{"id":26569,"date":"2023-07-15T18:00:30","date_gmt":"2023-07-15T18:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2023\/07\/15\/the-3-types-of-viking-cruise-ships-explained-the-points-guy\/"},"modified":"2023-07-15T18:00:30","modified_gmt":"2023-07-15T18:00:30","slug":"the-3-types-of-viking-cruise-ships-explained-the-points-guy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2023\/07\/15\/the-3-types-of-viking-cruise-ships-explained-the-points-guy\/","title":{"rendered":"The 3 types of Viking cruise ships, explained – The Points Guy"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Editor\u2019s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Viking<\/a> is unusual among major cruise lines<\/a> in that it operates both ocean ships and river ships. Despite this, it has one of the easiest-to-understand fleets.<\/p>\n

The vast majority of Viking\u2019s river ships \u2014 at last count, there were 80 \u2014 feature the same design. If you\u2019ve seen one of them, you\u2019ve seen them all.<\/p>\n

Ditto for the line\u2019s ocean ships. Nine of Viking\u2019s 11 ocean ships are nearly identical. The two exceptions are the recently unveiled Viking ocean vessels specifically designed for expedition cruising \u2014 a type of cruising that involves traveling to remote, hard-to-reach places on hardy vessels that carry their own landing craft.<\/p>\n

For more cruise guides, tips and news, sign up for TPG\u2019s cruise newsletter<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As a result, the bulk of Viking\u2019s vessels falls into one of just three groups; all the ships in each group sport nearly identical designs.<\/p>\n

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An introduction to Viking cruise ships<\/h2>\n

Viking has expanded enormously in recent years with the addition of dozens of new river and ocean ships.<\/p>\n

Founded in 1997 with four river vessels, the company operated just 29 ships as recently as 2012. Now, there are more than 90 ships in its fleet.<\/p>\n

The vast majority of these ships are river ships \u2014 the company\u2019s sole focus for its first 18 years in business. The company dominates the market for river cruises aimed at North Americans, accounting for about 50% of all such trips.<\/p>\n

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Starting in 2015, Viking began rolling out ocean cruise ships, too.<\/p>\n

In early 2023, as noted above, Viking had 80 river ships in its fleet \u2014 almost all of which have the same basic design. The exceptions are a few vessels that Viking operates on rivers in Egypt and Asia (more on these ships below). The line also recently began offering cruises on the Mississippi River<\/a> and its tributaries using a new type of vessel.<\/p>\n

Related: The ultimate guide to Viking ships and itineraries<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Viking\u2019s ocean ships fall into two distinct groups: a series of 930-passenger traditional ocean ships that began debuting in 2015, and a series of 378-passenger expedition ships that began debuting in 2022.<\/p>\n

Unlike most cruise lines, Viking doesn\u2019t use the term \u201cclasses\u201d to define different sets of ships in its fleet. Instead, it refers to its series of traditional ocean ships as the \u201cViking ocean ships\u201d and its series of expedition ships as the \u201cViking expedition ships.\u201d We\u2019ve followed the same breakdown of the line\u2019s ocean and river fleet below.<\/p>\n

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Viking ocean ships<\/h2>\n

Ships:<\/strong> Viking Saturn (2023), Viking Neptune (2022), Viking Mars (2022), Viking Venus (2021), Viking Jupiter (2019), Viking Orion (2018), Zhao Shang Yi Dun (2017), Viking Sky (2017), Viking Sea (2016) and Viking Star (2015).<\/p>\n

Size:<\/strong> 47,800 tons.<\/p>\n

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