Viking Sekhmet Nile Ship Adds Pharaohs 12-Day Capacity

Viking took delivery of Viking Sekhmet on September 29, 2026, at Massara shipyard in Cairo, adding an 82-guest Nile river ship to the line’s Egypt fleet, according to a Viking investor release. The identical sister ship is built for the Nile and will sail the 12-day Pharaohs and Pyramids cruisetour plus a new 12-day Total Eclipse on the Nile itinerary in 2027.

Travelers shopping Egypt river space should treat the delivery as extra inventory on those two products, not as a new route map. Compare the Nile product against other river brands on Deep Arrival’s AmaWaterways vs Viking river cruise guide before locking a cabin category, then confirm the ship name on the booking, because sister hulls share the same 41-stateroom layout.

Viking Sekhmet Leaves the Cairo Shipyard

The delivery ceremony took place at Massara shipyard on the Nile in Cairo. Viking said the hull is built specifically to navigate that river and matches the line’s other Egypt sisters: Scandinavian interiors, a square bow, and an indoor and outdoor Aquavit Terrace. Independent reporting puts the ship at 236 feet and frames it as Viking’s tenth Nile-focused river ship.

President and CEO Leah Talactac said the Nile “continues to be a destination that inspires curious travelers” and that Sekhmet gives the line more room to host them. That is a capacity statement, not a fare change. The release does not publish a first-guest sailing date or a new brochure price.

An April 1, 2026 Viking float-out notice had already timed Sekhmet’s passenger debut for November 2026, after sister Viking Ptah’s September 2026 window. Delivery at the end of September keeps that November guest window plausible. Anyone holding an unspecified “Viking Nile” booking for late 2026 should ask the line or their advisor which hull they are actually on.

Pharaohs Cruises and the 2027 Eclipse Product

Viking assigned Sekhmet to the existing 12-day Pharaohs and Pyramids cruisetour and to Total Eclipse on the Nile in 2027. Both products start with three nights in a first-class Cairo hotel, then a flight to Luxor for an eight-day roundtrip Nile cruise, then a flight back to Cairo for a final night. The cruise days, not the hotel block, are what the new hull actually adds.

The Independent reported UK-market prices from 5,495 pounds per person, with flights, transfers, onboard meals, tips, wifi, and an excursion in almost every port included in that figure. Viking’s own September 29 notice does not repeat a currency or a from-price, so treat the Independent figure as a reported UK starting point and price your own departure on viking.com.

The 2027 eclipse sailing is the product with the tighter calendar. Eclipse itineraries sell on the celestial date, not on a rolling river season, so extra 82-guest inventory matters most for those weeks. Pharaohs and Pyramids dates remain the year-round filler that soaks up the rest of the ship’s year.

What the 12-Day Nile Days Cover

Viking’s current description of both itineraries is identical on the land and river sequence. Cairo nights cover the Giza pyramids, the Sakkara necropolis, the Mosque of Muhammad Ali, and the Grand Egyptian Museum. After the Luxor flight, guests visit the Temples of Luxor and Karnak before boarding.

River days include the tomb of Tutankhamen in the Valley of the Kings, the Temple of Khnum at Esna, the Dendera temple complex at Qena, the High Dam at Aswan, and a Nubian village call that Viking says includes a traditional elementary school visit. Those calls sit on an eight-day Luxor roundtrip, so the new ship does not add a new port. It adds another 41-cabin platform doing the same loop.

That matters for cabin math more than for sightseeing. If a departure you want is waitlisted on Osiris, Aton, Sobek, Hathor, Amun, Thoth, or Ptah, Sekhmet is the extra identical layout to request. If you already hold a named-ship cabin on one of those sisters, this delivery does not move your date.

How Cabin Counts Change on the Nile

Each of these sisters hosts 82 guests. One extra hull is 41 more outside staterooms in the pool, not a new balcony class or a longer cruise. Travelers who need two connecting rooms, a specific mobility cabin, or a solo-friendly category should still ask Viking which physical cabin numbers exist on Sekhmet rather than assuming the brochure photo matches every sister.

Independent coverage called Sekhmet the tenth Nile-focused Viking ship. Viking’s April float-out named eight modern Egypt sisters including Ptah and Sekhmet: Osiris, Aton, Sobek, Hathor, Amun, Thoth, plus the two new hulls. Older or differently classed Nile ships can sit outside that sister set. When you book, match the ship name, not the marketing count.

Viking’s order book still points to 19 additional river ships by 2028 companywide. That is a fleet plan, not a Nile-only promise. Egypt shoppers should watch named Nile hulls and named itineraries, then ignore the global 114-ship 2028 target unless a later notice assigns another hull to Cairo.

Sister Ships After the Viking Ptah Delivery

Deep Arrival already covered the Viking Ptah Nile delivery in August 2026. Ptah and Sekhmet were floated out together in April and were scheduled to debut in September and November. This story is the second hull in that pair, not a rewrite of the first.

If you compared river lines when Ptah arrived, the competitive set has not changed: Viking is adding Nile berths inside its own product, not opening a new Egyptian home port. Use the same cruise planning hub to keep Nile dates next to ocean and river alternatives if Egypt is one option among several 2027 trips.