Viking intent to test all guests and crew for COVID-19 every day when the company resumes cruising in England in May.
The river, ocean, and expedition cruise line unveiled the “England’s Scenic Shores” trips on Tuesday, with the new Viking Venus ship setting sail for eight-day ocean itineraries on May 22, May 29, and June 5. At this time, the trips are exclusive to residents of the U.K. and will sail round-trip from Portsmouth.
The Venus, the newest ocean-going ship to join Viking’s fleet, is currently scheduled to be delivered in April.
In the combat against COVID-19, all guests and crew will receive a saliva PCR test each day they’re at sea. According to the cruise line, this requirement is nothing new for crew members, as seafaring employees have taken a PCR test for the viral disease each day for nearly six months.
“We’re in a position to restart operations quickly and to start cruising again in May because we have kept our ships crewed during warm lay-up all through the past 12 months,” Torstein Hagen, Viking chairman, stated in a news launch. “We have been implementing our additional protocols, including daily fast and easy non-invasive saliva PCR tests for our crew, for almost six months now. With our new protocol enhancements in place, we feel strongly there will be no safer way to travel the world than on a Viking voyage and we look forward to welcoming U.K. guests back onboard very soon.”
When Viking resumes cruising, the cruise line will continue to implement its enhanced Viking Health and Safety Program. The protocol of the program contains health checks, increased sanitization, and social distancing measures throughout.
Stateside, Crystal Cruises recently introduced it will resume cruising within the Bahamas in July. The trips, set to sail from Nassau and Bimini, mark the first from the Americas since the pandemic began.
