Tallinn and Estonia are attracting more Finns than in years, and Viking Line is responding to summer demand by also placing its well-known M/S Gabriella and legendary Viking Cinderella in service on the same route as Viking XPRS. One new development is that passengers, more often than in the past, book at the last minute. Viking Line’s three daily departures guarantee that there will be sufficient options for people who want to travel across the Gulf of Finland.

During the peak summer season, Viking Line offers three daily departures to Tallinn, with service across the Gulf of Finland provided in part by Viking XPRS, which started sailing under a Finnish flag in March, and by the big cruise ships Viking Cinderella and M/S Gabriella, which will each provide service every other day. On Fridays, there will be four departures. The additional summer sailings nearly double Viking Line’s capacity on the route, with strong demand indicating that traffic is returning to its pre-pandemic level.

“Viking XPRS’s current bookings are well above last year’s level, and for certain days we’ve already exceeded our 2019 figures. July also looks promising,” says Viking Line’s Commercial Director, Minna Tuorila.

“By doubling our capacity, we want to ensure that Finns can get to Tallinn all summer long. People are used to being able to travel to our neighbour to the south on very short notice, and people now generally book trips at the last minute. However, our three daily departures provide a really versatile range of options for booking a trip that fits in with people’s plans. Admittedly, concerts in Tallinn by Depeche Mode and The Weeknd, for example, have already led to fully booked departures. So it pays off to book ahead if you want to travel on a given day.”

Viking XPRS departs for Tallinn every morning and night, while Viking Cinderella and M/S Gabriella, which arrive from Stockholm, depart at 10:30 a.m. every other day. Scheduled service, cruises and car spaces can be booked on all the vessels so they meet everyone’s needs, whether people are taking a cruise, holidaying in Estonia for an extended period or heading towards the Via Baltica (European route E67 towards Poland).

“Gabriella and Cinderella offer a wide range of cruise ship services, excellent shopping options and lovely sun decks. Sailing with them, for example, a family with children can take a 6.5 hour cruise that costs less than a day at an amusement park. During the summer, all of our vessels have a Ville Viking Adventure Island, which provides a lot of activities and different game opportunities for children. A new feature on our vessels this summer is the theme room developed around the launch of LEGO’s new Ninjago products,” notes Minna Tuorila.

Viking Line’s vessels on the Tallinn route June 30–August 6, 2023

Viking XPRS

This vessel, which started operating under a Finnish flag in the spring and is specifically designed for service across the Gulf of Finland, sails from one city centre to the other twice daily. During the peak summer season, the vessel has three departures to Tallinn every Friday. The high-class restaurants and shops are available to people taking a day cruise and to those travelling in scheduled service. Viking XPRS carries 2,500 passengers and 230 passenger cars.

M/S Gabriella

This vessel, known for its luxurious cabins with balconies and quality restaurants, departs every other evening from Helsinki to Stockholm and during the peak summer season from Helsinki to Tallinn at 10:30 in the morning. Gabriella, which sails under a Finnish flag, carries 2,400 passengers and 400 cars.

Viking Cinderella

Viking Cinderella, which was known as a party boat in the 1990s, is returning from Sweden to Helsinki for six weeks this summer and will operate the same route as Gabriella: every other evening to Stockholm and then round-trip to Tallinn after its return. Viking Cinderella carries 2,560 passengers and 480 cars.