How does Viking Cruises make decisions around promotions?

I would not agree on the 1st answer. Usually before senior positions are hired they will check internally. In the Dept. where I work every single senior position was promoted from within Viking. Of course due to the huge growth they hired a lot of staff, obviously if the right Talents are not available inside the company you need to hire. Viking has quadrupled their size in the last 5 years. At the end it is like everywhere, you need to be dedicated and over-perform to get recognized.

To answer the question, the decisions are made from the Dept. Heads. There is no system in place other then standard performance reviews. Open Positions from other Departments are usually communicated inside the company on monthly mails. You would need to talk to your Dept. Head. if you see something which would fit your profile. There is no internal system in place where a Dept. Head would be able to find suggestions or see the skills from internal employees across the various Locations and Departments.

It doesn't, they generally hire into the senior positions, worked there for a while and very rarely saw anything like career development