Viking River Cruises: the back story

About Viking River Cruises: the back story

By the ULTIMATE the world’s cruise lines Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Viking was founded in 1997 with the idea that travel could be more about the destination and less about the ship. The Viking Longship, with its glass-fronted Aquavit Terrace at the bow, became the shape of modern river cruising in Europe, and the same quiet Scandinavian design now sails the Nile and the Mekong.

A destination-first idea

Viking began in 1997 with a simple conviction: that a river cruise should be about where you are, not the ship you are on. That idea still shapes everything. Every itinerary includes an excursion in every port, an evening of music or performance from the region, and talks on board that prepare you for the next morning’s town.

The Longship

The ship most travellers picture when they think of a Rhine or Danube cruise is the Viking Longship. Long, low and pale, each carries 190 guests in 95 outside staterooms, with an organic herb garden and a putting green on the sun deck, hybrid engines below and, at the bow, the Aquavit Terrace: a glass-fronted room that opens to the air, where breakfast and lunch are served with the river in front of you. There are 69 of them on Viking’s Rhine, Main and Danube list, so the ship you book is, in almost every detail, the ship your friends sailed on.

Viking does not try to be all things to all people.

Built for each river

Some rivers needed their own ships. Six smaller Longships of 106 guests were custom built for Portugal’s Douro, the newest in 2025. The Seine ships have customised hulls and engines and dock in the centre of Paris, a short walk from the Eiffel Tower; the two Elbe ships have hulls and engines built for that river. On the Nile, Viking now owns and operates a dozen ships, from the all-suite, 52-guest Viking Ra to the 82-guest Viking Osiris and her sisters, the newest of which arrived in 2025.

Asia and beyond

On the Mekong, Viking Saigon (2022) and Viking Tonle (2025) carry 80 guests each between Vietnam and Cambodia, with a pool and an open-air Sky Bar on the upper deck. Two more 80-guest ships, Viking Brahmaputra and Viking Ganges, are built for India’s Brahmaputra, where Viking begins sailing in 2027. In America, the 386-guest Viking Mississippi has sailed between New Orleans and St Paul since 2022.

What Viking is not

The line is unusually clear about what it leaves out: no children under 18, no casinos, no art auctions, no photography sales, no inside staterooms and no formal nights. What remains is quiet and grown-up: a library curated by the London bookseller Heywood Hill, guest lecturers, cooking demonstrations, and a fado singer or a Viennese ensemble brought on board for the evening.

Our advice:

Our advice: for a first river cruise, the eight-day Rhine Getaway or Danube Waltz on a Longship is the classic introduction; spend on a Veranda Suite rather than a longer itinerary if you value space. For Egypt, choose one of the new Nile ships with an Explorer Suite, and book the Mekong for the dry months, when the river towns are at their most welcoming.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Viking River Cruises: the back story before you go.