Voyages will be offered exclusively to UK residents and be offered on new ship Viking Venus
By
Rebecca Gibson |
Viking is to restart limited operations with three sailings along the coast of England on its newest ship, Viking Venus, in May 2021.
Viking Venus, which will be christened in the UK on 17 May, will offer eight-day ‘England’s Scenic Shores’ roundtrips departing from Portsmouth on 22 May, 29 May and 5 June. The voyages will be exclusively for UK residents and will operate in line with the UK Government’s decision to allow domestic cruises to resume in May 2021.
“We welcome the UK Government’s support for the return of safe domestic cruises as an important component in the travel industry’s recovery,” said Torstein Hagen, chairman of Viking. “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.”
To minimise the risk of Covid-19 transmission, Viking will implement its new health and safety programme, which was developed in partnership with an international team of medical advisors, including Dr. Raquel Bono, Viking’s chief health officer.
The protocols include daily non-invasive saliva PCR tests for all guests and crew, the results of which will be determined in Viking Venus’s full-scale onboard laboratory, as well as additional health checks, sanitisation and physical distancing measures. New air purification technology has also been installed on Viking Venus and other ships in the fleet.
“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,” said Hagen. “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 onboard very soon.”