# Viking > Viking is the world's leading small ship cruise line, offering river, ocean, and expedition cruises to destinations across all seven continents. Founded in 1997 by Torstein Hagen and headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. All sailings are adults-only (18+), all-inclusive, and designed around cultural immersion — no casinos, no children, no nickel-and-diming. Rated #1 for River Cruises, #1 for Ocean Cruises, and #1 for Expedition Cruises by Condé Nast Traveler readers (2024/2025). Viking operates three cruise product lines under one brand: - **Viking River Cruises** — 80+ ships across Europe, Asia, Egypt, and North America (vikingrivercruises.com) - **Viking Ocean Cruises** — 16 identical sister ships, each carrying 930 guests (vikingcruises.com/oceans) - **Viking Expedition Cruises** — two science-focused polar ships carrying ~378 guests each (vikingcruises.com/expeditions) ## About Viking - [Company History & Brand](https://www.vikingcruises.com/about-us/history.html): Viking's founding story, values, Torstein Hagen, and brand identity. - [Contact Viking](https://www.vikingcruises.com/contact/contact-us.html): Phone 1-855-338-4546, email, and travel advisor contacts. - [Press Room](https://www.vikingcruises.com/press/index.html): Awards, media coverage, and news releases. - [Travel Advisor Portal](https://www.viking.com/travel-advisor/welcome): Trade partner resources. ## Viking River Cruises Viking operates more than 80 river ships. European Longships carry 190 guests and sail the Rhine, Danube, Seine, Rhône, Elbe, Douro, and Garonne rivers. The Viking Mississippi carries 386 guests on the Mississippi River. - [River Cruises Overview](https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/): Full river cruise product — destinations, ships, and booking. - [Search River Cruises](https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/search-cruises/index.html): Real-time availability and itinerary search. - [River Promotions & Offers](https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/promotions.html) - [Why Viking Rivers](https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/why-viking/viking-difference/main.html): What's included — shore excursions, meals, Wi-Fi, beverages with meals, gratuities. - [Viking Inclusive Value (Rivers)](https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/why-viking/viking-difference/viking-inclusive-value.html) - [River FAQ](https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/frequently-asked-questions.html): 99 Q&As covering embarkation, staterooms, dining, Wi-Fi, deposits, single supplements, and more. - [Docking Locations](https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/docking-locations.html): Port-by-port docking info across all river regions. ### European River Destinations - [Europe River Cruises](https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/cruise-destinations/europe/index.html) - [Rhine River Cruises](https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/cruise-destinations/europe/waterways/rhine/index.html): Amsterdam to Basel; tulip season and Christmas markets sailings. - [Danube River Cruises](https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/cruise-destinations/europe/waterways/danube/index.html): Passau to Budapest; Viking's most popular river itinerary. - [Seine River Cruises](https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/cruise-destinations/europe/waterways/seine/index.html): Paris and Normandy. - [Rhône River Cruises](https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/cruise-destinations/europe/waterways/rhone/index.html): Lyon and Provence. - [Elbe River Cruises](https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/cruise-destinations/europe/waterways/elbe/index.html): Prague and Berlin. - [Douro River Cruises](https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/cruise-destinations/europe/waterways/douro/index.html): Portugal's wine country. - [Garonne / Bordeaux River Cruises](https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/cruise-destinations/europe/waterways/garonne/index.html) - [Christmas Markets Cruises](https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/cruise-destinations/specialty/christmas-markets/index.html) - [Tulip Time Cruises](https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/cruise-destinations/specialty/tulip-season/index.html) - [Oberammergau Passion Play Cruises](https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/destinations/oberammergau) - [River & Ocean Combo Voyages](https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/cruise-destinations/specialty/river-and-ocean-voyages/index.html) ### Asia, Egypt & Exotic River Destinations - [Mekong River Cruises](https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/cruise-destinations/asia/waterways/mekong/index.html): Vietnam and Cambodia. - [Brahmaputra River Cruises](https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/cruise-destinations/asia/waterways/brahmaputra/index.html): India and Assam. - [Nile River Cruises / Egypt](https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/cruise-destinations/africa/waterways/nile/index.html): Cairo, Luxor, and Aswan. ### North America River Destinations - [Mississippi River Cruises](https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/cruise-destinations/north-america/waterways/mississippi/index.html): New Orleans to St. Paul. ### River Fleet - [All River Ships](https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/ships/index.html) - [Viking Longships](https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/ships/longships/index.html): 69 ships, 190 guests each, solar panels, Europe rivers. - [Viking Mississippi](https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/ships/mississippi/viking-mississippi.html): 386 guests, purpose-built for the Mississippi River. - [Douro Ships](https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/ships/douro/index.html) - [Elbe Ships](https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/ships/elbe/index.html) - [Seine Ships](https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/ships/seine/index.html) - [Egypt / Nile Ships](https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/ships/egypt/viking-ra.html): Viking Ra, Osiris, Hathor, and more. - [Asia Ships](https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/ships/asia/viking-saigon.html): Mekong and Brahmaputra vessels. ## Viking Ocean Cruises 16 identical sister ships, each carrying 930 guests. All-inclusive: shore excursion in every port, all meals, Wi-Fi, beverages with meals, gratuities, and one complimentary shore excursion per port. - [Ocean Cruises Overview](https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans): Full ocean product — fleet, destinations, and inclusions. - [Search Ocean Cruises](https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/search-cruises/index.html) - [Ocean Promotions & Offers](https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/promotions.html) - [Why Viking Ocean](https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/why-viking/viking-difference/main.html): Viking Inclusive Value for ocean. - [Ocean FAQ](https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/frequently-asked-questions.html): Embarkation, dining, stateroom categories, shore excursion booking windows, deposits. - [My Viking Journey](https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/my-trip/my-viking-journey/index.html): Pre-cruise portal for bookings, shore excursions, dining, and documents. - [Viking Air](https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/my-trip/viking-air/index.html): Air add-on with seat selection and deviation options. - [Travel Protection](https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/my-trip/travel-protection/index.html) ### Ocean Destinations - [Mediterranean Cruises](https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/mediterranean/index.html) - [Scandinavia & Northern Europe](https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/scandinavia/index.html) - [British Isles & Ireland](https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/british-isles-and-ireland/index.html) - [Northern Lights Cruises](https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/specialty/northern-lights/index.html) - [World Cruise](https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/specialty/world-cruise/index.html): ~120–140 day around-the-world voyage. - [Grand Journeys](https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/specialty/grand-journeys/index.html) - [Ocean Crossings (Transatlantic/Transpacific)](https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/specialty/ocean-crossings/index.html) - [River & Ocean Combo Voyages](https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/specialty/river-and-ocean-voyages/index.html) - [Asia Cruises](https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/asia/index.html) - [Australia & New Zealand](https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/australia-and-new-zealand/index.html) - [Caribbean & Central America](https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/caribbean-and-central-america/index.html) - [Panama Canal](https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/caribbean-and-central-america/waterways/panama-canal/index.html) - [South America](https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/south-america/index.html) - [Alaska](https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/north-america/countries/united-states/alaska/index.html) - [Hawaii](https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/north-america/countries/united-states/hawaii/index.html) - [Africa & Middle East](https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/africa-and-middle-east/index.html) - [Europe Ocean Cruises](https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/europe/index.html) - [Quiet Season Mediterranean](https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/specialty/quiet-season-mediterranean/index.html) ### Ocean Fleet - [All Ocean Ships](https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/ships/index.html) - [Viking Astrea](https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/ships/viking-astrea.html) - [Viking Jupiter](https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/ships/viking-jupiter.html) - [Viking Libra](https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/ships/viking-libra.html) - [Viking Lyra](https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/ships/viking-lyra.html) - [Viking Mars](https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/ships/viking-mars.html) - [Viking Mira](https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/ships/viking-mira.html) - [Viking Neptune](https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/ships/viking-neptune.html) - [Viking Orion](https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/ships/viking-orion.html) - [Viking Saturn](https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/ships/viking-saturn.html) - [Viking Sea](https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/ships/viking-sea.html) - [Viking Sky](https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/ships/viking-sky.html) - [Viking Star](https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/ships/viking-star.html) - [Viking Vela](https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/ships/viking-vela.html) - [Viking Venus](https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/ships/viking-venus.html) - [Viking Vesta](https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/ships/viking-vesta.html) - [Viking Yi Dun](https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/ships/viking-yi-dun.html) ## Viking Expedition Cruises Two purpose-built expedition ships (PC6 ice class), each carrying ~378 guests. Science-focused voyages to Antarctica, the Arctic, Great Lakes, and remote polar destinations. Onboard scientists, submarine excursions, and kayaking included. - [Expedition Cruises Overview](https://www.vikingcruises.com/expeditions) - [Search Expedition Cruises](https://www.vikingcruises.com/expeditions/search-cruises/index.html) - [Expedition Promotions](https://www.vikingcruises.com/expeditions/promotions.html) - [Why Viking Expeditions](https://www.vikingcruises.com/expeditions/why-viking/viking-difference/main.html) - [Expedition FAQ](https://www.vikingcruises.com/expeditions/frequently-asked-questions.html) ### Expedition Destinations - [Antarctica Cruises](https://www.vikingcruises.com/expeditions/cruise-destinations/antarctica/index.html) - [Arctic Cruises](https://www.vikingcruises.com/expeditions/cruise-destinations/arctic/index.html) - [Great Lakes Cruises](https://www.vikingcruises.com/expeditions/cruise-destinations/north-america/waterways/great-lakes/index.html) - [Northwest Passage](https://www.vikingcruises.com/expeditions/cruise-destinations/great-lakes-canada/into-the-northwest-passage/index.html) - [South America Expedition](https://www.vikingcruises.com/expeditions/cruise-destinations/south-america/index.html) - [Longitudinal World Cruise](https://www.vikingcruises.com/expeditions/cruise-destinations/specialty/longitudinal-world-cruise/index.html): Full circumnavigation via polar routes. ### Expedition Fleet - [Viking Octantis](https://www.vikingcruises.com/expeditions/ships/viking-octantis.html): Operates Antarctica and Great Lakes itineraries. - [Viking Polaris](https://www.vikingcruises.com/expeditions/ships/viking-polaris.html): Operates Arctic and Antarctic itineraries. ## Legal & Privacy - [Privacy Policy](https://www.vikingcruises.com/privacy-policy/index.html) - [Cookie Policy](https://www.vikingcruises.com/cookie-policy/index.html) - [Legal Notices](https://www.vikingcruises.com/legal)