Viking announced an expansion of its Egypt program for the 2020 season, which will include the launch of a new ship. Viking Osiris is currently under construction and will double the company’s owned capacity in Egypt when it debuts in September 2020.

Rendering courtesy of Viking

Also launching in the next year are two new Pre-Cruise Extensions designed to enhance guests’ base knowledge of Egyptology prior to arriving in Cairo. These five-day extensions to Viking’s Pharaohs & Pyramids itinerary will provide access to archives and exhibits in London and Oxford that are not normally accessible to the public.

Viking Osiris

Hosting 82 guests in 41 staterooms, Viking Osiris will feature the Scandinavian design for which Viking is known – and will join the company’s other ship on the Nile, Viking Ra, which launched in 2018.

Pharaohs & Pyramids

During the 12-day, Pharaohs & Pyramids itinerary, guests experience Egypt’s cultural treasures in seven destinations. The cruisetour begins with a three-night stay at a first-class hotel in Cairo, where guests can visit iconic sites such as the Great Pyramids of Giza, the necropolis of Sakkara and the Mosque of Muhammad Ali.

Guests will then fly to Luxor, where they will visit the Temples of Luxor and Karnak before boarding a Viking river ship for an eight-day roundtrip cruise on the Nile River where they will visit the tomb of Nefertari in the Valley of the Queens, and take excursions to the Temple of Khnum in Esna, the Dendera Temple complex in Qena, the temples at Abu Simbel and the High Dam in Aswan, and a Nubian village. Finally, the journey concludes with a flight back to Cairo for a final night in the city.