Major Cruise Line Signs Contract with Eastern Iowa City

That headline above doesn't seem possible in the state of Iowa, but it's real. A major cruise line will be making stops in an eastern Iowa city in just three years.

Viking Cruise Lines, based in Basel, Switzerland, will be stopping in Burlington, Iowa. Burlington will be just one of the stops on a Mississippi River cruise the company will be offering. Viking's ships are scheduled to dock in Burlington 30 times in the first year, which starts in July 2022 and runs through October of 2023. U.S. News reports Viking says they could eventually be making daily stops in the Des Moines County town.

So what will these ships cruising the Mississippi look like? Good question. Viking has ordered them, but they won't be ready until 2022 when they actually get put into use.

The City of Burlington will be leasing dock facilities to Viking and in return, the city will receive one dollar for every passenger that enters the docks. The city's contract with Viking Cruise Lines is for two years. During that time, Burlington can still offer its docks to cruise ships from other companies.