Viking is practically sold out for 2025. The cruise line had sold 92% of 2025 inventory as of May 11, Viking said Tuesday in its Q1 earnings report.
CFO Leah Talactac said that with 92% of capacity booked, Viking has "effectively sold out the year, given our typical load factor."
"With 2025 now largely secured, our focus has shifted to 2026, where we have a solid foundation with more than 37% of our capacity already sold, positioning us well amid evolving macroeconomic conditions," Talactac said.
Viking reported $897.1 million in Q1 revenue, a nearly 25% jump year over year.
"Viking is off to a remarkable start in 2025, with our first-quarter financial performance underscoring the continued momentum in our business," chairman and CEO Torstein Hagen said.
January was the best booking month in company history, and the cruise line had its best Wave season (bookings in the first three months of the year), Hagen said. The line reported bookings in April and May are also up year over year.
Q1 occupancy for river cruises was at 93.9%, while ocean capacity was at 94.4%.
Capacity increased by nearly 15% in the first quarter due to the addition of two river cruise ships in Egypt -- the Viking Hathor and Viking Sobek -- and the Viking Vela ocean ship.
The river cruise line has $5.5 billion in advanced bookings for this year and $2.7 billion for next year, a 17% increase from the same point in time in 2024. These bookings indicate that Viking's target audience remains "financially resilient" and prioritizes travel, the cruise line said.
What's in the Viking pipeline
Since the cruise line's last earnings call, the company has taken delivery of the Viking Nerthus, which will sail three itineraries on the Seine River in France. Viking announced it would add another ship on the Douro in 2027. It will be Viking's sixth ship in Portugal.
The brand has also entered shipbuilding contracts for two ocean ships scheduled for delivery in 2031 and has options for two more in 2033. The company expects to add 11 new ocean ships to its fleet by 2031, including the Viking Libra, its first hydrogen-powered cruise ship.
The company is on track to add one ocean ship and nine river ships this year.