Luxury Cruising Editorial

No company has more river ships around the world and in Europe than Viking. And now, two more are being added to the fleet.

Viking has officially taken delivery of its two newest river ships, Viking Annar and Viking Fjolvar.

Both vessels were built at the Meyer Neptun Werft shipyard in Germany and are preparing to begin offering sailings in two different parts of Europe.

The announcement comes right on the heels of Viking expanding its ocean fleet as well. Cruise Fever recently reported on the delivery of Viking’s newest ocean ship, showing that the cruise line is not slowing down its fleet growth any time soon.

Where the New Ships Are Going

These two new vessels are stepping right into some of Viking’s most popular European itineraries, but these ships are in two different classes.

Viking Annar is a traditional, full-sized Viking Longship built to navigate the Rhine, Main, and Danube rivers.

• It can accommodate 190 guests across 95 staterooms.
• It features the traditional Longship layout with the patented square bow and the indoor/outdoor Aquavit Terrace.

Viking Fjolvar is a modified, slightly shorter version of the Longship design built specifically for France’s Seine River.

• It can accommodate 168 guests across 84 staterooms.
• The shorter configuration allows it to navigate the locks of the Seine and secure Viking’s exclusive docking location right in the heart of Paris.

A Look at the Total Capacity

Viking is already the largest player on the rivers by a wide margin. Looking at the company’s lineup, their river fleet sits at roughly 89 active vessels.

These river ships alone have a total fleet capacity of about 15,000 guests at full double occupancy.

As a side note, just last year Viking celebrated a 100-ship milestone with vessels across all three categories: river, ocean, expedition.

The river fleet capacity includes smaller 106-guest vessels built for the tight turns of Portugal’s Douro River, specialized 98-guest ships for the shallow Elbe River, and custom 82-guest vessels built for the Nile.

The largest ship by volume is the Viking Mississippi, which accommodates 386 guests.

Commitment to Long-Term Growth

In the announcement of the two new ships being added to the fleet, Leah Talactac, President and CEO of Viking, stated:

“We are proud to welcome the Viking Annar and the Viking Fjolvar to our growing fleet of award-winning river ships.”

“Exploring by river offers an unmatched way to discover a destination’s history, culture and local life, and these new vessels allow even more curious travelers to experience Europe in Viking comfort.”

Viking’s current orderbook shows that the cruise line is still very much focused on its long-term strategy. The company expects to take delivery of 22 additional river ships by 2028.

Viking also has nine additional ocean ships and two additional expedition ships scheduled to join the global fleet by 2031.

When these plans are realized, Viking will operate an unprecedented 114 river ships in 2028, alongside 26 ocean and expedition ships by 2031.

Bottom Line

Having sailed with Viking several times, I could see first-hand that the cruise line has a specific formula that works, and they are doubling down on it.

Cruisers love the lack of “nickel and diming” on board and attention to the simple details. The company is known for their list of things you won’t find on their ships: no casino, no art auctions, no waterslides, no kids.

As the travel brochure says, it’s the thinking person’s cruise, and Viking does a great job of providing an immersive experience to each location the ship visits.

And with each ship in the same category relatively the same, you always know what to expect on board.

Carnival Cruise Line is rolling out new dining options that include menu enhancements and brand-new restaurants that will be on their next two cruise ships, as well as dining upgrades across their fleet.

Carnival Cruise Line’s The Next Course is a combination of new, innovated dining options and experiences that are being rolled out across the fleet. This includes a new option where guests can place a mobile order for coffee.

Here is a look at the updates that were announced today by Carnival Cruise Line.

The Next Course

Carnival is creating four new restaurants and three new bars that will be on their next two cruise ships, Carnival Festivale and Carnival Tropicale.

The four new restaurants are:

• Emeril’s Coastal Seafood: Coastal-inspired cuisine from Emeril Lagasse
• Uku Lei Lei: Hawaiian specialties and Asian classics
• Fetaccine: Mediterranean-inspired, combining Italian favorites and Greek specialties
• Le Bistro Musicale: Classic French cuisine in a relaxed, music-filled Parisian setting, which will be exclusively on Carnival Festivale

The three new bar outlets announced by Carnival are:

• The Spark: Vibrant lounge featuring live performances and cocktails inspired by iconic songs
• Mix: Playful bar where guests can order creative cocktails or craft their own drinks, layering unique flavors
• Festival Grounds Coffee & Bar: Specialty coffees and cocktails served in a dynamic space.

Fleetwide Dining Enhancements

In addition, Carnival Cruise Line is rolling out fleet enhancements to their current lineup of ships that include new culinary creations in the Main Dining Room for breakfast, lunch and dinner. 

The Lido Marketplace will have a new Family Menu and BlueIguana Cantina will have daily rotating specials.

Begals @ Sea will offer fresh baked bagels with assorted toppings.

Chef’s Table is getting revamped with elevated multi-course dinners with regionally inspired flavors.

New, fast-casual options are being added to Excel class ships. They include Fruity & Frosted Breakfast Bars and Ice Cream and Milkshake Bars pop-ups.

Carnival cruisers will also be able to place a mobile order for coffee with expanded grab-and-go options.

For guests who want a quicker dining experience, Express Dining will offer a more convenient option in the Main Dining Room.

Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line, said the following about these new updates:

“Our approach to dining combined with our team’s amazing service is a driving force behind Carnival’s success. Our latest culinary adventure marks a bold step forward to give guests an unforgettable experience with a variety of new vibrant flavors fleetwide.”

Cunard, the iconic British luxury brand under the Carnival corporate umbrella, has just launched a new sweepstakes giving away an all-expenses-paid, 7-night Transatlantic Crossing for two people.

Any reason for a free cruise giveaway is a good reason if you ask me. But this sweepstakes has a much deeper connection to America’s history.

The giveaway is in celebration of the 250^th anniversary for America’s independence, and Cunard has a long maritime history with the U.S.

In fact, Cunard’s ties to the United States go all the way back to 1840, when its very first steamship started making regular transatlantic mail deliveries between Liverpool and Boston.

Over the next couple hundred years, the British cruise line became a sort of bridge to the US, carrying more than a million immigrants to America.

This new sweepstakes is a celebration of that history. It is offering a free trip on another milestone sailing, which is the upcoming 450th transatlantic crossing for Cunard’s flagship, the Queen Mary 2.

An Actual Ocean Liner

Most people call every large vessel a “cruise ship,” but the Queen Mary 2 is actually the world’s last remaining true ocean liner.

Regular cruise ships are basically floating resorts, complete with water slides and designed to island hop.

The Queen Mary 2 was built to ride the rough waters of the North Atlantic. It has 40% more steel than a standard cruise ship, a deeper hull, and a sharper bow made to handle open-ocean waves.

Sailing on the QM2 is not about waterslides or go-kart tracks. Instead, it focuses on classic maritime tradition, formal gala nights, and the unique experience of spending seven straight days at sea without seeing land.

No other ship does regularly scheduled, year-round transatlantic crossings.

If you’re used to Carnival and Royal Caribbean vacations, it will feel very different on a Cunard ship. But that’s part of the experience.

What the Grand Prize Includes

Cunard is covering the entire package for the winner and a guest. The grand prize includes:

• A 7-night Westbound Transatlantic Crossing in a Britannia Baloom stateroom (sailing from Southampton, England to New York City on November 10, 2026).
• Roundtrip international airfare for two between your nearest major airport, London, and New York.
• A one-night hotel stay in Southampton the night before the ship departs.
• All ground transfers between the airports, hotel, and cruise terminals.

Because this specific sailing is the ship’s 450th crossing, the Cunard is rolling out unique onboard events too.

They are performing theater shows about historical passengers, holding a special Gala Dinner with commemorative take-home menus, and even bringing back a live print version of their historic newspaper, the Ocean Times.

How to Enter (and the Fine Print)

The entry process is pretty straightforward. You just have to fill out a basic contact form on Cunard’s website here.

Here are the quick rules you need to know:

• Who can enter: Legal residents of the 50 United States and Washington D.C.
• Age limit: You must be 21 or older.
• Deadline: The giveaway closes at 11:59 PM PT on July 31, 2026.
• The cost: Completely free, with no purchase necessary.

A Quick Heads Up

The form will ask if you want to opt-in to marketing emails and phone calls. Legally, checking “No” does not lower your chances of winning. Sweepstakes laws in the US require the drawing to be entirely random, so feel free to leave this unchecked if you do not want promotional mail.

The winner will be randomly selected by a computer drawing after the July 31 deadline. If you want to throw your hat in the ring, head over Cunard’s Crossing Sweepstakes page before the end of July.

A future passenger with Celebrity Cruises was surprised to see an email from the cruise line, stating that their sailing to Spain, Portugal, and Morocco had to be canceled.

The email said, “Regrettably, we must cancel our August 12, 2027, Celebrity Equinox sailing, as it has been chartered.”

The Celebrity guest took to Reddit to ask if anyone else had received this notification saying, “This is a new one for me.”

I always recommend booking a cruise as far in advance as possible. While the rush of a last-minute sailing can be fun, you can benefit from price fluctuations and have more time to plan if you book a year or more out.

But there’s also a risk. There’s plenty of time for something to happen which could alter the sailing quite a bit.

Things like scheduling conflicts with the ports, geopolitical issues, or even decisions by the cruise line to move a ship’s homeport can trigger a change in your cruise.

In this case, a ship can be either fully chartered or even partially chartered, which would still require opening up some cabins for the company that is booking the sailing.

While we’re still not clear if this entire ship is being chartered or not—although it does sound like it with the wording of “we must cancel our…sailing”—Celebrity is offering several options for those impacted.

What Celebrity Is Offering

Celebrity apologized for the inconvenience and gave guests these options:

• Rebook on the Equinox for the same Spain/Portugal/Morocco itinerary on June 17 or September 9, 2027, or switch to an Italian Riviera sailing on August 3.
• Rebook on any other Celebrity sailing, with change fees waived.

They are also protecting the original cabin pricing and offering $400 onboard credit per stateroom for suite guests ($200 for Aqua Class and below).

So, while no one wants to get an email saying their cruise is canceled, for regular cruisers the rewards are pretty sweet, as long the cruiser is flexible.

The original poster in the Reddit thread about this cancelation was able to call Celebrity and successfully rebook their favorite aft-facing Sunset Sky Suite.

However, their friends in a separate cabin on the same sailing never received the cancelation notice. Other cruisers in the thread said they’ve experienced the same thing, where only some people in a group get notified.

Either it’s a case of just a partial charter needing some cabins or it could be that all of the notifications haven’t rolled out to everyone just yet.

Because the cruise is still over a year away, most people in the comments felt Celebrity’s offer was reasonable.

One popular comment summed it up: “It’s over a year out. This is plenty fair.”