Viking announced that it will restart its European river cruising in JUL 2021 with select itineraries in Portugal, France and along the Rhine, offered exclusively for vaccinated guests as part of the cruise line's Welcome Back program.
The line's first European river itineraries to return are:
- Rhine Getaway - 8 days from Amsterdam to Basel
- Portugal’s River of Gold - 10 days from Lisbon to Porto
- Paris & the Heart of Normandy - 8 days, a Paris roundtrip
- Lyon & Provence - 8 days from Avignon to Lyon
- France’s Finest - 15-days that combines the northern and southern France itineraries
The announcement of Viking’s restart of European river cruise operations follows the launch of Welcome Back voyages exclusively for vaccinated guests in England, Iceland, Bermuda and the Mediterranean.
Earlier this week Viking also named its newest ocean ship, Viking Venus, which is currently sailing its maiden voyage along the coast of England with Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking, on board. The company is actively working on developing additional Welcome Back itineraries in a variety of other destinations, with the goal of announcing further 2021 sailings as soon as possible.
“The response to our initial Welcome Back ocean voyages has been overwhelmingly positive. It is clear that many people are eager to get back out into the world, and I would like to thank all of our destination partners for their support as we plan our return to service,” said Hagen. “We have been delighted to greet our first guests back on board in England this week—and we are looking forward to welcoming travelers back on board some of our European river vessels in July.”
Guests will also be protected by Viking's health and safety program, developed in partnership with a team of medical advisors. With a full-scale laboratory installed on every Viking ocean ship—and a strong network of dedicated shoreside labs for Viking river ships in Europe—all guests and crew will receive frequent quick and easy non-invasive saliva PCR tests. New air purification technology has also been installed on all of the cruise lines ships, which have always featured independent air handling units for all guest staterooms. Additional health checks, sanitization and physical distancing measures will provide further protection for Viking guests and crew at all points of the journey. For more health and safety information, click here.
