This is some kinda record, for sure: This week, Viking River Cruises announced that it had ordered ten new vessels on its 190-passenger "Viking Longship" design, bringing the total number of Viking river vessels on order or introduced over the past year to 24.

"The river cruise segment is rapidly growing, as more travelers are inspired to experience old destinations in a new way," said Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking River Cruises, in a press release. "Because of the overwhelmingly positive response we have seen from our passengers in the first season of our revolutionary new Viking Longships, we are pleased to continue our expansion to meet that demand."

Viking launched the first four of its Viking Longships in March 2012, and plans to follow that up with the simultaneous launch of eight more this coming March, in Amsterdam. Like the previous and other currently on-order Longships, the vessels ordered this week will be built at Germany's Neptun Yard, an affiliate company of Meyer Werft, one of the best and most prolific builders of large cruise ships.

The Viking Longships all offer classy, wide-open, and light-filled designs by Yran & Storbraaten, the naval architects behind the look of Seabourn’s, Disney’s, and Oceania’s newest ships. Highlights include eight different accommodation types, starting at 150-square-foot standard staterooms and working on up to 445-square-foot large suites, and including 47 cabins with balconies and another 22 with “French balconies” (sliding balcony doors with a railing you can lean against just outside). Highlighting the ships’ public areas is the indoor-outdoor Aquavit Terrace, offering spectacular views and al fresco dining at the bow of the ships.

In addition to the river ships, Viking River Cruises' start-up sister company, Viking Ocean Cruises, currently has four 47,000-ton, 944-passenger luxury cruise ships on order with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri. More on that here.