Viking River Cruises opened bookings for company's new Mississippi River cruises (in the USA) planned for 2022. The first custom-designed and USA-built vessel - Viking Mississippi, is scheduled for inauguration in August 2022. The ship will be deployed on Lower and Upper Mississippi, cruising between homeports NOLA-New Orleans and Saint Paul MN.
The arrival of Viking will bring modern river cruising to the Mississippi River and will represent a major commitment to economic development and tourism in a lot of communities along the river.
Scheduled ports of call on Viking Mississippi cruises comprise 7 states in the USA: Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Itineraries include:
- "Heart of the Delta" - 8-day from New Orleans to Memphis (New Orleans LA, Darrow LA, Baton Rouge LA, St Francisville LA, Natchez MS, Vicksburg MS, Memphis TN)
- "America’s Heartland" - 8-day from St Louis to St Paul (St Louis MO, Hannibal MO, Burlington IA, Quad Cities (Davenport IA), Dubuque IA, La Crosse WI, Red Wing MN, Minneapolis-St Paul MN)
- "Southern Celebration" - 8-day roundtrip from New Orleans (New Orleans LA, Darrow LA, St Francisville LA, Natchez MS, Vicksburg MS, Baton Rouge LA, New Orleans LA)
- "America’s Great River" - 15-day from St Paul to New Orleans (Minneapolis-St Paul MN, Red Wing MN, La Crosse WI, Dubuque IA, Quad Cities (Davenport IA), Burlington IA, Hannibal MO, St Louis MO, Memphis TN, Vicksburg MS, Natchez MS, Baton Rouge LA, New Orleans LA)
As part of an exclusive preview that was promised by Viking Chairman Torstein Hagen, past Viking cruisers have been able to book the new itineraries since March 30. Some departures are nearly or completely sold out.
All 2022-2023 Viking Mississippi cruises are now open for general public booking.