Viking Polaris

What is the Viking Polaris?

The Viking Polaris is the younger of Viking's two polar expedition ships: 378 guests, 189 staterooms and a Polar Class 6 hull, delivered by the Norwegian yard Vard in 2022, one year after its identical sister Viking Octantis.¹³⁴ Because the hardware is the same, the real questions about Polaris are about its calendar: which Antarctic dates it sails, what is still bookable on them, and where it goes in the northern summer.²

Viking named the pair together in Amsterdam on September 30, 2022, as part of its 25th anniversary, with the explorers Liv Arnesen and Ann Bancroft as godmothers.⁵ Polaris made its first Great Lakes call at Toronto on May 3, 2023, joining Octantis there; Viking says the expedition fleet was designed specifically to reach the Great Lakes.⁶ In March 2026 Viking ordered two more ships of the same 378-guest design from Fincantieri, for delivery in 2030 and 2031.⁴

How big is the Viking Polaris?

Viking gives the Polaris a length of 665 ft (about 203 m), a beam of 77 ft (about 23.5 m), 256 crew and 378 guests, and lists 2022 as its year built.¹ Fincantieri describes both sisters with straight bows, long hulls, fin stabilizers and U-tank stabilizers that it says cut rolling by up to 50% when the ship is stopped.³ Polar Class 6 is rated for summer and autumn operation in medium first-year ice, which may include old ice inclusions.¹³ On board, Polaris has the spaces Viking built for both ships: The Hangar, an in-ship marina for launching boats under cover; The Aula, a panoramic lecture auditorium; and a 380 sq ft (35 m²) Science Lab with wet and dry labs.⁶ It also carries two six-seat submarines.⁸ The full spec table, deck layout and onboard venues are on our Viking Octantis page; every figure there applies to Polaris too.

How does the Viking Polaris differ from the Viking Octantis?

Not in design, only in schedule and in how hard Viking works it. In the 2025-26 Antarctic season IAATO, the tour operators' association, counted 11 voyages and 4,010 passengers on Polaris against 9 voyages and 3,294 passengers on Octantis; for 2026-27 its preliminary estimate is 9 voyages and 3,330 passengers for each ship.⁹

When does the Viking Polaris sail to Antarctica in 2026-27?

From late November 2026 to early March 2027. Its season starts with the 19-day Antarctica & South Georgia Island on November 24, then runs eight departures of the 13-day Antarctic Explorer, Buenos Aires to Ushuaia, the last of which returns on March 10, 2027, a week after the last Octantis Antarctic Explorer gets back.²¹⁴ On the Antarctic Explorer, day 1 is a hotel night in Buenos Aires, day 2 a charter flight to Ushuaia, days 4 to 10 are spent in Antarctica, and day 12 is a scenic sailing past Cape Horn.¹⁰

What you could book on October 15, 2026, per person with two sharing:

Source for every row: Viking's dates and pricing data, read October 15, 2026.² Watch the headline price: on December 22 and January 24 the "from" figure Viking shows ($17,999 and $14,999) is for an N2 room that is already sold out, so the real entry price is $200 higher.² All these fares are Viking's Fall Sale prices, which apply to bookings made by October 31, 2026.²¹ The fare includes the Buenos Aires hotel night, the charter flights to and from Ushuaia, at least one excursion on each landing day, beer and wine with meals and Wi-Fi.⁸

Which stateroom should you book on the Viking Polaris?

The standard Nordic Balcony is the value pick, because every grade shares the same floor-to-ceiling glass wall whose top half lowers, and the 215 sq ft rooms differ mainly in perks.¹ The February 4, 2027 departure, the first with N2 rooms still on sale, shows the spread:²

The booking windows matter more than they look. Excursions, including a place at a submarine dive briefing, can be reserved before you sail, from a date set by your stateroom grade: 107 days out for an Explorer Suite against 87 days for a Nordic Balcony.¹⁰⁸¹ Viking lists Nordic Junior Suites 4024 and 4025 as wheelchair accessible.¹ A Deluxe Nordic Balcony buys earlier room access and restaurant priority, not space: it is the same 215 sq ft as the standard room.¹ Our Antarctica cruise balcony guide explains why a Nordic Balcony is not a walk-out balcony.

Does the Viking Polaris go to the Arctic in 2027?

No. From April 22 to October 13, 2027 every Polaris sailing is in eastern North America: Canada & East Coast Explorer from Fort Lauderdale to Toronto on April 22 (from $7,999), a summer of Great Lakes trips, and Canadian Discovery from Toronto to New York on October 1 (from $11,299).² Its 2027 Great Lakes program, fares as shown on October 15, 2026:

Flights from the US add $499 to $599 on these trips.² Polaris's first Arctic sailing is the Canada & Greenland Explorer from Toronto to Nuuk on July 3, 2028, from $17,499, followed by 13-day Into the Northwest Passage round trips from Nuuk from $17,999.² If you want the Northwest Passage or Greenland in 2027, book Octantis instead: its 13-day Into the Northwest Passage round trips from Nuuk depart between July 11 and September 9, 2027, from $16,999 on August 4.² Our Arctic cruises guide and Northwest Passage cruises guide compare the other ships that go north.

What happened to the Viking Polaris in November 2022?

The ship was hit by a breaking wave. On November 29, 2022, crossing the Drake Passage toward Ushuaia, south-east of Cape Horn, Polaris took a wave that shattered seven stateroom windows; one passenger died and eight were hurt.⁷ It was heading north early: the day before, a Zodiac incident in Antarctica had injured one passenger and put another in the water, and the cruise was cut short for a medical evacuation.⁷

Norway's investigators, the NSIA, concluded that the wave's pressure exceeded what the windows were built to withstand, that the windows were "inadequately dimensioned", and that the rules in force produce design pressures too low for breaking waves.⁷ They recommended that the ships' owning company and its ship manager reinforce the windows on both Polaris and Octantis, and that classification rules be changed to account for breaking waves.⁷ We have not found a public statement that the reinforcement work is complete; ask Viking before you book if this weighs on you, and read our guide to flying or sailing the Drake Passage.

What is it like to land in Antarctica from a 378-guest ship?

Expect to go ashore in groups. IAATO's bylaws allow no more than 100 visitors ashore at one site at a time and put ships of 201 to 500 passengers under "stringent restrictions on time and place of landing activities", so a full Polaris needs at least four turns at a site (our arithmetic).¹¹ Eleven of the 45 visitor site guidelines published by the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat admit only ships of 200 passengers or fewer.¹²

Kayaks, Zodiacs and the special operations boats come at no extra charge, a submarine dive costs $499 per person, and there are no helicopters.¹⁰⁸ If time ashore matters more to you than comfort, compare our guide to choosing an Antarctica cruise and our small versus large expedition ship guide.

What does the Viking Polaris sail after 2026-27?

The 2027-28 Antarctic season is on sale. Polaris returns to Antarctica with an Antarctic Explorer on November 12, 2027, from $16,499, and on December 4, 2027 it sails Viking's new 15-day Into the Antarctic Circle, where the cheapest bookable room is a Nordic Balcony N1 at $18,699, with flights $1,999 extra.² Octantis sails the same Antarctic Circle trip from November 27, 2027, from $18,999.² See our Antarctic Circle page for what crossing the circle involves and our Antarctica trip cost guide for the extras.

Should you book the Viking Polaris?

Book it if its dates suit you; it is the same ship as Octantis in every respect. Pick Polaris for a late-season Antarctic trip: the February 26 departure is the last Antarctic Explorer of 2026-27 and costs the same $14,999 as the earliest February dates, with flights from the US at $999.² Pick Octantis if you also want the Arctic in 2027.² Skip both if you are traveling with anyone under 18: Viking does not take guests younger than that.¹⁷ For a lower fare on a bigger ship, compare HX's 490-guest Roald Amundsen, from $9,736 for 12 days; for an all-suite ship of 264 guests, see Seabourn Pursuit.¹⁵¹⁶