Viking announced today that it will restart its European river operations in July 2021 with select itineraries in Portugal, France and along the Rhine. Offered exclusively for vaccinated guests as part of Viking\u2019s Welcome Back collection, the first five European river itineraries now available in July are among the company\u2019s most popular: Rhine Getaway (8 days; Amsterdam to Basel), Portugal\u2019s River of Gold (10 days; Lisbon to Porto), Paris & the Heart of Normandy (8 days; Paris roundtrip), Lyon & Provence (8 days; Avignon to Lyon) and France\u2019s Finest, a 15-day journey that combines the northern and southern France itineraries in one seamless experience. This announcement comes immediately after the European Union agreed today to reopen its borders to vaccinated Americans and other travelers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe 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,\u201d said Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking. \u201cWe have been delighted to greet our first guests back on board in England this week\u2014and we are looking forward to welcoming travelers back on board some of our European river vessels in July.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The announcement of Viking\u2019s 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\u00ae, in England\u2014and the ship is currently sailing her maiden voyage along the coast of England with Chairman Torstein Hagen 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those who sail these new voyages will also experience Viking\u2019s industry-leading health and safety program. Grounded in scientific research, the Viking Health & Safety Program was developed in partnership with an international team of medical advisors, including Raquel C. Bono, M.D., Viking\u2019s Chief Health Officer. Dr. Bono is a board-certified trauma surgeon and retired Vice Admiral of the United States Navy Medical Corps\u2014and most recently led Washington State\u2019s medical and healthcare systems response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Utilizing a full-scale laboratory installed on every Viking ocean ship\u2014and a strong network of dedicated shoreside labs for Viking river ships in Europe\u2014all guests and crew will receive frequent quick and easy non-invasive saliva PCR tests. New air purification technology has also been installed on all Viking ships, which have always featured independent air handling units for all guest staterooms. And additional health checks, sanitization and physical distancing measures will provide further protection for Viking guests and crew at all points of the journey. A complete overview of the Viking Health & Safety Program can be found at: www.viking.com\/health-safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Source: Viking Cruises<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Viking announced today that it will restart its European river operations in July 2021 with select itineraries in Portugal, France and along the Rhine. Offered exclusively for vaccinated guests as part of Viking\u2019s Welcome Back collection, the first five European river itineraries now available in July are among the company\u2019s most popular: Rhine Getaway (8 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2809,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Viking to restart European river sailings in July #VikingCruises #cruisenews","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[318,1],"tags":[344],"class_list":["post-3223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cruise-news","category-europe","tag-viking-cruises"],"yoast_head":"\n