Michelle Baran
Upon returning from a week-long family vacation, as I was catching up on any river cruise news I might have missed while I was away, I learned that Viking River Cruises had quietly become an adults-only line.
Upon seeing the news, which was first reported by the Australian site Cruise Passenger, my first thought was, they aren't already? But sure enough, after heading to the Terms & Conditions page on Viking's site, I found the updated adults-only policy, stating that "due to the nature of our cruise and travel itineraries, the carrier does not maintain facilities or services on our ships for individuals under the age of 18 years."
According to the new policy, for all Viking river cruises booked
after Aug. 1, 2018, passengers must be 18 years old on or before the day they
are scheduled to embark, mirroring the policy on Viking’s sister cruise line,
Viking Ocean, which has been adults-only since its launch in late 2015.
Passengers under the age of 18 can still cruise on Viking’s river
ships through the end of 2019 if they booked prior to Aug. 1, 2018.
Before, Viking’s minimum age was 12 years old, which is already
at the higher end of the minimum age requirements on river lines. Scenic,
Emerald Waterways and Riviera River Cruises are the only other lines that have
a 12-year minimum age requirement.
Avalon Waterways’ minimum age is 8; on AmaWaterways and
Uniworld its 4; Tauck’s is 3; Crystal goes as low as six months; and
CroisiEurope has no minimum.
While some may question Viking’s decision to cut kids out altogether, I don’t think it’s a bad thing. While other river cruise lines
are looking to carve out space among younger travelers with more active
itineraries, or are courting families by welcoming kids onboard, Viking has basically
decided it’s a cruise company for older adults and nothing else.
As someone who has a young child, I can really respect that.
When I’m not traveling with my two-year-old tot, I don’t always love being
woken up or startled by children making a ruckus. It’s easy to be more tolerant
when it’s your own (heck, you don’t really have a choice), but I can definitely
see the allure for travelers not traveling with children (and who maybe aren’t
used to even being around little ones very regularly) to be assured of a
certain tranquility while on vacation.
River cruising has for a while now grappled with whether or
not it can be a truly kid- and family-friendly form of travel. Lacking the
amenities of the bigger ocean-going ships and large resorts, the question is
whether there is enough for kids to do on and off the ships. Having experienced
Adventures by Disney, which has partnered with AmaWaterways on a growing
portfolio of river cruises, I still think there is a way to do kid-friendly river
cruising well. It helps if the kids are a little older, five and up from my
point of view, and many river cruise lines say eight and older is the best age
to enjoy a river cruise.
But Viking’s new policy is ultimately about making sure the
right clients end up on the right line. In that regard, they’re doing everyone
a favor.