Viking Announces Ten Additional River Ships in Europe

Viking has announced it will add 10 Viking Longships to its river fleet in the coming years. To fulfil the high demand for European river cruises, eight of the new ships will sail Viking’s popular Rhine, Main, and Danube river itineraries, while two additional Viking Longships will join the fleet on the Seine River.

The total order includes one Viking Longship for the Seine River, announced in February 2023. The first five new vessels will be delivered in 2025, with the remaining five following in 2026.

A keel laying ceremony was held at the Neptun Werft shipyard in Rostock, Germany, to officially celebrate the commencement of the construction of all ten Viking Longships since their debut in 2012.

“Ever since we started Viking 26 years ago, our mission has been to help our guests explore the world in comfort. We focus on the destination and build elegant, innovative ships,” said Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking. “We look forward to welcoming these new Longships to our European fleet and introducing The Viking Way of exploration to even more guests in the coming years.”

Viking is by far the industry’s leading river line, with a current fleet of 80 river ships and over 50% of the market share for North American travellers. The award-winning Viking Longships, which comprises the majority of the company’s river fleet, can accommodate 190 or fewer passengers.

The vessels include an original patented design, the revolutionary indoor/outdoor Aquavit Terrace, and Viking’s signature Scandinavian architectural flair. The new vessels feature a hybrid propulsion system with batteries and shore power to cut fuel use when in port. Onboard solar panels improve the energy efficiency of the ships even further.

The announcement made today is the latest key milestone for the company. Viking celebrated the float out of its newest ocean ship, the Viking Vela, which will debut in December 2024, and revealed a new ship for the Mekong River in 2025, the Viking Tonle.

Condé Nast Traveller named the company #1 for rivers, oceans, and expeditions in its 2023 Readers’ Choice Awards in October. Travel & Leisure also voted the company to the top of its categories for rivers, oceans, and expeditions in the 2023 World’s Best Awards. No other travel company has received the same awards from both publications at the same time.