Next year, Viking River Cruises will take delivery of another 12 of its highly successful Viking Longships, which will allow the line to offer a total of 22 itineraries next year that range in length from eight to 23 days.

The Class of 2014 is:

• Viking Alvin
• Viking Bestla
• Viking Buri
• Viking Delling
• Viking Eistla
• Viking Gullveig
• Viking Heimdal
• Viking Hermod
• Viking Idi
• Viking Ingvi
• Viking Kvasir
• Viking Hemming
• Viking Torgil
• Viking Lif

Two ships launching next year won’t be “true” Viking Longships, as such. Designed for use along Portugal’s famed Douro River, Viking Hemming and Viking Torgil will lack the two high-profile Explorer Suites that have graced the sterns of the Viking Longships. They’ll also substantially redefine the ship’s accommodations structure, with more suites located on Upper and Lower decks and reducing the number of French Balcony staterooms down to just two per ship. Slightly smaller than their European-based counterparts, they will bring Longship-style river cruising to Portugal’s Douro River Valley for the first time.

On the Douro, Viking will begin offering a 10-night itinerary that begins with two days in Lisbon before proceeding to Porto to embark your ship. Winding east between the sharply terraced terrain, Portugal’s Douro River has been essential for centuries to the production of port wine. Along the way, guests will have the opportunity to experience some of the most stunning towns and villages of Portugal and Spain.

“As people became more familiar with all its benefits, river cruising’s popularity has increased considerably over the past decade,” says Torstein Hagen, CEO and chairman of Viking River Cruises. “Because of the intimate size of our ships, the all-inclusive nature of our programs, the excellent Early Booking Discounts and the overall demand, we encourage travellers to book now and lock in their first choice in itinerary, departure date and stateroom category, before the most popular programs are sold out.”

The phrase “book early” should be familiar to most river cruisers by now, but particularly where it concerns Viking’s Longships, which have limited availability right up until the Christmas Markets season this year. For those looking to book specific departure dates or staterooms — particularly on the line’s new 2014 itineraries — booking early will likely save you headaches later on.

More information on Viking River Cruises and its Viking Longships can be found by viewing our complete Viking River Cruises profile here on River Cruise Advisor.