When the Viking Longships Christening 2016 ceremony has concluded, Viking River Cruises will have enabled more travelers than ever before to sail the waterways of Europe.  Opening up a new world of travel in a cost-effective and pleasant way to see it, the Viking Longships experience continues to resonate with cruise travelers, and rightfully so.  On board, culturally curious Viking travelers go to places they may have dreamed about for a lifetime.  The shared experience makes ‘discovering’ iconic landmarks, famous places and a plethora of culinary delights along the way a real joy.  Still, it’s not all about the places those Viking Longships visit.

 

While efficiently moving Viking passengers from place to place and providing a comfortable way to see multiple European destinations, the Viking Longships themselves are more of a blank canvas, waiting for a travel masterpiece to be created on them.  How that masterpiece will resolve in real life depends a lot on a main variable of the equation; the people on board.  What we have found sailing with Viking are mostly people like us; well-traveled Americans along with Canadians, Australians and British passengers.  The lions share of those fellow passengers will be in their mid-50’s and higher, traveling as couples for the most part.  It’s a comfortable group on any given sailing, people who have a half-century or more of life experience to share with each other.

 

A Capstone Experience
Like on other cruise travel options, Viking travelers will spend a good amount of the time they are on the ship talking with one another.  One fellow passenger might have been deployed to a part of the world where Viking Longships sail in the military, remembering how cold it was in Germany in the winter.  Another might remember a similar itinerary done on land, going from hotel to hotel as they did.  On what is commonly remembered as one of the best travel experiences of their lifetime, new friendships are made, new lands discovered and long-held opinions of other countries verified or redefined.

 

It’s that people element that changes from sailing to sailing, much like any other cruise travel option. We just don’t know what the other people will be like on any given sailing.  Unlike many other cruise options, those we sail with on Viking seem to be much more like us and make for a comfortable group to travel with.  Not uncommon: booking another Viking sailing in the future with the same people, just because we enjoyed sailing with them so much the first time.

Today’s gallery features others we have sailed with on Viking Longships

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