Condé Nast Traveler Readers Again Name Viking the #1 River Cruise Line

Viking Rated Highest of All River Cruise Lines in 2020 Readers’ Choice Awards

Los Angeles (October 6, 2020) – Viking® (www.viking.com) has again been voted the Best River Cruise Line by Condé Nast Traveler in the publication’s 2020 Readers’ Choice Awards. With the #1 winning score, Condé Nast Traveler readers voted Viking higher than any other river cruise line. Also, after five years of operating ocean cruises, Viking was again named one of the Best Ocean Cruise Lines.

More than 715,000 readers submitted ratings and tens of thousands of comments as part of the 33rd annual Readers’ Choice Awards survey. Viking will also be featured in the November issue of Condé Nast Traveler US and UK print editions; the full results of the awards can be found at www.cntraveler.com/rca.   

“We are honored to be voted the #1 river cruise line and one of the best ocean cruise lines again this year,” said Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking. “During this unusual time when many of us are staying at home, we are pleased that our guests continue to fondly recall their Viking voyages and have cast their votes for us. Thank you to our guests and the readers of Condé Nast Traveler for this honor; we look forward to welcoming you back to the familiar comfort of Viking.”

Today’s announcement from Condé Nast Traveler builds on the impressive list of recent accolades for Viking. Just recently, Viking’s enrichment channel, Viking.TV (www.viking.tv) – which launched at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic as a way to build community, stay connected and share positive experiences – won the “Breakthrough Award for Product Innovation” in the 2020 Silver Travel Awards. And over the summer, Viking was named the #1 ocean cruise line for the fifth consecutive year in Travel + Leisure’s 2020 World’s Best Awards.

Viking continues to expand its award-winning fleet of river and ocean vessels. In 2021, the company will welcome new 168-guest Seine Ships and new 190-guest Viking Longships® on its popular European river itineraries, as well as the new 80-guest Viking Saigon which is scheduled to debut on the popular Magnificent Mekong cruisetour. Also next year, Viking’s seventh 930-guest ocean ship, Viking Venus® is scheduled for debut and will join the award-winning ocean fleet of small ships which include Viking Star®Viking Sea®Viking Sky®Viking Sun®Viking Orion® and Viking Jupiter®.

Earlier this year, the company also announced Viking Expeditions, with two purpose-built 378-guest vessels, Viking Octantis® and Viking Polaris®, debuting in 2022 to sail voyages in the Arctic, Antarctica and North America’s Great Lakes. Additionally in 2022, Viking will launch its highly anticipated U.S. river cruises–with the 386-guest Viking Mississippi®, sailing between New Orleans and St. Paul.

Media Assets

For more information, images and b-roll for Viking, contact vikingpr@edelman.com.

About Viking

Viking was founded in 1997 and now offers scenic cruising on rivers, oceans and lakes around the world. Designed for discerning travelers with interests in science, history, culture and cuisine, Chairman Torstein Hagen often says Viking offers guests “the thinking person’s cruise” in contrast to mainstream cruises. In its first five years of operation, Viking has been rated the #1 ocean cruise line in Travel + Leisure’s 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 “World’s Best” Awards. In addition to the Travel + Leisure honors, Viking has also been honored multiple times on Condé Nast Traveler’s “Gold List” as well as recognized by Cruise Critic as “Best Overall” Small-Mid size ship in the 2018 Cruisers’ Choice Awards, “Best River Cruise Line” and “Best River Itineraries,” with the entire Viking Longships® fleet being named “Best New River Ships” in the website’s Editors’ Picks Awards. For additional information, contact Viking at 1-800-2-VIKING (1-800-284-5464) or visit www.viking.com. For Viking’s experience channel, visit www.viking.tv.