Viking vs Princess Cruises 2026: Small Ship or Big-Ship Tech?

Put Viking and Princess side by side and the overlap is the map, not the ships. Both sail Alaska, the Mediterranean, and long world routes, and both call themselves premium, but one is a small ship that hands you everything and the other is a floating small town that hands you a wearable. Viking carries under a thousand adults on near-identical all-veranda ships, with the trip mostly paid for before you board. Princess carries up to 4,300 guests of every age on ships wired for MedallionClass, and it sails more Alaska departures than anyone.

So the destination will not decide this; the ship will. Book Viking if you want a quiet adults-only sailing where the fare covers the extras and nothing runs late. Book Princess if you want scale, the convenience of ordering a drink to wherever you are standing, a family in tow, or a lower fare you top up as you go. Both do Alaska beautifully. They just fill the days between the glaciers very differently.

Start with the spec table

The grid above comes straight from our dataset, verified August 2026. Both lines sit in the Premium tier, so this is a fair like-for-like read rather than a value-versus-luxury one. Where a cell says “Not published,” we have not confirmed that number against the line’s own page, so check it before booking.

What Viking does better

Viking’s strengths are an all-in fare, a small adults-only ship, and calm evenings with no upsell.

• The extras are already in the price. Complimentary Wi-Fi for every guest, beer and wine at lunch and dinner, and one included shore excursion in every port come with the fare, per Viking’s inclusive-value page (verified August 2026). You can bring your own wine or spirits aboard and drink them anywhere, with no corkage fee. Princess bills all of that separately or through a bundle.
• No one under 18 is aboard. Viking Ocean is adults-only, so the ship stays quiet and the crowd stays grown-up. Princess is family-friendly by design, which is the opposite priority.
• A small ship you learn once. Under a thousand guests, every stateroom a veranda, and ships that are near copies of each other. There is no getting lost and no wrong deck. A Princess ship carries several times as many people.
• Nothing runs late or loud. No casino sits on any Viking ship and no evening is formal, so the nights point toward the next port rather than the tables. Princess keeps a casino and a formal night.
• A short list of extras. A flat $20 per guest per night gratuity and one optional drink package, Silver Spirits at $27 a night, are close to the whole onboard sell.

What Princess does better

Princess’s strengths are big-ship range, MedallionClass convenience, families aboard, the widest Alaska program, and a lower starting fare.

• MedallionClass runs the ship. The wearable Medallion handles keyless cabin entry, food and drink delivered to wherever you are, and wayfinding across a ship far too big to memorize. Viking offers no equivalent. On a large ship, that convenience earns its keep.
• Scale and variety. Princess runs 17 ships up to the 4,300-guest Sphere-class Star Princess and Sun Princess, with a 360-degree glass Piazza at their center. That is room for more dining, more shows, and more cabin choices than Viking’s small fleet holds.
• The strongest Alaska hand. Princess sails more Inside Passage departures from Seattle than any competitor and pairs many with its own rail-and-lodge land tours. If Alaska with a cruisetour is the goal, Princess has the deepest bench.
• Families are welcome. Youth centers by age group, connecting cabins, and Movies Under the Stars on deck make Princess a real multi-generational option. Viking allows no one under 18.
• A lower way in. Princess starts from a cruise-only fare below Viking’s all-in price, then lets you add Plus or Premier bundles for Wi-Fi, drinks, and tips. If you do not want a full all-inclusive, you can pay for less.

Choosing between them for Alaska

Alaska is where these two lines most often land on the same shortlist, so it is worth seeing the trade laid out. Viking hands you a small, quiet, all-in ship. Princess hands you scale, tech, and choice.

If your ideal Alaska trip is calm and settled, Viking. If it is a big ship with the widest choice of dates and a land extension, Princess.

Where Viking and Princess overlap

Both are premium destination lines, both go deep on Alaska and the Mediterranean, and both keep smoking confined to designated areas.

• Destination-first, both of them. Neither leans on thrill rides. Both build itineraries around ports, scenery, and enrichment, with Alaska and Europe central to each.
• Drinking age 21 from the US. Both set 21 on US sailings, with Princess dropping to 20 from Japan and lower on some other overseas departures. Viking holds a single fleetwide 21.
• BYO wine is allowed on both. Each lets you bring wine aboard, on different terms: Viking with no corkage and no real limit, Princess with a $20 corkage to open your bottle in a venue.
• Smoking is penned in. Both ban smoking in staterooms and on balconies and confine it to designated spots, with a $250 cabin cleaning fee on either line for breaking the rule.

Which should you pick?

• Book Viking if you want a small adults-only ship, Wi-Fi and wine at meals and an excursion in every port already paid for, no formal night, and no casino or kids’ clubs.
• Book Princess if you want a big ship with MedallionClass convenience, the widest Alaska choice with a land tour, a family-friendly crowd, or a lower fare you build up.
• Book Holland America instead if you want another Carnival Corporation premium line like Princess but calmer and more enrichment-led. See our Holland America vs Princess comparison, and Viking vs Holland America for the Premium-versus-Premium calm end.

Before you book

• Compare the all-in cost. Add a Princess Plus bundle and your excursions before setting the fare against Viking’s bundled price for the same sailing. The Viking dress code and Princess dress code guides spell out the evenings.
• Decide how much ship you want. A 4,300-guest Sphere ship and a sub-1,000-guest Viking ship are different holidays. Size up cabins with the Viking cabin-size tool and Princess cabin-size tool.
• For Alaska, check the land tour. If you want rail and a lodge, that is a Princess cruisetour. Viking keeps Alaska ship-based.
• Whether children are coming. If they are, Princess is the only choice of the two.

Bottom line

Viking is the small, quiet, everything-included ship for adults who go for the ports and want nothing left to arrange. Princess is the big, tech-forward, family-friendly ship with the deepest Alaska program and a lower fare you build on. Want it all-in and kid-free on a ship you learn in a day? Viking. Want scale, a Medallion on your wrist, and the widest choice of sailings? Princess.