LOS ANGELES, May 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Viking®
(www.viking.com) announced today that it will restart operations in
the Mediterranean with new ocean voyages for vaccinated guests
beginning this summer. Offered as part of Viking's Welcome
Back collection, Viking Venus® and Viking
Sea® will homeport in the Maltese capital city of Valletta—a
cultural UNESCO World Heritage Site—and sail two different 11-day
roundtrip itineraries in the Mediterranean. As a result of strong
demand, Viking also announced today it is adding more sailing dates
this summer for its Welcome Back voyages around Iceland and Bermuda.
Guests on the new Malta
& Adriatic Jewels itinerary will overnight in Valletta and then sail to Montenegro and Croatia, calling in Kotor, Dubrovnik, Split,
Zadar and Šibenik, before returning to the Maltese archipelago,
with a stop in Gozo and finally back to Valletta. Guests on the new Malta & Greek Isles Discovery
itinerary will also overnight in Valletta and then sail to Greece, calling in Kalamata, Athens, Santorini, Rhodes and Souda Bay, before returning to Valletta. Viking Venus and Viking
Sea will sail the itineraries between July and early
October 2021. Delivered in
April 2021, Viking Venus is
Viking's newest ocean ship and will be named in the England on May 17,
2021 by ceremonial godmother and iconic British broadcaster
Anne Diamond.
"We thank the government of Malta for its support and enthusiasm as we
continue restarting operations," said Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking.
"Malta is a fantastic destination,
with ancient history, rich culture and a central location in the
Mediterranean. We began calling in Malta in 2016 and look forward to welcoming
guests back to some of the most historically significant and
naturally beautiful areas of the Med—in both the Maltese
archipelago, as well as along the Croatian coast, and around Greek
islands this summer."
Today's news follows Viking's recent announcements of Welcome
Back ocean voyages in England,
Iceland and Bermuda, beginning in May 2021. 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 government approvals are given.
Those who sail these new voyages will also experience Viking's
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'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. Utilizing 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. 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.
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For more information, images and b-roll for Viking,
contact vikingpr@edelman.com.
About Viking
Viking was founded in 1997 and provides destination-focused
journeys on rivers, oceans and lakes around the world. Designed for
experienced travelers with interests in science, history, culture
and cuisine, Chairman Torstein Hagen
often says Viking offers guests The Thinking Person's Cruise® in
contrast to mainstream cruises. In its first five years of
operation, Viking has been rated the #1 ocean cruise line
in Travel + Leisure's 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020
"World's Best" Awards. In addition to the Travel +
Leisure honors, Viking has also been honored multiple
times on Condé Nast Traveler's "Gold List" as well as
recognized by Cruise Critic as "Best Overall" Small-Mid size ship
in the 2018 Cruisers' Choice Awards, "Best River Cruise Line" and
"Best River Itineraries," with the entire Viking Longships® fleet
being named "Best New River Ships" in the website's Editors' Picks
Awards. For additional information, contact Viking at
1-800-2-VIKING (1-800-284-5464) or visit www.viking.com. For
Viking's award-winning enrichment channel,
visit www.viking.tv.
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SOURCE Viking