Before Cruising

• Travel Documents: Most Viking Ocean and Viking River itineraries require a valid passport book. Many countries also require passports to remain valid for at least six months beyond your travel dates. Review your itinerary carefully before departure.
• Visas & Entry Requirements: Depending on your destinations, visas, electronic travel authorizations, vaccinations, or other documentation may be required. Viking provides guidance before departure, but guests are ultimately responsible for meeting all entry requirements.
• Travel Insurance: Comprehensive travel insurance is strongly recommended, particularly for international itineraries. Coverage for medical emergencies, trip interruption, baggage delays, and emergency transportation can provide valuable peace of mind.
• Research Your Itinerary: Viking places greater emphasis on destinations than onboard attractions. Reviewing your ports of call, included excursions, optional tours, and local customs before sailing will help you make the most of your voyage.
• Adults Only: Viking welcomes guests 18 years of age and older. There are no children's facilities, youth programs, casinos, or water parks, creating a quieter and more relaxed atmosphere throughout the fleet.
• Packing: Comfortable walking shoes are essential for both ocean and river cruises, as many included excursions involve walking on uneven streets, historic sites, and cobblestone pathways.
• Carry-On Essentials: Pack medications, passports, valuables, electronics, and a change of clothes in your carry-on luggage. Checked baggage may not arrive in your stateroom until later on embarkation day.

Viking Explorer Society

• Automatic Membership: Viking Explorer Society is Viking's returning-guest program. Guests become members after completing their first Viking journey rather than enrolling in a conventional points-and-tier loyalty system.
• Past Guest Savings: Returning guests receive access to Viking Explorer Society offers and past-guest savings on future Viking voyages. Offers vary over time and should be checked when planning the next trip.
• Referral Rewards: Viking operates a referral program through which past guests may be eligible for travel credits when qualifying friends or family book their first Viking voyage.
• No Traditional Tiers: Unlike cruise loyalty programs built around points and status levels, Viking Explorer Society is primarily a recognition and savings program rather than a ladder of onboard elite tiers.
• Ocean & River: The program follows the guest across Viking's cruise products, making it relevant to travelers who alternate between river and ocean journeys.

My Viking Journey

• Pre-Cruise Planning Portal: My Viking Journey is Viking's primary online portal for preparing and personalizing a booked voyage.
• Guest Information: Use the portal to review the reservation, supply required guest and travel information, and keep track of voyage-specific planning details before departure.
• Shore Excursions: Review the included excursion offered in each port and reserve optional excursions when your booking window opens. Popular tours can fill, making this one of the most important uses of the portal.
• Ocean Dining: Viking Ocean guests can make advance reservations for The Chef's Table and Manfredi's Italian Restaurant when their reservation window opens. Timing varies with stateroom category.
• Spa & Packages: Eligible ocean guests can use My Viking Journey to plan spa services and purchase applicable pre-cruise options such as Silver Spirits.
• Documents & Itinerary: Use My Viking Journey to review the current itinerary, travel documentation, transfers, and other personalized voyage information supplied for your booking.

Tipping / Gratuities

• Shipboard Gratuities: Viking's gratuity practices differ by product and market, and recommended amounts can change. Review the gratuity information attached to your specific river or ocean booking rather than applying a single fleetwide daily amount.
• Prepaying: When prepayment is available, handling gratuities before departure can simplify the final onboard account. Some bookings or promotions may already include gratuities.
• Excursion Guides: While not required, many guests choose to tip local guides and motorcoach drivers who provide exceptional service during shore excursions.
• Additional Service Charges: Spa treatments, salon services, premium beverages, and certain optional purchases may include automatic service charges where applicable.
• Exceptional Service: Although never expected, guests frequently provide additional gratuities to crew members who consistently deliver outstanding personalized service throughout the voyage.

Embarking

• Online Check-In: Complete online check-in through My Viking Journey before arriving at the terminal. During check-in you'll verify travel documents, receive your boarding information, and review embarkation details.
• Arrival Time: Arrive during your assigned embarkation window for the smoothest boarding experience. Because Viking ships carry fewer guests than many mainstream cruise lines, embarkation is typically efficient and relaxed.
• Carry-On Essentials: Keep medications, travel documents, valuables, electronics, and a change of clothes with you. Checked luggage may not arrive in your stateroom until later in the afternoon.
• Embarkation Lunch: Ocean ships typically open the World Café shortly after boarding, while river ships usually offer a light lunch or refreshments for arriving guests before cabins become available.
• Explore Your Ship: Take time to familiarize yourself with the restaurants, lounges, library, spa, fitness center, and observation areas before departure. River ships are compact and easy to navigate, while ocean ships offer additional public spaces and amenities.
• Airplane Mode: Switch your phone to Airplane Mode before sailing and connect only through the ship's Wi-Fi to avoid expensive international roaming charges.
• All-Aboard Time: Viking strictly enforces all-aboard times at every port. Plan to return at least 30 to 60 minutes before the published departure time.

Wi-Fi / Internet Access

• Complimentary Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi is included for Viking guests rather than sold as a basic daily internet package.
• Ocean Connectivity: Viking Ocean ships use satellite internet at sea. Connectivity has improved substantially, but speed and availability still depend on location, weather, satellite coverage, and onboard demand.
• River Connectivity: River ships operate close to land and depend heavily on local network conditions along the route. Coverage can weaken in locks, valleys, remote stretches of river, and while crossing borders between networks.
• Streaming: Complimentary internet is best treated as connectivity for normal browsing, email, messaging, and trip planning. Do not assume uninterrupted high-bandwidth streaming or video calling will be available throughout an itinerary.
• Airplane Mode: Keep mobile devices in Airplane Mode while traveling internationally and enable Wi-Fi separately to avoid unintended cellular and maritime roaming charges.

Cabin

• Comfortable Accommodations: Viking staterooms emphasize Scandinavian design with clean lines, comfortable furnishings, premium bedding, ample storage, flat-screen televisions, mini refrigerators, in-room safes, and thoughtfully designed bathrooms. Amenities vary by ship and cabin category.
• River vs. Ocean Cabins: Ocean ships offer a variety of veranda accommodations, while river ships feature French balconies, full verandas, or standard windows depending on cabin category and deck.
• Stateroom Steward: Your steward services your accommodation each day and can assist with additional towels, pillows, blankets, ice, and other reasonable requests throughout your voyage.
• Room Service: Complimentary room service is available aboard Viking Ocean ships. River ship room service is generally more limited, with breakfast service offered in most staterooms.
• Storage Space: Store luggage under the bed after unpacking to maximize available floor space and keep your stateroom organized throughout the cruise.
• Ocean Verandas: Viking's ocean staterooms are built around private veranda accommodations, avoiding the large blocks of interior cabins found on many mainstream ships.
• River French Balconies: A French Balcony provides a floor-to-ceiling sliding glass door and railing rather than a walk-out balcony. This distinction matters when comparing Longship categories because the view and fresh air are similar, but usable outdoor floor space is not.
• Scandinavian Simplicity: Viking accommodations are designed to be elegant, functional, and uncluttered, reflecting the company's Scandinavian heritage rather than traditional luxury styling.

On Deck

• Destination Focus: Viking designs every voyage around the destinations rather than onboard attractions. Expect a relaxed atmosphere centered on cultural enrichment, regional cuisine, and immersive travel experiences.
• Adults Only: All Viking ships welcome guests ages 18 and older, creating a peaceful environment without children's programs, casinos, waterslides, or amusement-style attractions.
• Ocean Ships: Viking Ocean ships feature infinity pools, the Nordic Spa, Wintergarden, Explorers' Lounge, The Living Room, walking track, and spacious observation areas designed for quiet relaxation.
• River Ships: Viking Longships and river vessels offer inviting lounges, sun decks, libraries, and observation areas that place guests close to the scenery while sailing through Europe's rivers.
• Relaxed Atmosphere: Without formal nights or constant announcements, Viking offers one of the quietest and most relaxed onboard experiences in the cruise industry.
• Scenic Cruising: River itineraries frequently sail during daylight hours, allowing guests to enjoy constantly changing scenery from lounges, outdoor decks, or their staterooms.
• Ocean Aquavit Terrace: Viking Ocean ships extend the World Café toward the stern through the Aquavit Terrace, creating a useful outdoor dining and viewing area in suitable weather.
• River Sun Deck: The Sun Deck is one of a Longship's best scenic-viewing areas, but low bridges can require temporary closures and lowering of railings or deck equipment on some river segments.
• No Casino: Viking does not operate casinos, reinforcing the line's quieter destination-and-enrichment focus.

Dining

• Destination-Inspired Cuisine: Viking emphasizes regional cuisine and locally inspired dishes that reflect the destinations visited throughout your voyage.
• Ocean Dining: Viking Ocean ships feature multiple complimentary dining venues, including The Restaurant, World Café, Manfredi's Italian Restaurant, Chef's Table, Mamsen's, and additional casual options depending on the ship.
• River Dining: Viking River ships primarily feature one main restaurant serving open-seating breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with lighter meals available in the Aquavit Terrace on many Longships.
• Open Seating: Viking offers open seating for meals, allowing guests to dine when and with whom they choose rather than assigning fixed dining times.
• Dietary Requests: Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and many other dietary needs can usually be accommodated. Notify Viking before sailing whenever possible and remind your dining team once onboard.
• The Chef's Table: Viking Ocean's Chef's Table uses a multi-course tasting-menu format with menus that rotate during the voyage, making repeat visits different from a conventional fixed-menu specialty restaurant.
• Manfredi's: Manfredi's Italian Restaurant is a complimentary reservation venue on Viking Ocean ships and is one of the line's most popular dinner options.
• Mamsen's: This Norwegian-inspired venue on ocean ships serves casual Scandinavian specialties and is especially useful for breakfast, snacks, and lighter meals.
• Reservations: Specialty restaurants aboard Viking Ocean ships should be reserved before or early during your voyage, while river cruises generally use open seating without specialty-restaurant reservations.

Food & Beverage

• Included Dining: Nearly all dining aboard Viking Ocean and Viking River ships is included in your cruise fare. Menus emphasize fresh ingredients, regional specialties, and destination-inspired cuisine that reflects the areas you'll be visiting.
• Complimentary Beverages: Filtered water, coffee, tea, and select juices are included with meals. Ocean ships also offer complimentary specialty coffee drinks in select venues throughout the day.
• Regional Cuisine: Throughout your voyage, Viking highlights local flavors and recipes, giving guests an opportunity to experience authentic regional dishes both onboard and ashore.
• Wine & Beer with Meals: Complimentary house wine, beer, and soft drinks are included with lunch and dinner on both Viking Ocean and Viking River cruises.
• Late-Night Dining: Ocean ships provide additional evening dining options and room service, while river ships typically offer lighter evening selections depending on the itinerary.

Silver Spirits Beverage Package

• Premium Beverage Package: Viking's Silver Spirits Beverage Package includes an expanded selection of premium wines, beers, cocktails, top-shelf spirits, specialty coffees, premium teas, bottled water, and soft drinks served throughout the day.
• Beyond Mealtime Inclusions: Silver Spirits is most relevant to guests who want alcoholic drinks outside lunch and dinner or prefer a broader premium selection than the complimentary beer and wine served with meals.
• Package Terms: Price, covered drink limits, minimum voyage requirements, and purchase rules can vary by cruise product and market. Check the current Silver Spirits terms shown for your booking in My Viking Journey.
• Compare Before Buying: Because house wine and beer are already complimentary with lunch and dinner, compare your expected drinking outside meal periods against the package price rather than treating Silver Spirits as necessary for every guest.

Onboard Entertainment

• Destination Enrichment: Viking's entertainment philosophy centers on the places being visited. Historians, resident experts, lecturers, destination specialists, and cultural presentations provide context for ports and regions.
• Ocean Entertainment: Viking Ocean ships offer live music, theatrical and musical performances, lectures, films, port talks, and destination-focused programming rather than large amusement-style productions.
• River Entertainment: River programming is more intimate and can include local musicians, dancers, demonstrations, lectures, and performers brought aboard in destination.
• The Living Room & Explorers' Lounge: Ocean ships use comfortable public spaces for live music, conversation, reading, and informal entertainment rather than concentrating every evening activity in one theater.
• Daily Program: Review the next day's schedule each evening for lectures, performances, excursion meeting times, dining information, and scenic-sailing highlights.
• Quieter Evenings: Viking is deliberately lower-key than mainstream resort-style cruising. Travelers seeking casinos, waterslides, late-night clubs, or constant scheduled activities should expect a very different onboard experience.

Wellness & Fitness

• Nordic Spa: Viking Ocean ships feature a Nordic-inspired spa centered on Scandinavian hot-and-cold wellness traditions, with many thermal facilities included rather than requiring a separate thermal-suite pass.
• Thermal Suite: Ocean spa facilities include a hydrotherapy pool, sauna, steam room, heated relaxation areas, and Viking's distinctive Snow Grotto. Specific facilities can vary by ship.
• Spa Treatments: Massages, facials, salon services, and other personal treatments cost extra and should be reserved in advance when a particular sea-day time is important.
• Fitness Center: Viking Ocean ships provide fitness facilities with cardio and strength equipment, while river vessels have more limited exercise facilities because of their compact design.
• Active Shore Days: Viking itineraries can involve substantial walking, cobblestones, stairs, and uneven historic sites. Comfortable footwear and realistic excursion selection are as important to wellness planning as the shipboard fitness facilities.

Viking Ocean Cruises Upcoming

• Designed For Destination Travel: Viking Ocean Cruises combines elegant Scandinavian design with destination-focused itineraries, offering a quieter alternative to many contemporary cruise lines. Rather than emphasizing amusement-style attractions, Viking focuses on cultural enrichment, regional cuisine, and immersive travel experiences.
• Mid-Sized Ships: Viking Ocean ships typically carry fewer than 1,000 guests, creating a more intimate atmosphere with attentive service, spacious public areas, and fewer crowds than many larger cruise ships.
• Relaxing Sea Days: Ocean itineraries often include scenic sea days between ports, giving guests time to enjoy the Nordic Spa, infinity pool, Wintergarden, Explorers' Lounge, lectures, live music, and the ship's many dining venues.
• Worldwide Destinations: Viking Ocean sails throughout Europe, Alaska, the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, the Caribbean, Asia, Australia, South America, and on World Cruises, offering voyages ranging from one week to several months.
• All-Veranda Concept: Viking Ocean ships are designed around outside accommodations with private verandas, giving the fleet a notably different cabin mix from large mainstream vessels.
• Viking Mira: Viking Mira joined the ocean fleet in 2026 with 499 staterooms for 998 guests and an inaugural season in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe.
• Viking Libra: Scheduled for delivery in November 2026, Viking Libra will be the world's first hydrogen-powered cruise ship capable of operating with zero emissions. The 998-guest sister ship uses a hybrid system based partially on liquefied hydrogen and fuel cells, and Viking Astrea is scheduled to follow with similar technology in 2027.
• Ideal For: Viking Ocean Cruises are an excellent choice for travelers seeking a refined adults-only cruise experience that balances destination exploration with relaxing days at sea and a wide range of onboard amenities.

Viking River Cruises New

• Travel Through The Heart Of Each Destination: Viking River Cruises are designed to bring guests directly into the cities, towns, and historic regions they came to experience. Rather than sailing across open oceans, river ships travel through the center of many of Europe's most famous destinations.
• Smaller Ships: Most Viking Longships accommodate approximately 190 guests, creating a highly personal atmosphere where it's easy to become familiar with fellow travelers and crew members during your voyage.
• More Time Ashore: River itineraries typically spend most days docked in or near city centers, allowing guests to walk directly into historic districts, museums, shops, restaurants, and local attractions with very little travel time.
• Scenic Daytime Sailing: Unlike ocean cruises, river voyages frequently sail during daylight hours, allowing guests to continuously enjoy castles, vineyards, villages, rolling countryside, and historic landmarks from the ship.
• Worldwide Rivers: Viking operates river cruises throughout Europe, Egypt, Southeast Asia, and the Mississippi River, with itineraries designed to showcase each region's history, culture, and local traditions.
• New U.S. River Itineraries: For 2027, Viking added Bayous, Blues & Bluegrass, a 15-day itinerary between New Orleans and Louisville, and Mississippi & Ohio River Explorer, an 8-day itinerary between Memphis and Louisville aboard Viking Mississippi.
• Water Levels: River cruising is affected by changing water levels, locks, bridge clearances, and local navigation conditions. Viking may alter sailing segments, use motorcoaches, or transfer guests between ships when conditions prevent normal navigation.
• Rafting: In busy river ports, ships may dock side-by-side. Guests sometimes walk through or across another vessel to reach shore, and the adjacent ship can temporarily block a stateroom's river view.
• Ideal For: Viking River Cruises are well suited to travelers who want to maximize time exploring destinations, enjoy a smaller and more intimate ship, and experience local culture with relatively little time spent transferring between ports.

Ports / Shore Excursions Updated

• One Included Excursion Per Port: Every Viking itinerary includes at least one complimentary guided excursion in each port, making destination exploration a central part of the Viking experience.
• Optional Experiences: Guests may also choose from a wide variety of optional excursions, including culinary tours, active adventures, museum visits, cultural performances, and behind-the-scenes experiences.
• River Advantage: River ships frequently dock within walking distance of city centers, allowing guests to easily explore independently before or after organized excursions.
• Ocean Itineraries: Viking Ocean voyages visit destinations throughout Europe, Alaska, the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, Asia, Australia, South America, and beyond, with itineraries emphasizing longer stays and destination immersion.
• Included vs. Optional: The included excursion is generally designed as an introduction to the destination. Optional tours can provide smaller-group, culinary, active, cultural, or more specialized experiences and carry an additional charge.
• New European River Experiences: Beginning in the 2026 season, Viking expanded optional European river experiences with Zeppelin flights over Cologne and the Ruhr Valley, new culinary and cultural excursions, and additional small-group tours on select Rhine, Danube, Seine, and Elbe itineraries.
• New Land Extensions: Viking also added new 2026 pre- and post-cruise extensions including St. Moritz, Lombardy & Alpine Train; Croatia & Slovenia; Best of Belgium; and Best of Holland, with additional 2027 extensions announced for Turin & Barolo and Seville & Cordoba.
• Walking Difficulty: Pay attention to Viking's activity ratings. Historic centers, river embankments, cobblestones, stairs, and uneven terrain can make even otherwise straightforward sightseeing physically demanding.
• Return Early: Whether sailing on an ocean or river itinerary, always return well before the published all-aboard time when exploring independently, as ships cannot delay departure for late-arriving independent guests.

Complimentary Extras

• Included Shore Excursions: Every Viking itinerary includes at least one complimentary guided excursion in every port, making destination exploration a core part of the cruise experience.
• Wine & Beer with Meals: House wine, beer, and soft drinks are complimentary during lunch and dinner on both Viking Ocean and Viking River cruises.
• Destination Enrichment: Expert lecturers, historians, local performers, destination specialists, and cultural presentations help guests gain a deeper understanding of the regions they visit.
• Nordic Spa: Viking Ocean ships feature complimentary access to many thermal spa facilities, including the sauna, steam room, snow grotto, hydrotherapy pool, and relaxation areas.
• Specialty Dining: Ocean cruise guests enjoy complimentary specialty restaurants, including Manfredi's Italian Restaurant and The Chef's Table, without additional cover charges.
• Wi-Fi: Complimentary internet is included rather than sold as a basic daily package.
• No Casino: Viking's no-casino model is part of its destination-focused approach and keeps public areas centered on lounges, enrichment, dining, and scenic viewing.
• No Hidden Resort Fees: Many amenities that are optional extras on other cruise lines, including Wi-Fi, destination lectures, specialty dining on ocean ships, and one excursion in every port, are already included with most Viking cruise fares.

Disembarking

• Departure Procedures: Viking provides departure instructions before the end of your voyage, including luggage collection, transportation arrangements, and customs information where applicable.
• Luggage Assistance: Guests placing luggage outside their stateroom the evening before departure will have it transferred to the terminal for collection after clearing customs and immigration.
• Final Morning: Enjoy breakfast before leaving the ship, review your onboard account one final time, and ensure you've collected all personal belongings from your stateroom.
• Transfers: Viking offers transfers to airports, hotels, and other destinations for eligible guests or those who purchased transfer services as part of their cruise package.
• River Cruises: Because river ships often dock in city centers, disembarkation is typically quick and convenient, allowing guests to continue independent travel with minimal delays.
• Before You Leave: Before leaving your stateroom, check the safe, closets, drawers, charging outlets, bathroom, and under the bed one final time. Taking a few extra moments can help prevent accidentally leaving behind passports, medications, electronics, or other valuables.