Viking Dominates Cruise Critic's 2019 Cruisers' Choice Awards

LOS ANGELES, March 6, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Dominating awards season once again, Viking® (www.vikingcruises.com) today received a new set of accolades from the popular online cruise resource, Cruise Critic®, including 11 First Place awards in the 9^th Annual Cruisers' Choice Awards. Cruise Critic presented First Place awards to four of Viking's 930-guest ocean sister ships: Viking Star®, Viking Sky®, Viking Sun®  and Viking Orion®, which debuted in 2018. Cruise Critic also added a new river ship category for the 2019 awards, and Viking Vidar®, part of the Viking Longship fleet, took First Place as Best for River Cruises.

Viking's fleet of five eligible ocean ships won the top placements in nearly every category in which they competed – a small to mid-sized ship that carries between 400-1,199 passengers. Viking Sky received First Place placements in six award categories within the small to mid-size ship group: Best Overall Ship, Best Cabins, Best Dining, Best for Public Rooms, Best Service and Best Value-for-Money. Viking Sky also beat ships of all sizes to receive a seventh First Place award as Best for First-Timers. Additionally, Viking Orion was awarded First Place as Best for Fitness & Recreation; Viking Sun was awarded First Place for Best Entertainment; and Viking Star was awarded First Place for Best Shore Excursions. Cruise Critic is the world's leading cruise reviews site and online cruise community, with more than 350,000 cruise reviews, covering approximately 700 cruise ships across the globe. The Cruisers' Choice Awards name the best cruise ships in the world, based solely on ratings submitted with member reviews published on the Cruise Critic website in the last 12 months.  

"What a humbling experience it is to be recognized with 56 awards from members of the Cruise Critic community – so many of whom are our longtime guests and some of the most experienced voices in the travel industry," said Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking Cruises. "We have been sailing the waterways of the world for more than 20 years, but we are still relatively new to ocean cruising. We do things differently, and these awards demonstrate that our guests appreciate The Viking Difference. I would like to thank our guests, the Cruise Critic community and our entire Viking family, particularly our onboard colleagues, who make these awards possible."  

In addition to the First Place wins, all of Viking's eligible ocean ships beat most competitors to take the Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Places in many of the same categories, meaning Viking overwhelmingly commanded the upper half of the top 10 rankings across the board. Viking Sun, Viking Sea, Viking Star and Viking Orion took top places behind Viking Sky in five categories: Best Overall, Best Value, Best Service, Best Dining and Best Public Spaces. In Best Fitness & Recreation, Viking Sun, Viking Sea, Viking Star and Viking Sky took top places behind Viking Orion. And Viking's ocean ships took top 10 placements in all remaining eligible categories: Best Cabins, Best Shore Excursions, Best Entertainment and Best Embarkation.

Today's announcement from Cruise Critic adds to an impressive list of recent accolades for Viking. Most recently, Cruise Critic 2018 Editors' Picks Awards honored Viking with five awards in the luxury ocean and river categories. Though the category has historically been dominated by the traditional, formal cruise lines, Cruise Critic awarded Viking three prestigious luxury ocean awards – including Best Luxury Value for Money, Best Spa and the highly-coveted Best New Luxury Ship. The company was also recognized in two river categories: Best for First-Timers and Best Itineraries. In addition, Viking was again named the #1 River Cruise Line by Condé Nast Traveler in the publication's 2018 Readers' Choice Awards. In 2018, Travel + Leisure readers voted Viking to the top of its categories in the 2018 World's Best Awards, named the #1 Ocean Cruise Line for ships carrying 600–2,199 guests and one of the World's Best River Cruise Lines. Viking has also been honored as "Best Cruise Line for Luxury Ocean Cruises" and "Best Luxury River Cruise Company" in Luxury Travel Advisor magazine's 2018 "Awards of Excellence" for a second consecutive year.

The Viking Difference

Designed for discerning travelers with interests in history, art, music and cuisine, Chairman Torstein Hagen often says Viking offers guests "the thinking person's cruise" as an alternative to mainstream cruises. Ships are small to get guests closer to their destination, with more time in port and more overnights. On board, guests find serene Scandinavian spaces, where every room is both beautiful and functional, quiet and filled with light. With the most al fresco dining opportunities whether on the rivers or at sea, featuring regional cuisine and always-available American classics, Viking's guests can truly dine in their destination. A focus on cultural enrichment brings immersive experiences on shore and on board. And only The Viking Way® of exploration provides guests with itineraries that feature Local Life, Working World and Privileged Access experiences.

In addition, Viking offers a compelling value compared to other cruise lines. Every cruise fare includes an outside stateroom, a complimentary shore excursion in each port of call, all onboard meals, and all port charges and government taxes. Guests also enjoy many complimentary amenities as part of their fare, including: beer and wine with lunch and dinner service; alternative restaurant dining; free Wi-Fi; self-service laundry; access to the Thermal Suite in the LivNordic Spa; and 24-hour room service.

Booking Details

From now through March 31, 2019, Viking is offering U.S. residents special cruise fares on select 2019, 2020 and 2021 ocean itineraries, as well as on select 2019 and 2020 river cruises, with additional discounts on air.

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About Viking Cruises

Viking was founded in 1997 with the purchase of four ships in Russia. 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" as an alternative to mainstream cruises. In its first three years of operation, Viking has been rated the #1 ocean cruise line in Travel + Leisure's 2016, 2017 and 2018 "World's Best" Awards. Viking currently operates a fleet of 68 vessels, offering scenic cruising on rivers and oceans around the world. 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 1-855-8-VIKING (1-855-884-5464) or visit www.vikingcruises.com.

SOURCE Viking

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