Three Special Ocean Sailings for UK Guests Will Explore England’s Scenic Shores
“to celebrate the fact we have a British godmother—the esteemed broadcaster and journalist Anne Diamond—we have chosen to name our new ship, Viking Venus, in the UK on 17 May,” said Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking.
London, 16 March 2021: Viking® (www.viking.com) announced today that it will restart limited operations in May 2021 with three special sailings along the coast of England. Available exclusively for UK residents, the new eight-day ocean itinerary—England’s Scenic Shores—will sail roundtrip from Portsmouth, with departures on 22 May, 29 May and 5 June 2021. Guests on the England’s Scenic Shores itinerary will be among the first to sail on board Viking’s newest ocean ship, Viking Venus®, which will be delivered in April. Pre-registration for England’s Scenic Shores is currently open only to Viking’s loyal past guests; more details about the voyages will be released—and reservations will be available to all UK residents—in due course.
Viking was the first cruise line to suspend operations at the beginning of the pandemic, and today’s update about the official restart was triggered because the UK Government recently signalled that it will allow the resumption of domestic cruises beginning in May 2021. All other previously scheduled Viking sailings through to 31 May 2021 remain cancelled.
“We welcome the UK Government’s support for the return of safe domestic cruises as an important component in the travel industry’s recovery. In recognition of this support, and to celebrate the fact we have a British godmother—the esteemed broadcaster and journalist Anne Diamond—we have chosen to name our new ship, Viking Venus, in the UK on 17 May,” said Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking. “We are in a position to restart operations quickly and to start sailing again in May because we have kept our ships crewed during warm lay-up throughout the past 12 months. We have been implementing our additional protocols, including daily quick and easy non-invasive saliva PCR tests for our crew, for almost six months now. With our new protocol enhancements in place, we believe there will be no safer way to travel the world than on a Viking voyage and we look forward to welcoming UK guests back on board very soon.”
Those who sail these new voyages will also experience Viking’s industry-leading health and safety programme. Grounded in scientific research, the Viking Health & Safety Programme was developed in partnership with an international team of medical advisors, including Raquel C. Bono, M.D., Viking’s Chief Health Officer. Dr. Bono is a board-certified trauma surgeon and retired Vice Admiral of the United States Navy Medical Corps—and most recently led Washington State’s medical and healthcare systems response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Utilising a full-scale laboratory installed on every Viking ocean ship, all guests and crew will receive daily 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. Additional health checks, sanitisation 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 Programme can be found at: http://www.viking.com/health-safety.
About Viking
Viking offers culturally enriching, destination-focused river and ocean cruises for travellers curious about the world, its rich culture and varied history.
Viking takes its guests on curated, elegant voyages to some of the most iconic rivers in Europe, Africa and the Far East, allowing a unique window on inspiring destinations and rewarding experiences. Viking revolutionised river cruising with the introduction of its state of the art Viking Longships which, since their introduction in 2012, now make up 80 percent of its river fleet.
Viking is quickly expanding its fleet and portfolio of river cruise itineraries to meet demand, and launched seven new river vessels in 2019, including six Viking Longships and an additional ship specifically designed for Portugal’s Douro River. Viking is soon launching new river ships including Viking Osiris on the Nile, a new ship on the Mekong, two new Longships for the Rhine, Main and Danube and four new ships designed for the Seine.
In 2015 Viking debuted its maiden season of ocean cruising and in February 2019 Viking took delivery of its sixth ocean ship, Viking Jupiter, making it the largest small ship ocean cruise line. Viking Venus is launching in 2021. The sophisticated state-of-the-art Viking ocean ships can accommodate 930 guests on itineraries all across the world.
Viking recently announced it will expand its destination-focused travel experiences with the launch of new expedition voyages. Viking Expeditions will begin sailing in January 2022 with its first vessel, Viking Octantis, embarking on voyages to Antarctica and North America’s Great Lakes. A second expedition vessel, Viking Polaris, will debut in August 2022, sailing to Antarctica and the Arctic. Viking has also just announced that its custom-built vessel, Viking Mississippi, will debut in August 2022 and will sail voyages on the Lower and Upper Mississippi, between New Orleans and St. Paul.
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