Viking has announced its “Welcome Back” collection, which now includes select river itineraries in Portugal, France, and Along the Rhine, ready for the return of European cruising in July 2021.
Viking Cruises has announced that it will restart its European river operations in July 2021 with select itineraries in Portugal, France and along the Rhine.
The news comes after the European Union agreed to reopen its borders to vaccinated Americans and other travellers last week.
Offered exclusively for vaccinated guests as part of Viking’s Welcome Back collection, the first five European river itineraries available in July are Rhine Getaway, Portugal’s River of Gold, Paris & the Heart of Normandy, Lyon & Provence, and France’s Finest.
“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 Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking.
“We have been delighted to greet our first guests back on board in England this week—and we are looking forward to welcoming travellers back on board some of our European river vessels in July.”
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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®, in England—and 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.
Viking says those who sail these new voyages will also experience its industry-leading health and safety program, which is grounded in scientific research.
Utilising a full-scale laboratory installed on every Viking ocean ship—and a strong network of dedicated shoreside labs for Viking river ships in Europe—Viking says all guests and crew will receive frequent quick and easy non-invasive saliva PCR tests.
The company also says new air purification technology has also been installed on all Viking ships, which have always featured independent air handling units for all guest staterooms.
Viking launches new video feature in agent marketing centre
Viking has also launched a new feature within its Agent Marketing Centre, aimed at helping Australian and New Zealand travel agents create more engaging and effective social media campaigns and providing access to Viking’s content library that includes the most popular river and ocean itineraries, ship tours and destination highlights.
Viking says its Marketing Centre is an enhanced sales tool assisting agents to market and sell Viking to their clients, helping grow business and earn more commission.
The Marketing Centre can be found within the existing travel agent portal and makes it easy to customise Viking marketing materials with an agency’s contact details and call to action, generating a personalised file, ready to go.
To access the travel agent portal and the Marketing Centre, agents should simply use their existing TA Portal log in at www.myvikingjourney.com/agent, or contact Viking for a login at agents.anz@vikingcruises.com.