Viking Cruises is showing the cruising world it is serious about strongly restarting cruising in Europe. The cruise line has set up a new partnership with Lufthansa to enable U.S. guests to travel to Europe with ease.
As Cruise Hive reported earlier this week, the cruise line is underway to start up several vessels in Iceland, the UK, and the Mediterranean. However, it is the cruises in the Mediterranean the cruise line intends to make available for its loyal U.S.-based guests.
‘Welcome Back’ Voyages in the Mediterranean
During the summer and early fall of 2021, Viking will homeport three vessels in the Mediterranean for 11-day voyages from the cultural UNESCO World Heritage Site of Valletta, Malta. Viking Star, Viking Sea, and the company’s newest vessel, Viking Venus, will sail from one of Europe’s most beautiful ports. As an added bonus, the Maltese government eased restrictions for the arrival of international travelers, including guests from the United States.
To that effect, the cruise line announced an exclusive partnership with German airline Lufthansa, which will exclusively fly Viking guests non-stop from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) in New Jersey to Malta.
Starting June 17, 2021, Malta has placed most of the states and territories of the United States on its Amber travel list. This means tourists can travel to the country as long as they can show a negative RT-PCR test conducted 72 hours prior to arrival in Malta.
Full details of Malta’s Traffic Light System for travelers can be found on Visit Malta’s website. The news comes as the European Union has called for a general lifting of restrictions for U.S. travelers. In addition, the CDC ranked Malta as “Level 1” or the lowest for risk of COVID-19.
Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking:
“Now that we have successfully restarted operations, welcoming guests back on board in England and in Bermuda, we look forward to launching our new voyages from Malta. We applaud the government of Malta for being such a supportive destination partner and for making the arrival and embarkation process even easier for our guests,”
“With our new Welcome Back voyages, combined with Lufthansa flights from Newark exclusively for Viking guests, there has never been a better opportunity to explore the Mediterranean from Malta.”
Also Read: How Was the First Viking Cruise from the UK on Viking Venus?
Viking’s Restart Efforts
Viking Cruises has been hard at work to make the resumption of cruises a success. The cruise line has installed complete laboratories on board all of its ships capable of testing crew and guests multiple times per voyage, and the cruise line has shown cruising to be safe since May 22, 2021.
Viking successfully restarted operations in the United Kingdom in May. Earlier this week, the cruise line welcomed U.S. guests back onboard the ships in Bermuda for the first of eight Bermuda Escape voyages. Later this month, the company will start sailing in Iceland as well.
The Mediterranean cruises from Malta will be the following:
- Malta & Adriatic Jewels– 11 days from Valletta to Valletta including Croatia, Montenegro & Malta) โ Multiple sailing dates July through October 2021.
- Malta & the Western Mediterranean– 11 days from Valletta to Valletta including Italy, Spain & Malta) โ Multiple sailing dates in September and October 2021.
- Malta & Greek Isles Discovery– 11 days from Valletta to Valletta, including Greece & Malta โ Multiple sailing dates July through September 2021.