Part of the fleet
Viking River Cruises
The scale player in river cruising — adults-only, culture-led and standardised across more than 80 near-identical Longships.
- Introduced
- 2015
- Gross tonnage
- Varies by river
- Capacity
- 56–386 guests
Outside Europe, Viking builds to the river rather than to a template. The Nile ships carry 82 guests in a colonial-modern idiom with a sun-deck pool; the Mekong vessel carries 80 in a French-Indochinese style; and Viking Mississippi carries 386 as the largest ship in the fleet, US-flagged and US-crewed.
Because each is a one-off or a small run, they are grouped here as a class of exotics rather than split further.
Common threads remain: adults-only, one included excursion per port, beer and wine with lunch and dinner, and a resident destination lecturer.
What changes is the shore programme. Nile sailings include Egyptology guides and private site access; Mekong sailings include village and market visits; Mississippi voyages lean on music and Civil War history.
Sister ships
Ships in the Viking Exotics Class
3 sister ships share this class — near-identical layouts, cabins, and onboard venues across the Viking River Cruises fleet.
Launched 2022
Viking Osiris
The Nile ship — 82 guests, a sun-deck pool and Egyptologist-led access to Karnak, the Valley of the Kings and Abu Simbel.
Launched 2023
Viking Saigon
The Mekong ship — 80 guests in a French-Indochinese idiom, working Vietnam and Cambodia with village and market calls.
Launched 2022
Viking Mississippi
The largest ship in the river fleet — US-flagged, US-crewed and five decks tall, running New Orleans to St Paul.
Also in Viking River Cruises
Other ship classes
Viking Longship Class
The standardised 190-guest platform repeated more than eighty times — the single most-produced river ship design in the world.
Viking Legend Class
The pre-Longship Danube generation — traditional layouts still working itineraries where Longship dimensions do not fit.
Viking Douro Class
Purpose-built Portuguese vessels sized to the Douro's locks — 106 guests, a plunge pool and a shaded sun deck.
Cruise line