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It's unusual for a major cruise line to operate both ocean ships and river ships. It has a fleet that is easy to understand.

Most of Viking's river ships are the same design. You've seen them all if you've seen one.

The line's ocean ships are the same. There are seven of Viking's ocean ships. expedition cruising is a type of cruising that involves traveling to remote, hard-to-reach places on hardy vessels that carry their own landing craft.

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The bulk of Viking's vessels are split into three groups, each with their own design.

An introduction to Viking cruise ships

Dozens of new river and ocean ships have been added to Viking.

The company was founded in 1997 with four river vessels. There are almost 90 ships in its fleet.

The majority of these ships are river ships. The company dominates the market for river cruises for North Americans.

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The ocean cruise ships were rolled out by Viking.

Almost all of Viking's river ships have the same basic design. There are a few vessels that operate on rivers in Russia, Ukraine, Egypt and Asia. Cruises on the Mississippi River and its tributaries will soon be offered by the line.

There is a guide to Viking ships and itineraries.

There are two different groups of ocean ships, a series of traditional ocean ships and a series of expedition ships.

Unlike most cruise lines, Viking doesn't use the term "classes." The viking ocean ships and viking expedition ships are referred to as the viking ocean ships and viking expedition ships respectively. The same breakdown of the ocean and river fleet has been followed by us.

Viking ocean ships

The size is 47,800 tons.

VIKING CRUISES

Some people still think of Viking as a river cruise company even though it only operated river ships for a long time. New additions to the world of high-end ocean cruising have been rolling out by Viking.

There will be nine ships sailing the world's oceans by the end of the year. More berths will be available in the upscale ocean cruise market thanks to that.

There is more to come in the series. Three more of the vessels are on order from Italian shipbuilders for delivery in the next three years, and the company has options for four more of the ships to debut in the next two decades. If they are all built, Viking's ocean division will be bigger than the others.

All of the ships in the series are the same. You won't be able to tell what's different when sailing on any of them.

They are also quite well dressed. Some consider Viking a luxury line even though it doesn't market itself that way. The vessels have sumptuous bedding in cabins and heated floors in the bathroom.

There is a guide to Viking cabins and suites.

The cabins are large by cruise ship standards and each of the ships in this series has a stylish design. Each of the vessels has a generous amount of space, even the smallest cabins. Fourteen two-room suites on each of the vessels range in size from 757 to 1,448 square feet. Many of these larger suites have private balconies.

A living room-like feel can be found in the seating areas on each of the ships. There is a bar and guest relations desk in every one of them. There are two-deck-high glass-walled lounges at the top of the ships. A thermal suite area that is open to all passengers is something that is not common on cruise vessels.

There are multiple restaurants on each of the vessels. There are themed menus.

The main pool area on the top deck of each ship has a glass dome that can be closed during bad weather. The Wintergarden lounge is located next to the main pool area on each of the ships. It is a favorite place on these vessels.

There is a pool at the back of each ship.

The ships in this series are basically the same, but there are differences on a few of them. Two of the most recent vessels in the series have a small planetarium built into the top level of their lounge. The fitness centers and hair salons on some of the later ships are small.

There is a joint venture that operates for the China market that permanently transferred one of the ships in this series. The ship was called Viking Sun when it was first introduced.

Viking river ships

More than 60 other Longships built since 2012 are also included.

The size is 4,000 to 5000 tons.

VIKING CRUISES

The core of the brand is the river ships.

More than 80 river ships make up the line's fleet. Most of them have the same basic design and are referred to as Longships.

The Longships broke new ground in river ship design by being the first to fit into the locks used across many of Europe's rivers.

There are some of the largest suites ever for river ships in Europe. An innovative cabin area layout that offsets the main corridors allows them to have a large number of cabins with balconies. The corridors don't run down the middle of the ship, creating a wider side with room for balconies and a narrower side with cabins turned sideways to give room for verandas.

There is a guide to Viking's loyalty program.

The squared off bow allows for eight more cabins than similar ships. There are more cabins at the back of the building. There was a lot of engineering done to redesign the bow areas of the ships to allow for more cabins while still leaving room for needed machinery.

The Viking Longships can carry more passengers than similar ships can. This has allowed Viking to offer lower prices than other river cruise lines and still bring in the same amount of revenue per ship, which has contributed to the company's rapid growth.

Each of the Viking Longships has a main restaurant where most passengers eat their meals and a lounge with a bar. There is a casual dining area at the front of the vessels. The Aquavit Terrace is an outdoor lounge during off hours. The vessels don't have spas or fitness centers.

The lounge area on the top of the Viking Longship is large. An herb garden is used by the kitchen staff to grow herbs for use in onboard meals.

The perfect length for the locks on Europe's rivers is 443 feet. Smaller versions of the Longships, measuring 361 feet or 410 feet in length, were specifically designed to sail on rivers with smaller lock sizes. The 410-foot-long versions of the vessels were specifically designed to sail into the heart of Paris.

The fast-growing Viking unveiled four new ships.

The Longships are basically the same in their offerings and décor. Smaller versions of the ships hold less people and have fewer cabins. The 410-foot-long versions of the vessels hold 168 passengers, compared to 190 for the 443-foot-long versions.

There are a few exceptions to the rule in the Viking river fleet. Viking operates small vessels on the Nile River in Egypt. There are several older river vessels that predate the Longships. River cruise itineraries in both countries are on hold.

The Mississippi River is the location of a new ship designed for it by Viking.

The first look at Viking's new ship.

Viking expedition ships

There are two ships: Viking Polaris and Viking Oct Antis.

30, 150 tons.

Viking Octantis in Antarctica. VIKING CRUISES

The expedition ships are designed to take travelers to the most off-the-beaten-path parts of the world, such as the polar regions.

The two ships in the series are Viking Octantis and Viking Polaris. There are no more on order at this time.

The ships have extra tanks for fuel and food, as well as reinforced bows that allow them to navigate through ice in polar regions.

Each of these vessels has its own landing craft that can be used to bring people to remote locations. The latter has been added to expedition ships by upscale cruise brands.

Like other expedition ships, both Viking Octantis and Viking Polaris are designed to operate with a large and experienced expedition team.

There are five best destinations you can visit on a viking ship.

There are many new and unusual features in each of the vessels. Passengers can transfer to a 12-seat excursion craft from the protected interior of the ship at The Hangar. This is the first expedition cruise ship that ITrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkiaTrademarkia

Every cabin on the polar expedition cruise vessel has glass walls that slide open from the top to create a balcony-like feel.

The Viking Octantis and Viking Polaris are upscale. They are similar to all of Viking's vessels. There is a version of Viking's signature Italian spot on both vessels.

The Explorers' Lounge is one of the features that will be familiar to regular Viking customers.

The current "south star" that hovers over the South Pole is called Viking Octantis. Polaris is named after a star that flies over the North Pole. The expedition ships will spend a lot of their time in the polar regions.

Bottom line

The number of cruise vessels operated by Viking is more than any other cruise company. It is involved in both ocean and river cruises. Its fleet of vessels is easy to comprehend. Almost all of its ocean and river ships are similar in design.

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