Viking has partnered with Focus Features, Universal Pictures and Carnival Films to celebrate the return of "Downton Abbey" with a sweepstakes.
The "Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale" movie -- the third and final in the franchise -- will be released in the U.S. and U.K. on Sept. 12. Viking began a national corporate sponsorship of the Masterpiece collection in 2011, which included the "Downton Abbey" television series.
Viking's sweepstakes for residents of the U.S. and Canada runs through Sept. 30. The grand prize is a trip for two on Viking's Paris & the Heart of Normandy itinerary with a three-night Oxford & Highclere Castle extension. The prize includes roundtrip business class flights.
The line offered a sweepstakes during its partnership for the second Downton movie, which premiered in 2022.
Viking also launched a dedicated page for Highclere Castle, where the series is filmed, which features Viking itineraries that include extensions to the English estate. The line has offered exclusive experiences at Highclere since 2014 that are co-created with the Carnarvon family, who own the property.
Travelers can visit the castle through pre- and post-trip extensions on river and ocean cruises, including those that sail the Nile in Egypt. The British Collections of Ancient Egypt extension, for example, is a five-day pre-cruise trip that retraces the steps of Egyptologist Howard Carter and his benefactor, the Fifth Earl of Carnarvon. Guests on the extension can view the earl's private collection of Egyptian artifacts at Highclere Castle.