Normally rainy Bergen was bathed in warm spring sunshine for a special ceremony on Viking Cruises’ 47,800-gross-ton Viking Star (built 2015).

The 930-passenger vessel was named in its home port on 17 May 2015. Since then the company has taken delivery of two more €300m ($319m) ships in the same class, the Viking Sea and Viking Sky. All were built at Fincantieri of Italy, where another five firm units and two options are on order.

This time a flag bearing the coat of arms and seal of Bergen was raised, for which the municipal authorities have granted special permission. “I’m very proud the flag is Norwegian and the city is Bergen,” Viking Cruises chairman and chief executive Torstein Hagen told guests, who belted out the famous Bergensiana song “Nystemten” not once, but twice. Most were members of a pensioners' club comprising retired colleagues of Bergenske Dampskibsselskap (BDS), which Hagen led for six years until 1983.

TradeWinds also took a tour of the vessel, whose Scandinavian-inspired interiors are a far cry from the glitz of other cruise brands, led by Hagen himself and head of hotel operations Erling Frydenberg. Highlights include a luxury spa, where treatments are free as part of Viking’s policy to avoid “nickel and diming” their customers. Its Manfredi’s restaurant is named after Hagen’s old friend, Manfredi Lefebvre, who as chairman of Silversea Cruises is nonetheless “a tough competitor”.

As well as a lecture theatre and exhibits of Viking heritage, the ship’s fine art includes digital displays of works by Edvard Munch. “It’s the thinking persons’ cruise line,” Hagen said.

TradeWinds was particularly impressed by the crew. One passenger said their smiles are genuine. “It’s very hard to fake,” said Mrs Ippolito. With 37 cruises under her belt, she should know.

Hagen also took the opportunity to draw a line under accusations made against him and the Viking Star’s godmother, former Bergen mayor Trude Drevland, over its entry in the Norwegian International Ship Register. The case was dismissed in December. “There was absolutely no corruption,” Hagen said.