Viking Orion - Alaska & Inside Passage
Explore Alaska's vast wilderness aboard the intimate Viking Orion, with smaller ship access to ports the mega-ships can't reach, enrichment lectures by naturalists, and Viking's all-inclusive luxury experience.
Price Range
$$$
Premium
*Prices vary by cabin type, sailing date, and availability. Confirm rates with Viking Ocean Cruises before booking.
Ship Details — Viking Orion
View full Viking Orion detailsItinerary & Route Map
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Where this cruise calls, day by day
6 ports and 6 sea days over 11 Nights.
- Day 1Vancouver, BC port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore
Vancouver, BC
CanadaDepart Day 2 · At sea
Day 3 · At sea
- Day 4Juneau port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore
Juneau
United StatesPort - Day 5Skagway port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore
Skagway
United StatesPort Day 6 · At sea
- Day 7
Sitka
United StatesPortSitka is the one Southeast Alaska call that faces the open Pacific rather than the Inside Passage, and it was the capital of Russian America until 1867 - St Michael's Cathedral still stands in the middle of the main street. The volcanic cone of Mount Edgecumbe sits across the sound. Its history is also the hardest of any Alaskan port: the Tlingit fought and lost a battle here in 1804, on ground that is now a national park.
- Sitka National Historical Park, with a totem trail through the 1804 battlefield
- St Michael's Cathedral and the Russian Bishop's House
- Alaska Raptor Center's flight training centre for injured eagles
- Wildlife boat tours into Sitka Sound for sea otters, puffins and whales
- Getting ashore
- Larger ships use the Old Sitka Dock about five miles north with a paid shuttle; smaller ships still tender straight into the downtown harbour.
- Best months
- May-Sep (Jun-Aug best; Sitka is exposed to Pacific weather and can be rough at the shoulders)
- Day 8Ketchikan port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore
Ketchikan
United StatesPort Day 9 · At sea
Day 10 · At sea
Day 11 · At sea
- Day 12
Seward
United StatesArriveSeward sits at the head of Resurrection Bay on the Kenai Peninsula and works mainly as a turnaround port for Gulf of Alaska crossings, where passengers swap ship for the Alaska Railroad or a coach to Anchorage, 120 miles north. It is also the road gateway to Kenai Fjords National Park. A new Royal Caribbean-funded cruise terminal with a 748-foot floating dock has been replacing the old railway-side facility.
- Kenai Fjords National Park boat tour to the tidewater glaciers in Aialik Bay
- Exit Glacier, the one part of the park you can reach and walk to by road
- Alaska SeaLife Center on the waterfront, a research aquarium and rescue facility
- The Coastal Classic train to Anchorage through the Kenai Mountains
- Getting ashore
- Ships berth alongside at the cruise terminal beside the railway, a walk or short shuttle from Seward's small downtown.
- Best months
- May-Sep (Jun-Aug for glacier boat tours; the season ends abruptly in September)
Onboard Amenities
Cruise Highlights
About the Ship
What Travelers Say About Viking Orion
Reviews of the ship itself — the same for every Viking Orion sailing. Distilled from 6 traveler threads, passenger reviews and travel blogs.
Viking Orion is one of the more established ships in Viking's ocean fleet, sailing since 2018, and it carries a genuinely distinctive feature: the Explorers' Dome planetarium, a high-resolution domed theater that Orion was the first Viking ship to introduce. Beyond that signature, it delivers the classic Viking experience, a small, adults-only ship of roughly 930 guests with understated Scandinavian styling and an itinerary-driven, mature sensibility that appeals strongly to seasoned travelers who prefer enrichment over entertainment.
What People Love
- Adults-only atmosphere with no guests under 18, giving a calm and mature onboard feel
- Strong no-nickel-and-diming value with Wi-Fi, self-serve laundry, one shore excursion per port, and wine, beer and soda at lunch and dinner all included
- Consistently friendly and efficient service that guests rate highly
Common Complaints
- Shore excursions draw criticism, with included options seen as low value and optional ones overpriced
- Main dining food can be bland or limited in variety, especially for dietary restrictions
- As a smaller ship it has more noticeable motion than megaships in rough seas
