LOS ANGELES — Viking has set its sights on a July restart for its European river operations, with select itineraries sailing in Portugal, France and along the Rhine.

Offered exclusively for vaccinated guests as part of Viking’s ‘Welcome Back’ collection, the first five European river itineraries now available in July are among the company’s most popular. These include the eight-day ‘Rhine Getaway’ sailing from Amsterdam to Basel; the 10-day ‘Portugal’s River of Gold’ from Lisbon to Porto; the eight-day ‘Paris & the Heart of Normandy’, Paris roundtrip; the eight-day ‘Lyon & Provence’ sailing from Avignon to Lyon; and the 15-day ‘France’s Finest’, a journey that combines the northern and southern France itineraries.

The news comes on the heels of EU ambassadors agreeing on measures that will allow fully vaccinated visitors into the EU, quarantine free.  

“The response to our initial Welcome Back ocean voyages has been overwhelmingly positive,” said Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking. “We have been delighted to greet our first guests back onboard in England this week and we are looking forward to welcoming travellers back onboard some of our European river vessels in July.”

Viking previously launched its ‘Welcome Back’ voyages exclusively for vaccinated guests in England, Iceland, Bermuda and the Mediterranean. Earlier this week, the cruise line also named its newest ocean ship, Viking Venus, in England, which is currently sailing its maiden voyage along the coast of England with the Chairman onboard. 

Viking is working on developing additional ‘Welcome Back’ itineraries in other destinations, with the goal of announcing further 2021 sailings as soon as possible.

For a complete overview of Viking’s Health & Safety program go to www.viking.com/health-safety.