cruise industry, outdistancing Seabourn's three-ship construction flurry of 2009–2011. The first of the new Viking ships are scheduled to launch in early 2015 and early 2016. The two newly ordered sisters will presumably follow.