Viking has mapped out its biggest ocean programme yet: 80 voyages calling at 301 ports across 84 countries and six continents, running from May 2028 to September 2029.
Sailings are already bookable in the UK, in sterling — and one of the two new ships is coming straight to Britain.
Two new ships
The programme is built around Viking’s 17th and 18th ocean ships — both from Italian builder Fincantieri, both all-veranda and both carrying just 998 guests, at 784 feet what Viking classes as a small ship.
Viking Leda enters service in December 2028 and opens with a winter Mediterranean season — sailings of 8 to 16 days from Greece, Italy and Spain, part of a wider industry shift to keeping ships in Europe all year.
Viking Vega follows in June 2029, debuts in the Mediterranean, then repositions to the British Isles in mid-July — spending her first summer sailing from ports including the UK.
That makes Viking an outlier. As we found digging through the global orderbook, almost nothing under construction is destined for the lines Britain sails — yet here are two new ships, one headed our way in her opening season. A third, the hydrogen-powered Viking Libra, arrives before either.
Two new itineraries
The 15-day Alaskan Fjords & the Inside Passage sails Vancouver to Whittier on Viking Orion and Viking Venus, adding two ports Viking has never visited: Klawock and Yakutat Bay.
The 16-day Mediterranean, Malta & North Africa runs roundtrip from Rome with an overnight in Valletta — extra time in the UNESCO-listed Maltese capital.
Details of the deployment were first reported by trade outlet Cruise Industry News.
What UK cruisers should know
Viking’s ocean ships sail from London — both Greenwich and Tilbury appear across the current UK programme.
Sterling fares are already live for 2029. The 15-day British Isles Explorer (Bergen to London Greenwich) starts from £5,690, and the 15-day British Isles & Ireland (London Greenwich to Belfast) from £6,290 — lead-in fares, so those prices apply to select dates and the cheapest cabins.
Worth knowing what that buys: Viking’s UK fares include return flights where needed, overseas transfers, gratuities, wi-fi, wine and beer with lunch and dinner, and an included excursion in almost every port. American bookers pay for their flights and tips on top — for once, the British price is the more honest one.
One deadline matters this week. Viking UK’s current offer adds a free Silver Spirits drinks package to 2027–2029 bookings made by 31 July — this Friday.
The bottom line
A brand-new, 998-guest ship spending her first summer on Britain’s doorstep is genuinely rare — most inaugural seasons happen in the Caribbean or the Med, a flight away.
If Viking is already on your list, the free drinks package gives you until Friday to book a 2029 sailing with something extra thrown in. If not, these sailings are three years out — there is no other rush, and fares this far ahead can move in either direction.
Which ship takes which UK sailing isn’t yet published in a form you can book against. When Viking confirms Vega’s London dates, we’ll report them.
