Viking Opens 2026 Ocean Voyages and Announces New Extensions

Viking has announced that ocean journeys for 2026 are now open for booking. With many 2024 dates having sold out and 2025 departures selling quickly, significant demand from North American passengers has resulted in the early opening of 2026 departures across the company’s ocean fleet.

Viking also announced itineraries for its newest ship, Viking Vesta, which will join the award-winning fleet in July 2025. The 998-guest sister ship will spend its first season sailing popular routes in the Mediterranean and Scandinavia.

“We’ve always done things a bit differently. At Viking, we are contrarians. “We design travel experiences for thinking people, with no children or casinos,” said Torstein Hagen, Viking’s Chairman. “We are pleased that our approach has resonated with so many—and with the addition of the Viking Vesta to our ocean fleet, we look forward to introducing even more curious travellers to the Viking way of exploration.”

Among the more than 80 itineraries available for 2026 are some guest favourites, such as Viking Homelands, a 15-day voyage between Stockholm and Bergen. Other destinations on the journey include Berlin, Copenhagen, and Oslo. Cities from Denmark, Poland, and the Åland Islands are also included. The itinerary also includes a voyage through the Norwegian fjords.

The 8-day Iconic Western Mediterranean cruise is a popular shorter itinerary among Viking customers. The route from Barcelona to Rome also includes stops in Montpellier and Marseille, France, Monte Carlo, Monaco, and Florence/Pisa, Italy.

Other popular itineraries in 2026 include a 10-day Empires of the Mediterranean voyage from Venice to Athens, a 15-day British Isles Explorer itinerary from Bergen to London, and an 11-day West Indies Explorer sailing roundtrip from San Juan, Puerto Rico.

On 24 January, six new pre-and post-cruise “extensions” were also unveiled for customers wanting to spend extra time seeing the world’s most iconic destinations.

The new three-night extensions will be available in Barcelona, Istanbul, London, Rome, Stockholm, and Venice. The programme includes exclusive museum admission, guided city tours, local cuisine lunches and dinners, culinary workshops, and market visits.

Viking Cruises officials say more than 45% of its clients favour adding these extensions to their excursions. Previous extensions have included Lucerne, Budapest, Prague, Paris, the French Riviera, Amsterdam, London, Mumbai, Bergen, Bruges/Antwerp, and St. Louis.

Viking visitors, who had been waiting for news about the fleet’s newest ocean vessel, Viking Vesta, also received some good news. The 998-guest ship is scheduled to begin sailing in July 2025 and will spend her debut season cruising the Mediterranean and Scandinavia.

The itinerary will comprise the 8-day Iconic Western Mediterranean journey between Barcelona and Rome, the 8-day Journey to Antiquities sailing between Rome and Athens, and the Iceland, British Isles, and Iberia tour between Reykjavík and Barcelona.

Viking Vesta is nearing completion at Italy’s Fincantieri shipyard. She will weigh approximately 54,300 gross tonnes when completed and accommodate 998 guests.

In January, Viking Cruises launched a “Discover More” deal, which gives new and returning guests up to $800 off voyages in 2024, 2025, and 2026. The deal is valid until 31 January 2024 and applies to Viking River, ocean, and expedition cruises.

In December 2023, Viking also announced that bookings for the 2026 river cruise season will begin early. All the early bookings and pricing cuts occurred after the cruise line reported its busiest booking month in January 2023.

As bookings for the 2026 season begin, Viking Cruises looks forward to the arrival of ten new longships that are now under construction. The keel laying ceremony for all ten ships took place in December 2023 at the Neptun Werft shipyard in Rostock, eastern Germany.