Viking ocean cruises 2026–2027: ships, fares and who it suits

Viking ocean cruises at a glance

Fleet

More than a dozen near-identical ocean ships, 2 expedition ships and a separate river fleet

Price tier

Upper premium: above Celebrity and Princess, below all-inclusive luxury lines such as Regent Seven Seas

Ship size

930 to 998 guests

Main regions

Mediterranean, Scandinavia and the British Isles, Alaska, Canada and New England, Caribbean and Panama Canal, Asia, Australia, world cruises

Included

One shore excursion in every port, Wi-Fi, alternative restaurants, and beer, wine and soft drinks with lunch and dinner

Minimum age

18 on the day the cruise starts

Parent company

Viking Holdings Ltd, listed on the New York Stock Exchange

Viking ocean cruises ships

Viking’s ocean ships are built to one design. Viking Star, the first, carries 930 guests, and the newer ships from Viking Vela onward carry 998. Viking calls them small ships, and next to a 5,000-guest resort ship they are. Because the layout repeats, there is no best ship in the way there is on other lines. Pick the itinerary and the date, then take the ship that sails it.

• Viking Mira2026, 998 guestsThe newest ship, delivered in May 2026. Its first season is in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe.
• Viking Vesta2025, 998 guestsOne of the slightly larger 998-guest ships.
• Viking Vela2024, 998 guestsThe first of the 998-guest ships.
• Viking Saturn2023, 930 guestsThe last of the original 930-guest series.
• Viking Neptune2022, 930 guestsSame layout as the rest of the series.
• Viking Mars2022, 930 guestsSame layout as the rest of the series.
• Viking Venus2021, 930 guestsSame layout as the rest of the series.
• Viking Jupiter2019, 930 guestsSame layout as the rest of the series.
• Viking Orion2018, 930 guestsListed for Alaska sailings between Vancouver and Seward in summer 2027.
• Viking Sky2017, 930 guestsSails the 170-day world cruise that leaves Fort Lauderdale on December 22, 2026.
• Viking Sea2016, 930 guestsThe second ship of the series.
• Viking Star2015, 930 guestsThe ship that set the template in 2015.

What comes next. Viking Libra is due for delivery in November 2026. Viking describes it as the first cruise ship with a propulsion system based partly on liquefied hydrogen and fuel cells. Viking Astrea follows in 2027, and Viking says it expects nine more ocean ships by 2031.

Viking also runs two 378-guest expedition ships, Viking Octantis and Viking Polaris, and a large river fleet. This page covers the ocean ships.

Inside a Viking cruise ship: rooms and features

Viking cruise rooms. Every stateroom on a Viking ocean ship has a private veranda. There are no inside or ocean-view cabins. On Viking Star the six types run from the Veranda and Deluxe Veranda staterooms, both 270 square feet, through the Penthouse Veranda (338 square feet) and Penthouse Junior Suite (405 square feet) to the two-room Explorer Suites and one Owner’s Suite of 1,297 square feet.

The interior. The design is Scandinavian and the same from ship to ship. The main public rooms are the Explorers’ Lounge, the Wintergarden and an infinity pool. Access to the Nordic Spa and the fitness center is included for every guest.

Restaurants. The Restaurant is the main dining room and the World Cafe is the casual option. Manfredi’s (Italian) and The Chef’s Table are the alternative restaurants, and neither carries a surcharge. Mamsen’s is the Norwegian deli.

What Viking leaves out. There is no casino, and the ships are not designed for children. Entertainment centers on lectures and destination performances, not production shows.

Where Viking ocean cruises sail in 2026 and 2027

Viking Mediterranean cruises. This is the largest part of the program. The short itineraries are 8 days, such as Iconic Western Mediterranean from Barcelona to Rome and Venice, the Adriatic and Greece from Venice to Athens. Viking joins them into 15-day and longer trips, and it sells Mediterranean sailings in the off-season as well. Spain and Portugal Discovery, 8 days from Lisbon to Barcelona, is the main Viking cruise to Portugal. See our Europe cruise guide and Greece cruise guide for timing.

Viking Homelands cruise. The line’s signature Northern Europe route runs 15 days between Stockholm and Bergen. It calls in Estonia, Poland, Denmark, Germany and Norway, with two days each in Stockholm, Oslo and Bergen, and includes 11 guided tours. Viking lists it for 2026 through 2029. Our Northern Europe cruise guide compares it with the fjord and Baltic routes on other lines.

Viking Iceland cruises. Iceland appears on Northern Europe routes and on the 15-day Iconic Iceland, Greenland and Canada sailing from Reykjavik to New York.

Viking Alaska cruises in 2026 and 2027. The 2026 Alaska season has finished. For 2027, Viking’s core route is the 11-day Alaska and the Inside Passage between Vancouver and Seward, and it has added a 15-day Alaskan Fjords and the Inside Passage from Vancouver to Whittier. An agency listing shows Viking Orion on the Vancouver and Seward route in August 2027, with calls such as Valdez, Icy Strait Point, Juneau, Sitka and Ketchikan and scenic cruising at Hubbard Glacier. Viking is one of the six lines the National Park Service authorizes for Glacier Bay, but not every sailing goes in, so read the itinerary. These are one-way trips, so budget for a flight home from Alaska. Our best cruise lines for Alaska ranking and Alaska cruise guide cover the alternatives, including round trips from Seattle.

Viking New England and Canada cruises. Eastern Seaboard Explorer runs 13 days from Montreal to New York, and Canada and New England Scenic Shores runs 15 days from Montreal to Fort Lauderdale. See our Canada and New England cruise guide.

Viking Caribbean cruises and the Panama Canal. Winter itineraries include 11-day and 15-day Panama Canal trips from Fort Lauderdale and the 22-day From the Caribbean to the Amazon, a round trip from San Juan. Our Caribbean cruise guide and Panama Canal cruise guide compare the lines that sail there.

World cruises and crossings. Viking sells four versions of its 2026 to 2027 world cruise, covered in our world cruise guide, and Atlantic crossings covered in our transatlantic and repositioning guide.

Viking Egypt cruises. These are not ocean cruises. Viking’s Egypt trips, such as the 12-day Pharaohs and Pyramids round trip from Cairo, are Nile sailings on its river ships.

What a Viking fare includes and what’s extra

Included in every ocean fare: one shore excursion in each port, Wi-Fi, all meals including the alternative restaurants, beer, wine and soft drinks with lunch and dinner, specialty coffee, tea and bottled water around the clock, 24-hour room service, the Nordic Spa’s thermal area and fitness center, self-service laundry, and port taxes and fees.

Extra: drinks outside lunch and dinner (Viking sells the Silver Spirits beverage package for that), spa treatments, flights, and any excursion beyond the included one in each port. Gratuities are not on Viking’s list of inclusions, so check your invoice to see how they are charged.

Viking cruise deals and discount codes. Viking’s fare depends on the sailing date and the stateroom type, and the line sells Mediterranean sailings in the quiet season as well as in summer. We have not confirmed any public discount code for 2026, so treat sites that advertise one with caution and check the offer on Viking’s own site or with a travel advisor before you pay.

How Viking compares

• Against Oceania: both are adults-only with ships near 1,000 guests. Oceania puts more into food and gives you a choice of wine with meals or an excursion credit. Viking includes an excursion in every port and has a more uniform fleet.
• Against luxury lines: Regent Seven Seas includes open bars, gratuities and unlimited excursions at a higher fare. Our luxury and small-ship picks rank the all-inclusive lines.
• Against Holland America and Princess: both cost less, take children and sail larger ships. Holland America is the closest in pace.
• For adults only: how Viking sits next to Virgin Voyages and Oceania is in our adults-only cruise guide, and our senior cruises guide ranks the lines that suit older travelers.

Viking is not one of the lines in our price snapshot, so this page shows no Viking from-price. The button on this page opens CruiseBound, where you can compare dated fares on the lines above for the same region.

Viking ocean cruises FAQ

Who owns Viking cruises?

Viking Holdings Ltd, which has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker VIK since May 2024. Torstein Hagen founded the company in 1997 and is its executive chairman. Its first ocean ship, Viking Star, entered service in 2015.

What happened to the Viking Sky cruise ship in 2019?

On March 23, 2019, Viking Sky lost engine power in a storm off Hustadvika on the Norwegian coast with 1,373 people aboard. Low lubricating oil pressure had shut the engines down. Helicopters lifted 479 people off the ship, 16 were taken to hospital, and the ship reached the port of Molde the next day under its own power. Viking Sky is still in the fleet.

Has a Viking cruise ship run aground?

The best-known incident on the ocean ships is the 2019 Viking Sky engine failure described above, which was a loss of power, not a grounding. The most recent grounding in Wikipedia’s list for the company involved a river ship: Viking Ullur ran onto a sandbar on the Danube on July 28, 2026, and all 186 passengers were taken off safely.

Is Viking an adults-only cruise line?

Yes. Viking’s booking terms say every guest must be 18 or older on the day the cruise starts. The ships have no children’s facilities.

Are drinks included on Viking ocean cruises?

Partly. Beer, wine and soft drinks are included with lunch and dinner on board, and specialty coffee, tea and bottled water are included all day. Cocktails and drinks outside mealtimes are extra unless you buy the Silver Spirits beverage package.

Which Viking ocean ship is best?

None stands out, by design. The ships share one layout, and the three newest (Viking Vela, Viking Vesta and Viking Mira) are slightly larger at 998 guests. Choose by itinerary and date.

What is My Viking Journey?

It is Viking’s online account for booked guests, used to manage a reservation before you sail. Guest forums are useful for opinions on specific excursions, but check anything about what’s included against Viking’s own terms.