Viking Cruises has today announced a series of  land and sea itineraries, debuting in December this year, that will feature The Galapagos Islands, and some of Peru’s top destinations, including Machu Picchu.

Viking will exclusively charter the Santa Cruz II, with a full renovation planned between now and December.

The 90-passenger ship will debut as part of a line of new ships for the cruise line. Two expedition vessels, Viking Octantis and Viking Polaris, will carry 378 passengers and debut in January 2022 and August 2022, respectively.

This follows Viking’s recent announcement that the company will expand into expedition cruising in 2022 with the two ships sailing in Antarctica, the Arctic and the Great Lakes in North America.

But, for the new itineraries announced today, along with The Galapagos and Machu Picchu, they will also also feature Lima and Cuzco in Peru.

Itineraries include:

  • The 15-day “East Galapagos, Machu Picchu & Peru”
  • The 15-day “West Galapagos, Machu Picchu & Peru”
  • The 13-day “Wild Galapagos, Machu Picchu & Peru”

A Viking spokesperson said: “I can confirm that Viking is in the process of launching new voyages to South America and the Galapagos Islands. For now, we are rolling out these new itineraries to our loyal past guests – and their travel agents – for an exclusive booking period.”

The next big announcement from Viking is expected to be about an expansion of its river cruise brand, with new itineraries opening up on the Mississippi River for 2022. This is the first time that Viking will be sailing in the US river market. More news on this is due to be announced in New Orleans in early April.