Viking held a pierside naming ceremony on Amsterdam's waterfront this week to welcome seven new river ships, pushing its fleet to 109 vessels — more than any other cruise company on Earth. The nearest rival, Carnival Corporation, operates 92 ships across its eight brands, down from a peak of 104.
Only two of the newcomers, the 190-passenger Viking Rota and Viking Haki, were actually in Amsterdam. Both will run the brand's best-selling Rhine, Main and Danube routes, often starting or finishing in the Dutch capital. Three more were already on the rivers they'll serve — the Nile in Egypt and the Seine in France — and two remained at the Neptun Werft shipyard in Rostock, Germany, for final construction. Rather than the usual Champagne, each ship was christened with a bottle of Norwegian aquavit, a nod to founder Torstein Hagen's heritage, while soprano Sissel Kyrkjebø performed for the 100-plus executives and guests gathered at the event, which ended with a gala dinner in Amsterdam's Koepelkerk.
The scale of Viking's expansion is striking. As recently as 2012, the company sailed 29 river ships and no ocean vessels at all. It now runs 94 river ships, 13 ocean ships and two expedition vessels, with more than 12,000 employees. And the pipeline isn't close to empty: 36 additional river ships are on order or under option through 2032, plus 17 ocean ships through 2034, including two more expedition vessels due in 2030 and 2031.
Financially, the company has also hit a milestone. Its stock market capitalisation reached $37.4 billion, edging past Carnival Corporation's by nearly a billion dollars — though Royal Caribbean Group still leads the industry at roughly $75 billion.
For travellers, Viking's formula is specific: upscale, adults-only sailings (no one under 18 aboard) aimed largely at the 55-plus market, with itinerary-heavy designs, longer port stays, included shore tours in every stop and the calm, Scandinavian-style interiors the brand is known for. That mix has made it the runaway leader in river cruising for North Americans, holding 52% of that market, and the top name in luxury ocean cruising with about 27%.
Four of the new ships — Viking Rota, Viking Haki, Viking Halogi and Viking Sjofn — will serve Europe's Rhine, Main and Danube, itineraries that typically link Amsterdam with towns and cities in Germany, Austria, Hungary and beyond. With 36 more river ships still to come, expect more choice, newer vessels and aggressive scheduling on Europe's most popular waterways over the next few years. If a quiet, child-free cruise with a cultural bent appeals, the options keep multiplying.
