VIKING CRUISES
OVERVIEW
Viking was founded in 1997 by Norwegian Torstein Hagen and provides destination-focused journeys on rivers, oceans and lakes around the world. With a product designed for experienced travelers with interests in science, history, culture and cuisine, Hagen often call the Viking product ‘The Thinking Person’s Cruise.’
Viking is the largest river cruise company in the world, currently featuring 56 identical 190-passenger Viking Longships plying Europe’s waterways, along with customized vessels for the Seine, Douro and Elbe Rivers. It also cruises rivers in Asia, Egypt, and, new this year, the Mississippi River in the U.S. Viking River normally cruises in both Russia and Ukraine, but those trips have been suspended.
With a growing fleet currently totalling seven, Viking’s ocean vessels are carbon copies of a winning formula. Each has a gross tonnage of 47,800 tons, with 465 staterooms that can host 930 guests and 550 crew members. The first Viking Ocean Cruises ship launched in 2015 and the product has been extremely popular, winning many awards.
In 2022 the company debuted Viking Expeditions and the first of two purpose-built expedition vessels, the Viking Octantis, which spent its inaugural season in the Great Lakes. By the end of the year, Viking Expeditions will welcome a second identical expedition ship, the Viking Polaris.
DESTINATIONS VISITED
Viking Ocean Cruises itineraries feature travel in Northern Europe, the Baltic, the Americas, the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Their ships spend more time in port than is common at other ocean lines, emphasizing a focus on the culture of their destinations.
Viking River Cruises travels on many European waterways, including the Danube, Rhine, Elbe, Main, Douro, Seine, Moselle and Rhone rivers. It offers cruises on the Mekong in Asia, the Nile in Egypt and the Mississippi in the U.S.
The company’s newest division, Viking Expeditions, is currently offering cruising in the Great Lakes/Canada and Antarctica.
VIKING TRAVEL AGENT PORTAL
The Viking Travel Agent Portal is located here. The site offers a wide range of resources for travel professionals, including marketing tools, promotion information, education, agent discount details and much more.
VIKING OCEAN CRUISES AGENT TRAINING
Viking River Cruises’ online training program gives agents tools to increase their sales and offers support with regard to Viking’s fleet expansion and the overall consumer demand growth for river cruising. Once agents have completed the seven certification courses, they will earn the title Viking Master River Cruise Expert. The seventh and Master River Cruise Expert course offers agents insights into developing marketing plans as well as how to earn over $1 million in commissions annually to become a Viking Millionaire. The agent training program is housed in the Viking Travel Agent Portal.
AGENT RATES & FAMS
Register at the Viking Travel Agent Portal for information on travel agent discounts of up to 50% off brochure prices. Fam trips are offered based on availability and demand. Travel agents can contact their Viking director of business development and/or inside sales for availability.
LOCAL AGENT SUPPORT
Viking has a team of Business Development Directors and Managers responsible for developing, maintaining and servicing travel agent relationships. Register with the Viking Travel Agent Portal to find details on the representative for your region.
AGENT MARKETING TOOLS
The Marketing Center at the Viking Travel Agent Portal is home to a host of tools and resources. Agents who have registered at Viking’s travel agent portal can create their own co-branded Viking website, allowing them to give clients access to current Viking information but featuring their own agency name, contact information and logo.
Agents can also access over 350 images from Viking cruises at its image library as a valuable resource when developing their Viking marketing activity. The library covers the entire Viking fleet of river, ocean and expedition ships. In addition to the ships, agents will find a range of destination and on-shore imagery and video assets available to download to support social media marketing.