Viking Expeditions: the river line’s ice ships, priced in full
Two identical 378-guest Polar Class ships, one design, one long inclusions list. Viking sails them from the Great Lakes to the Antarctic Circle — and no one aboard is under 18.
Viking Expeditions is the comfortable way into the ice, not the intimate one. The ships are big for the category, at 378 guests, and built like Viking’s ocean ships inside. Wi-Fi, beer and wine with meals, an excursion in every port and the small boats are all in the fare.
Three costs sit outside it. Flights are extra unless a sale covers your departure, gratuities carry no published amount, and the submarine dive is optional with no price on Viking’s pages.
It suits adults who already like Viking. Families can’t book it at all.
Viking built ships for where its rivers end
Most people meet Viking on a Rhine or Danube longship. Others know its ocean ships. The expedition arm uses the same playbook — adults only, one long list of inclusions — on two hulls built for ice.
Viking Octantis entered service in January 2022, sailing south for Antarctica. Viking Polaris followed, delivered in Norway on September 27, 2022.
Viking calls them identical sisters. They are.
Ocean-ship comfort, Polar Class steel.
The design is the point. Each ship carries an enclosed marina called the Hangar, two submarines and a 380 sq ft science lab, alongside the spa, the Aula lecture hall and Viking’s familiar restaurants.
If you’re weighing a Viking river cruise against this, the gap is real: one is a gentle week ashore in Europe, the other a landing on the Antarctic Peninsula. Read the ship-by-ship guide for the hardware.
Inside the fare, and the four things outside it
Bold means it’s in the fare. The cards below cover the four costs that aren’t.
| Item | In the fare? | What Viking says |
|---|---|---|
| Shore excursions | One per port | “One complimentary landing or shore excursion in every port of call” |
| Beer, wine, soft drinks | With lunch and dinner | Cocktails and drinks between meals need Silver Spirits, $27 a night |
| Wi-Fi | Included | Free, with the note that speeds may vary |
| Kayaks, Zodiacs, Special Operations Boats | Included | Part of the Viking Expedition Kit, with the gear each outing needs |
| Expedition jacket | Polar voyages | An expedition jacket on polar itineraries |
| Alternative restaurants, spa, launderettes | Included | No charge for the alternative restaurants or the Nordic Spa; self-service launderettes |
| Port taxes and fees | Included | Listed in the Inclusive Value |
| Submarine dive | Extra | “Optional submarine journeys”; no price published |
| Gratuities | Extra | “Not included in your Cruise Tour Fare”; no amount given |
| Flights and transfers | Extra | Transfers come only with Viking Air; sale air offers change, so ask us |
Every row comes from Viking’s Inclusive Value list on its voyage pages and its booking terms, updated October 8, 2026. The “one excursion per port” wording matters on a sea day-heavy route like the Drake Passage. You land when the ship stops, not every day.
Tap each card for the detail, then ask us to price the four together for your date.
Start at the fare. Add what Viking leaves out.
Price a Viking expedition
Pick a voyage, tick what you’d add, and type your own figures where Viking doesn’t publish one.
Fares are Viking’s lowest published “from” prices per person, double occupancy, cruise only, for U.S. residents, as published on its ship page on November 1, 2026. Some Viking pages still showed the October Fall Sale banner, which expired October 31, and a few fares differ by up to $1,000 between Viking’s own pages (Into the Antarctic Circle, Into the Northwest Passage), so we used each voyage’s pricing page. Viking runs frequent sales, so ask us for the current fare and air offer. On October 31 the voyage page for Great Lakes Treasures showed from $11,499 for its listed departures, so your date may price higher. Silver Spirits is $27 a night as published. Rows at $0 have no published price; we’ll quote them.
Tick Silver Spirits on a 13-day Antarctic voyage and it adds $324 a person — about 2% on the fare. Flights are the swing number, not drinks.
Ask us for the current air offer on your departure before you price anything else.
The Viking year, month by month
Dark cells are months Viking itself publishes. Pale cells are limited or unconfirmed — ask us for dates.
Where the two ships are
Built from Viking’s voyage pages and season releases. Tap a month for the voyage that fills it.
Two ships make one loop a year. They spend the austral summer in Antarctica, swing north along South America and Panama, and run the Great Lakes from late May to early October. By our estimate, late summer takes them to Greenland and the Northwest Passage — Viking doesn’t publish those months.
Viking doesn’t publish month-by-month departures on its region pages. Only the Great Lakes window comes from Viking itself. The Antarctic, Arctic and repositioning months are our estimate from the seasons Viking describes, so every one of those cells is marked limited: ask us.
There’s no Galápagos, Svalbard or Kimberley season here. For those, start with our Galápagos, polar bear and Kimberley guides. For the regions Viking does sail, read Antarctica, Arctic and Greenland before you choose a month.
The Great Lakes run about $900 a day. Antarctica starts near $1,150.
Divide each lowest fare by its day count and the regions sort themselves. The repositioning voyages are the cheapest days Viking sells.
Adults only, by contract
There are no exceptions on the pages we read. A 17-year-old turning 18 the week after sailing can’t board.
The bar has its own floor. Viking’s Silver Spirits page says guests must be 21 or older to buy or drink alcohol.
Two more expedition rules apply. Each of you owes Viking a Fit to Travel letter, a medical questionnaire completed with a qualified medical advisor, about six months before departure. And some locations require proof of travel insurance.
Traveling with children? Price Lindblad instead, where the minimum age is 6 months on most voyages.
Viking’s clock runs five steps, not two
Deposits change with Viking’s sales. Viking’s terms leave the amount to your invoice. Its November Fall Sale page lists a $25 deposit on voyages of 35 days or less departing April 2027 or later, for bookings through November 30. Ask us whether it still applies.
Long voyages run on a stricter table. Over 35 days, cancelling 180 or more days out costs $1,000, and the fee reaches 100% from 59 days.
Viking sells its own Travel Protection Plan through Trip Mate, underwritten by Generali. Its cancel-for-any-reason part pays in Viking travel vouchers, not cash, redeemable within 12 months.
The ticket contract adds that some locations require proof of travel insurance. The CDC puts a remote evacuation above $250,000, so compare plans in our expedition insurance guide before final payment.
Cheap to change your mind
On voyages of 35 days or less, cancelling now costs $100 a person.
Balance due
Or an earlier fixed date: December 17, 2026 for 2027 sailings, on the voyages we checked.
Three steps up
20% from 119 days, 35% from 89 and 50% from 69, all of the cruise fare.
Most of it, then all
75% from 49 days and 100% from 29. Insurance is the only cushion left.
Our scorecard, row by row
Science and comfort score highest. Group size and families score lowest — by design, not by accident.
Wi-Fi, beer and wine with meals, an excursion in every port, the small boats and the alternative restaurants all sit on one published list. Gratuities and cocktails between meals don’t.
Polar Class 6 hulls, the enclosed Hangar, two submarines and two Special Operations Boats per ship. A PC6 rating is a step below the PC5 on Lindblad’s newest pair.
A 380 sq ft wet-and-dry lab, weather balloon launches for NOAA and partner scientists from Cambridge, Cornell and Scripps. Few lines put guests this close to the work.
Every stateroom has a Nordic Balcony, and the smallest is 215 sq ft. The Aula and the spa are ocean-ship comfort on an expedition hull.
Each ship carries 378 guests, against 138 on Lindblad’s PC5 sisters. Expect landings run in rotations.
Every voyage shows a “from” fare, but flights, the submarine dive and gratuities have no published price.
No one under 18 can sail. That’s a policy, not a gap in the schedule.
Fit scores, not quality scores: our judgement of how well each dimension serves the reader this page is for. The facts behind them are Viking’s own, checked November 1, 2026.
Book Viking, or book someone else
You already sail Viking and want the ice
Same restaurants, same adults-only calm, same Inclusive Value list. The Hangar and the lab are the new parts.
You want the Great Lakes on an expedition ship
Viking runs 8- to 15-day lake voyages from late May to early October, from $7,499.
The science matters to you
A 380 sq ft lab, NOAA weather balloons and resident scientists from partner institutes.
You’re bringing anyone under 18
Viking can’t take them. Lindblad takes children from 6 months on most voyages, and it’s where we’d start.
What people ask before booking Viking Expeditions
What does a Viking expedition fare include?
Viking's Inclusive Value list covers your stateroom and all meals, one complimentary landing or shore excursion in every port, free Wi-Fi, beer, wine and soft drinks with lunch and dinner, port taxes and fees, the alternative restaurants, Nordic Spa access, self-service launderettes, and kayaks, Zodiacs and Special Operations Boats. Polar itineraries add an expedition jacket. Flights, gratuities, the optional submarine dive and cocktails outside meals are extra.
Can children sail on Viking Expeditions?
No. Viking's booking terms, updated October 8, 2026, say every guest must be 18 on or before embarkation day, and its passenger ticket contract says the ships keep no facilities or services for anyone under 18. If you're traveling with children or teenagers, look at Lindblad, which takes children from 6 months on most voyages.
Is the submarine dive included?
No. Viking's own pages call the submarine an optional excursion and publish no price. Its Antarctica page lists the dive on Antarctic Explorer, Into the Antarctic Circle and Arctic to Antarctic Explorer, but not on Antarctica and South Georgia Island. Ask us for the current price for your departure before you count on it.
Are flights included on Viking expedition cruises?
Not as a rule. Viking's fares are cruise only. Viking runs frequent sales, and some have included free or reduced airfare on select departures, so the air offer changes; ask us for the current one. Viking Air prices include transfers, about $160 in taxes and fees, and fuel surcharges. You don't have to buy Viking Air to get the cruise fare, but airport transfers are included only when you do.
Are gratuities included?
No. Viking's booking terms say gratuities on board and on land are not included in the fare, and they give no suggested amount. The Silver Spirits beverage package is different: Viking says its $27-a-night price already includes a 15% service charge.
When is final payment due, and what does cancelling cost?
Viking's voyage pages put final payment at 120 days before departure, or an earlier fixed date for some sailing years (December 17, 2026 for 2027 departures on the voyages we checked). On voyages of 35 days or less, cancelling 120 or more days out costs $100 a person. The fee then rises to 20%, 35%, 50%, 75% and 100% of the fare at 119, 89, 69, 49 and 29 days out.
Does Viking require travel insurance for expeditions?
Sometimes. Viking's passenger ticket contract says expedition guests may have to buy travel insurance and show proof of it for certain locations, and that you can be refused travel without it. Every expedition guest also owes Viking a Fit to Travel letter, completed with a medical advisor, about six months before departure.
Weighing a Viking expedition? We’ll price the parts it leaves out.
Tell us the region, the month and who’s traveling. We’ll check the current sale fare and air offer for your departure, ask Viking for the submarine price, and set the full total beside one or two other lines.
- The current sale fare and air offer for your departure
- The submarine dive price for your voyage
- Your real final-payment and fee dates
No fee, no obligation. You pay the cruise line’s own fare. A real advisor replies, usually within one business day.
Ask about Viking Expeditions
Answers come straight from this guide.
Answers come from our guides and are general information. Confirm details with us before you book.
Where every number came from
Fares, inclusions, terms and ship details are Viking’s own published figures on the date shown. The per-day costs, the scorecard, the Arctic and repositioning months and the fit verdicts are our arithmetic and judgement, not Viking’s. Fares are as published on November 1, 2026, with some pages still carrying the expired October sale banner; Viking runs frequent sales, so ask us for the current offer. Your invoice governs.
Where to go next
The voyage, the gateway night, and the cover that matters out there.
Expedition trips have more moving parts than a Caribbean week: a charter flight, a night in a gateway city, gear lists and an evacuation clause the line sets for you. We book them together and check that the dates and the fine print agree.