Viking, which in recent years has added an ocean cruising division to its original river cruises, is now selling packages that combine the two, with passengers changing ships in a common port.
The company’s ocean cruise ships, while significantly larger than its 190-passenger riverboats, are small for cruise ships at 930 passengers apiece. The company expects the combinations to sell especially well to its loyal river cruise following.
For 2018, the first year, two itineraries are on offer. One combines Viking’s Rhine cruise from Basel to Amsterdam with an Amsterdam to Bergen and Norway’s fjords in a 15-day package in July. The other is an 18-day late September Rhine cruise, followed by an ocean cruise that includes Le Havre (with a daytrip to Paris), Portsmouth and then several ports in Spain, ending in Barcelona.
