Valerie Wilson is godmother for Swan Hellenic's SH Diana

Wilson, with more than 40 years of travel industry experience, is the founder and CEO of Valerie Wilson Travel, based in New York City. She is chairman emeritus of Virtuoso's Global Member Advisory Board and the recipient of numerous awards including lifetime achievement from Virtuoso and Travel Weekly.

Will accompany maiden voyage, delayed to May 4

Following SH Diana's naming festivities, Wilson will sail as a VIP group host on the May 4 maiden cruise, 'Norway Explored,' to Tromsø. The maiden voyage had been planned for April 15, but is delayed.  

After visiting Germany’s Heligoland archipelago, SH Diana will call at Mandal in southern Norway and continue up the coast to Tromsø, north of the Arctic Circle.

Prominent author and historian Terje Leiren will accompany the cruise to share his insights about Scandinavia. He is professor emeritus of Scandinavian studies and history at the University of Washington, Seattle, and the first person to hold its Sverre Arestad Endowed Chair in Norwegian Studies (2007-2017).

Return to Swan Hellenic's orgin: the Mediterranean

After completing a season of seven Arctic expeditions, SH Diana will head to the Mediterranean, marking Swan Hellenic’s historic return to the region where its cultural cruising concept was created. The ship will then transit the Suez Canal to the Paradise Islands, Madagascar and southern Africa en route to Antarctica.