Viking River Cruises
Viking Helvetia passing Marksburg. Photo courtesy of Viking River Cruises.
The History of Viking River Cruises
Established in 1997, Viking River Cruises merged with KD River Cruises in 2000. The California-based company now operates a remarkable fleet of river cruise vessels throughout Europe, Russia & the Ukraine, China and Southeast Asia, and Egypt.
Viking River Cruises has ambitious growth plans: the line just announced they intend to build six stunning new river cruise vessels which will launch in time for the start of the 2012 river cruise season. Dubbed Viking Longships, these remarkable new vessels are easily the line’s most ambitious ships to-date and reflect the line’s committment to continually improving their fleet, onboard product and itineraries as a direct result of feedback from their cruise guests.
In 2012, the line will also sail a completely refurbished fleet along Russia’s Volga River. Viking remains the only Western-based line to exercise complete ownership over its Russian-based ships, four of which will be renamed for the upcoming cruise season.
The Viking Longships will be an entirely new class of river cruise vessel. Illustration courtesy of Viking River Cruises
The Viking Fleet
Dubbed the Viking Longships, Viking Aegir, Viking Embla, Viking Freya, Viking Idun, Viking Njord and Viking Odin will create an entirely new class of river cruise ship for the line. They will feature larger suites, modern decor, and more traditional full balconies than ever before. Set to launch in 2012, these six game-changing ships are available for booking immediately.
These are six new ships you don’t want to miss out on!
Veranda Suites aboard the new Viking Longships boast both French and full-sized balconies. Illustration courtesy of Viking River Cruises
Viking’s two smallest ships are the 124-passenger Viking Fontane and Viking Schumann, both built in 1991 with the Elbe River in mind, and refurbished and refitted throughout the years to ensure they still sparkle.
A beautiful mulit-story Lobby greets guests as they board Viking Pride for the first time. Photo courtesy of Viking River Cruises.
Viking’s European ships have a comfortable capacity between 150 and 160 guests. These include the Viking Danube, Viking Europe, Viking Neptune, Viking Pride, Viking Sky, Viking Spirit, and Viking Primadonna. With capacity for 198 guests, Viking Helvetia, and Viking Sun are larger.
The more recently delivered Viking Legend is a 189-passenger ship built in 2009. A sister ship, the brand-new Viking Prestige, followed in 2011.
Viking Helgi shines brightly along Russia's Volga River at night. Photo courtesy of Viking River Cruises
In late 2011, Viking announced it would dramatically upgrade its Russian-based cruise fleet, refurbishing and renaming Viking Surkov, Viking Pakhomov, Viking Peterhof and Viking Kirov to Viking Helgi, Viking Ingvar, Viking Rurik, and Viking Truvor, respectively.
The popular Viking Lomonosov returns to offer the fascinating “Footsteps of the Cossacks” itinerary throughout the Ukraine.
Viking Destinations
Cruises in Europe are offered on the Rhine, Main, Danube, Elbe, Saône, Seine, and Rhône rivers, as well as the canals of the Netherlands and Belgium. Viking also has five ships in Russia and Ukraine. Viking Kirov, Viking Pakhomov, Viking Peterhof and Viking Surkov sail on the Volga, while Viking Lomonosov is deployed on the Dnieper.
One of the sumptuous suites aboard Viking Emerald. Photo courtesy of Viking River Cruises.
The brand-new, 264-passenger Viking Emerald will be deployed on China’s Yangtze River, and will be the largest ship in the Viking fleet. Also new for 2011 will be cruises along the magnificent Mekong River on board the 66-passenger RV Tonle (built in 2002).
Connect with Viking River Cruises
Click the links below for Viking River Cruises ship reviews.
River Cruise News