Viking River Cruises Recognized

[Jason]

Named Best Overall River Cruise Line by both Agents and Editors

LOS ANGELES, June 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Viking River Cruises was honored with both the 2006 WAVE Award and "Editor's Pick" Award in the category of Best Overall Cruise Line for River Cruising on June 1 in Las Vegas during the first annual TravelAge West Western Agents' Votes of Excellence (WAVE) Awards. In addition to the river cruise category award, Viking River Cruises also received the "Editor's Pick" Award for the Most Effective and Informative Advertising Campaign.

Over 110 companies, individuals and destinations were recognized by the readers of TravelAge West at the WAVE Awards ceremony. Honorees were recognized in 31 categories spanning the cruise, tour operator, car rental, hotel, resort, and destination travel fields. The awards gave travel agents in the Western United States the opportunity to recognize outstanding travel supplier partners.

"We're thrilled to be named as the best overall river cruise line," noted Mike Wiersema, Vice President, Sales, Viking River Cruises. "It reinforces our dedication to the agents and our willingness to go the extra mile in helping them get happy clients."

WAVE Awards are awarded on the basis of votes by the trade. Travel agent professionals throughout the 14 Western states and readers of TravelAge West were invited to vote on the best-of-the-best from a list of "Editor's Pick" Award recipients chosen by Editor-in-Chief Ken Shapiro and the editorial team of TravelAge West. Review methods included product analysis, on-site visits, a survey of a select group of travel agents and online research.

"At TravelAge West, we pride ourselves on our first-hand reports from the field. Our destination stories are about the on-site experience of a place and these awards are an extension of our expertise," said Shapiro. "For each category, the editors on our staff did extensive research. All of the recipients should feel proud of their achievement."

"The WAVE Awards are a celebration of excellence ... excellence in business, in industry and in our partnerships," said Michelle Rosenberg, publisher of TravelAge West. "Both our Editor's Pick award recipients and our WAVE winners have consistently demonstrated excellence within the travel marketplace."

TravelAge West will also feature Viking River Cruises in a special WAVE Awards Spotlight Issue due out in September 2006.