Viking Cruises

Conquering the oceans and rivers of the world

The Vikings loved nothing more than invading places, and it seems little has changed with Viking cruise line seemingly intent on conquering the oceans and rivers of the world.

Viking was founded in 1997 with the purchase of four ships in Russia and is now placing itself among the leaders in river and small ship ocean cruising.

Viking now has a fleet of 12 identical ocean ships, the latest being Viking Vela

“When we launched our first ocean ship in 2015, we set out to reinvent ocean cruising,” said Torstein Hagen, chairman of Viking.

“We focus on the destination, and we do not cram our ships with gimmicks and waterslides. Our understated, elegant, award-winning ships are designed to simply enable our guests to better explore their destination.”

He added: “As we continue to expand our brand, we look forward to bringing guests to more destinations around the world and introducing them to the Viking way of exploration.”

Designed for discerning travellers with interests in science, history, culture and cuisine, chairman Hagen often says Viking offers guests “the thinking person’s cruise” as an alternative to mainstream cruises.

By 2027 the company will operate 16 ocean cruise ships each carrying 930 guests with the arrival of six more new ships.

The latest deal with Italian shipbuilders Fincantieri raised the company’s total ocean ship order and options to 16 – the highest-ever for a shipyard from a single owner.

Viking’s all-veranda ocean ships have a gross tonnage of 47,800 tons, 465 staterooms and host 930 guests. The Viking fleet comprises Viking Star, Viking Sea, Viking Sky, Viking Orion, Viking Jupiter, Viking Venus, Viking Mars, Viking Neptune, Viking Saturn, Yi Dun and new flagship Viking Vela.