Viking Celebrates Surpassing 100 Ocean, River and Expedition Cruise Ships

Viking celebrated a unique point in the cruise industry as it surpassed a total of 100 ships as the company marks its 28th year in business. Started as a niche player in the then modest river cruise business, the company has grown to encompass ocean cruising and expeditions while also operating on 21 rivers and reaching five oceans and all seven continents.

The company hosted a naming celebration for its nine newest river cruise ships in Basel, Switzerland, with the ship it designated number 100, Viking Honir, one of its patented Longships. The other vessels were at points around the world, ranging from Paris, France, to Rostock, Germany, Porto, Portugal, Vietnam, and Egypt.

The company was incorporated in August 1997 by Torstein Hagen, who was attracted to the possibilities of river cruising. (Hagen was the subject of a cover story profile in The Maritime Executive in 2018.) They would go on to modernize and popularize river cruising. A decade ago, the company expanded into ocean cruising with a fleet of small, luxury cruise ships. Today, it has a dozen ocean cruise ships, two expedition cruise ships, and a total of 89 river cruise ships. One of its cruise ships is owned in a joint venture with China Merchants.

Viking rivals Carnival Corporation in the number of ships, although Carnival is made up entirely of large, ocean cruise ships. Carnival briefly had over 100 cruise ships before downsizing during the pandemic.

Viking has built its brand by offering Scandinavian style and quiet luxury. It says the product is designed for curious travelers with interests in science, history, culture, and cuisine. It uses the marketing tagline that Viking offers experiences “For The Thinking Person.”

“Today we are proud to name our newest river ships and to honor the nine distinguished members of our extended Viking family serving as their godparents,” said Torstein Hagen, Chairman and CEO of Viking. “We have always been quite a bit different from others in the travel industry—we like to be contrarian. Over the last 28 years, we have grown from four ships to more than 100—a fleet size that no other line has achieved—and we have done so because of our innovative approach. First, we modernized river voyages; then we reinvented ocean voyages and perfected the expedition experience. We look forward to continuing our leadership in experiential travel in the years to come.”

Viking Honir, which was the location for the event, is one of the Longships, designed to sail on the Rhine, Main, and Danube, accommodating 190 passengers in 95 staterooms. One of the elements of Viking’s approach has been using standardized designs for its ships. The Longship has a distinctive square bow, three decks, an indoor-outdoor terrace, and an asymmetric corridor that provides space to create suites on the ship.

The small ships include a design for 82 passengers on the Nile and 80 passengers on Southeast Asia’s Mekong River. In Europe, the company has a 106-passenger design for the Douro River in Portugal. It also has a design tailored to the limits of sailing on the Seine. The company’s ocean cruise ships are on their second design, altered by regulations, but all accommodate under 1,000 passengers per ship. It has tested hydrogen fuel cells and is currently building two cruise ships with Fincantieri that will have the most advanced hydrogen power systems to date.

Viking looks to continue to expand its operations. In August, it noted that its committed orderbook would add 27 river ships by 2028 and 10 ocean ships by 2031. The fleet will reach 112 river ships in 2028, and 23 ocean and expedition ships in 2031. Viking, which builds most of its river ships with Meyer Neptun in Rostock and ocean cruise ships with Fincantieri in Italy, also has additional options to further expand the fleet.