by Sarah Kuta
Last updated: 5:05 PM ET, Mon December 11, 2023
Travelers and travel advisors can now book Viking’s 2026 European river cruises. The cruise line opened bookings for the 2026 season early because many of its 2024 trips are already sold out and its 2025 sailings are also filling up fast, the company announced today.
River cruisers will be able to choose from some of the line’s most popular itineraries, including its 8-day “Danube Waltz” trip from Budapest to Passau and its 8-day “Paris & the Heart of Normandy” on the Seine River. Cruises are also available on the Rhine, the Rhône, the Douro, the Main and the Moselle rivers.
"The idea of a modern river voyage is still new to many, even to some of the most well-traveled individuals,” says Torstein Hagen, Viking’s chairman. “But make no mistake: there is no better way of exploring the heart of Europe than sailing its historic waterways on an elegant Viking Longship.”
Viking has 80 of its signature “Longships,” but plans to add 10 more in the coming years. The new vessels, which are under construction at the Neptun Werft shipyard in Rostock, Germany, will sail on the Rhine, Main, and Seine rivers. The new ships will be ready in 2025 and 2026.
The cruise line is also expanding outside of Europe. Viking recently unveiled plans to add a new ship, named the Viking Tonle, to its fleet on Asia’s Mekong River in 2025. The cruise line also welcomed the Viking Aton to its Nile River fleet and has two additional Nile ships under construction.
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