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Viking is uncommon amongst main cruise traces in that it operates each ocean ships and river ships. Regardless of this, it has one of many easiest-to-understand fleets.
The overwhelming majority of Viking’s river ships — finally rely, there have been 80 — characteristic the identical design. Should you’ve seen one in all them, you’ve seen all of them.
Ditto for the road’s ocean ships. 9 of Viking’s 11 ocean ships are almost an identical. The 2 exceptions are the lately unveiled Viking ocean vessels particularly designed for expedition cruising — a kind of cruising that entails touring to distant, hard-to-reach locations on hardy vessels that carry their very own touchdown craft.
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Consequently, the majority of Viking’s vessels falls into one in all simply three teams; all of the ships in every group sport almost an identical designs.
An introduction to Viking cruise ships
Viking has expanded enormously in recent times with the addition of dozens of latest river and ocean ships.
Based in 1997 with 4 river vessels, the corporate operated simply 29 ships as lately as 2012. Now, there are greater than 90 ships in its fleet.
The overwhelming majority of those ships are river ships — the corporate’s sole focus for its first 18 years in enterprise. The corporate dominates the marketplace for river cruises aimed toward North Individuals, accounting for about 50% of all such journeys.
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Beginning in 2015, Viking started rolling out ocean cruise ships, too.
In early 2023, as famous above, Viking had 80 river ships in its fleet — nearly all of which have the identical primary design. The exceptions are a couple of vessels that Viking operates on rivers in Egypt and Asia (extra on these ships beneath). The road additionally lately started providing cruises on the Mississippi River and its tributaries utilizing a brand new sort of vessel.
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Viking’s ocean ships fall into two distinct teams: a collection of 930-passenger conventional ocean ships that started debuting in 2015, and a collection of 378-passenger expedition ships that started debuting in 2022.
Not like most cruise traces, Viking doesn’t use the time period “lessons” to outline totally different units of ships in its fleet. As an alternative, it refers to its collection of conventional ocean ships because the “Viking ocean ships” and its collection of expedition ships because the “Viking expedition ships.” We’ve adopted the identical breakdown of the road’s ocean and river fleet beneath.
Viking ocean ships
Ships: Viking Saturn (2023), Viking Neptune (2022), Viking Mars (2022), Viking Venus (2021), Viking Jupiter (2019), Viking Orion (2018), Zhao Shang Yi Dun (2017), Viking Sky (2017), Viking Sea (2016) and Viking Star (2015).
Dimension: 47,800 tons.
For years, Viking solely operated river ships, and a few cruisers nonetheless consider the model primarily as a river cruise firm. Nevertheless, since 2015, Viking has been quickly rolling out a collection of upscale ocean vessels; these new additions are more and more dominating the world of higher-end ocean cruising.
As of June 2023, Viking has 9 ships crusing the world’s oceans, every with a capability for 930 passengers. That offers Viking 8,370 berths within the upscale ocean cruise market — greater than opponents Oceania Cruises and Azamara mixed.
The collection is way from completed. Six extra of the vessels are on order from Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri for supply between 2024 and 2028, and the corporate additionally has choices with Fincantieri for 4 extra of the ships to debut in 2029 and 2030. Assuming they’re all constructed, Viking’s ocean division will quickly be greater than Oceania, Azamara, Seabourn and Silversea Cruises mixed.
The very first thing to know in regards to the ships on this collection is that all of them are just about an identical. When crusing on any one in all them, you can be hard-pressed to inform what’s totally different.
They’re additionally fairly upscale. Whereas Viking doesn’t market itself as a luxurious line, some nonetheless think about it so. The vessels are stuffed with luxurious touches, from luxurious bedding in cabins to heated flooring in cabin loos.
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Every of the ships on this collection has a classy, Scandinavian-influenced design that may be a Viking trademark, and the cabins are giant by cruise ship requirements. Even the smallest cabins on every of the vessels have 270 sq. ft of house — a beneficiant quantity. Many cabins are considerably greater than that, with 14 two-room suites on every of the vessels ranging in dimension from 757 to 1,448 sq. ft. Many of those greater suites supply sweeping views from wrap-around personal balconies.
Every of the ships’ inside areas is constructed round a chic, three-deck-high atrium stuffed with snug seating areas which have a residing room-like really feel. Every additionally has a bar and visitor relations desk. On the prime of the ships, you’ll discover two-deck-high, glass-walled lounges that supply gorgeous views over the bow. Different inside areas embody a health heart and a classy spa with a thermal suite space that’s open to all passengers at no additional cost (one thing that’s not widespread on cruise vessels).
A number of eating places on board every of the vessels embody Italian eatery Manfredi’s (named after former Silversea proprietor Manfredi Lefebvre d’Ovidio, a pal of Viking founder Torstein Hagen) and The Chef’s Desk. The latter options rotating themed menus.
The centerpiece of the highest deck of every of the ships is the principle pool space, which contains a glass magrodome that may shut throughout inclement climate. The primary pool space on every of the ships sits subsequent to a beautiful, glass-topped lounge with snug seating known as the Wintergarden, which is residence to afternoon tea. A den of serenity, it’s one in all our favourite locations on these vessels.
A secondary pool space with an infinity pool is in the back of every of the ships.
Whereas all the ships on this collection are primarily an identical, you will see small variations on a couple of of them. Most notably, two of the vessels within the collection — Viking Orion and Viking Jupiter — have a small planetarium constructed into the highest stage of the two-level lounge at their fronts (often known as the Explorers’ Lounge). Among the later ships within the collection have barely bigger health facilities and barely smaller hair salons.
Observe that along with the 9 Viking ocean ships formally within the Viking fleet, a tenth ship from the identical collection, Zhao Shang Yi Dun, caters solely to the China market as a part of a three way partnership between Viking and a Chinese language firm. When it debuted in 2017, the ship initially catered to the North American market and was known as Viking Solar.
Viking river ships
Ships: Viking Fjorgyn (2022), Viking Kari (2022), Viking Radgrid (2022), Viking Skaga (2022) and greater than 60 different Longships constructed since 2012, in addition to extra river vessels.
Dimension: 4,000 to five,000 tons.
River ships initially put Viking on the map, they usually’re nonetheless on the core of the model.
As famous above, the road has 80 river ships in its fleet. The overwhelming majority of them have the identical primary design and are often known as Longships — a reference to the historic vessels utilized by Vikings within the Center Ages.
Unveiled in 2012 and designed particularly to suit into the locks used throughout a lot of Europe’s rivers, the Longships broke new floor in river ship design in a number of methods.
For starters, they’ve a configuration that features among the largest suites ever for river ships in Europe. Additionally they have a big variety of cabins with balconies — which is made doable by an revolutionary cabin space format that offsets essential corridors. (In different phrases, the corridors don’t run down the center of the ship, making a wider aspect with house for balconies and a narrower aspect with cabins turned sideways to additionally create room for verandas.)
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Different improvements embody a squared-off bow that enables for eight extra cabins than equally sized ships operated by opponents. Additionally, quieter engines permit for extra cabins on the rear. An unlimited quantity of groundbreaking engineering went into redesigning the bow areas of the ships, specifically, to allow additional cabins whereas nonetheless leaving room for wanted equipment.
On account of such improvements, the Viking Longships can carry extra passengers than equally sized ships operated by opponents. This has allowed Viking to supply decrease costs than different river cruise traces and nonetheless herald an identical quantity of income per ship — a proven fact that has contributed vastly to the corporate’s fast progress.
Like many river ships, every of the Viking Longships has one essential restaurant the place most passengers eat their meals in addition to one essential inside lounge with a bar. There’s additionally a secondary, informal eating space on the entrance of every vessel with indoor and out of doors seating. (The out of doors portion, known as the Aquavit Terrace, additionally serves as a forward-facing out of doors lounge throughout off hours.) Not like many river ships, the vessels don’t have any spas or health facilities.
As is typical for river ships, the highest of each Viking Longship is roofed with an expansive lounge space. There’s additionally a strolling observe and an herb backyard — the latter utilized by the kitchen workers to develop herbs used in the course of the preparation of onboard meals.
Most Viking Longships are 443 ft lengthy — the proper size to suit into the locks on a lot of Europe’s rivers. Viking additionally constructed barely smaller variations of the Longships, measuring 361 ft or 410 ft in size, particularly to sail on rivers the place lock sizes or different navigational components require smaller vessels. The 410-foot-long variations of the vessels, for example, have been particularly constructed to sail into the guts of Paris on the Seine River.
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Whereas the Longships are available in a number of totally different lengths, they’re primarily an identical of their choices and decor. The one notable distinction is that the smaller variations of the ships have fewer cabins and thus maintain fewer folks. The 443-foot-long variations of the ship are designed for 190 passengers, for instance, whereas the 410-foot-long variations of the vessels maintain 168 passengers (since they’ve 11 fewer cabins).
Whereas most Viking river ships are Longships, there are a couple of exceptions within the Viking river fleet. Viking operates a number of smaller, purpose-built vessels on the Nile River in Egypt. It additionally has a number of older river vessels that predate the Longships and historically have operated on rivers in Russia and Ukraine. (For now, river cruise itineraries in each international locations are on maintain as a result of struggle in Ukraine.)
Viking additionally lately started sailings on the Mississippi River with a brand new ship particularly designed for the river and its tributaries.
As of Could 2023, Viking had one other 14 river ships both beneath building or on order by way of provisional contracts.
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Viking expedition ships
Ships: Viking Polaris (2022) and Viking Octantis (2022).
Dimension: 30,150 tons.
Designed to carry simply 378 passengers, the Viking expedition ships are particularly designed to take vacationers to probably the most off-the-beaten-path elements of the world, together with Antarctica and the Arctic.
As of now, Viking operates simply two ships within the collection, Viking Octantis and Viking Polaris, each of which debuted in 2022. No extra are at present on order.
As is typical for expedition ships, these are robust vessels with strengthened bows that allow them bump by ice in polar areas; the ships even have additional tanks for gasoline and meals.
Every of those vessels has its personal touchdown craft on board to convey folks ashore in distant places, in addition to kayaks and even submarines for exploring. (The latter is the new new factor for expedition ships — upscale cruise manufacturers Scenic Luxurious Cruises & Excursions and Seabourn have been including submarines to expedition ships, too.)
Like different expedition ships, each Viking Octantis and Viking Polaris are designed to function with a big and seasoned “expedition workforce” that features biologists, botanists, geologists, glaciologists and ornithologists who lecture repeatedly.
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Every of the vessels has a number of new and strange options, too. Most notable is The Hangar: an enclosed marina that enables passengers to switch to a 12-seat tour craft whereas nonetheless within the protected inside of the ship. It’s a primary for an expedition cruise ship.
In one other first for a polar expedition cruise vessel, each cabin has floor-to-ceiling glass partitions that slide partially open from the highest to create a balcony-like really feel.
Each Viking Octantis and Viking Polaris are designed to be upscale. Like all Viking’s vessels, they boast elegant Scandinavian designs. The eating places on each vessels embody a model of Viking’s signature Italian spot, Manfredi’s and the Scandinavian-inspired Mamsen’s outlet.
One other characteristic of each ships that can be acquainted to common Viking prospects is a top-of-the-ship, glass-walled Explorers’ Lounge providing gorgeous views of passing surroundings.
In case you’re curious, Viking Octantis is known as after Sigma Octantis, the present “south star” that hovers over the South Pole (also called Polaris Australis). Polaris is known as after the present “north star” that hovers over the North Pole. The names are a nod to the polar areas the place these expedition ships will doubtless spend a lot of their time.
Backside line
Viking operates extra cruise vessels than every other main cruise firm catering to North Individuals. That is partially as a result of it’s concerned in each the ocean cruise and river cruise companies. Regardless of its giant dimension, its fleet of vessels is comparatively straightforward to grasp. The overwhelming majority of each its ocean ships and river ships are nearly an identical of their designs.
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