Viking River Cruises announced today that it will restart its European river operations in July 2021 with select itineraries 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: Rhine Getaway (8 days; Amsterdam to Basel), Portugal’s River of Gold (10 days; Lisbon to Porto), Paris & the Heart of Normandy (8 days; Paris roundtrip), Lyon & Provence (8 days; Avignon to Lyon) and France’s Finest, a 15-day journey that combines the northern and southern France itineraries in one seamless experience.

Millions of people lost the opportunity to sail to Alaska last summer due to the coronavirus pandemic, which precipitated a long pause in cruise ship operations. One company, UnCruise Adventures, was among the hardest hit. But there’s good news: UnCruise is bouncing back big time with a relaunch of Alaska itineraries  from Juneau, Sitka and Ketchikan.

“When recent changes were made affecting our Seattle departures, I knew I could not disappoint our guests with another cancellation. Some of our guests have been waiting on this cruise for two or three years,” said Dan Blanchard, the company’s CEO. “It makes me proud to see my team jump into action and ready to do what it takes to make this year one of the biggest comebacks we’ve ever had.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced this week that cruises in and out of U.S. ports could restart in mid-July if certain conditions are met.

After more than a year of shutdowns because of the coronavirus pandemic, the CDC said cruises can resume if 98 percent of its crew members and 95 percent of a ship’s passengers are fully vaccinated.

In a letter to the cruise industry after meetings with cruise representatives twice a month over the past month, the CDC said it agrees with the stance that sailing on a cruise ship will never be a zero-risk activity.

Oceania Cruises, the world’s leading culinary- and destination-focused cruise line, announced today that it will resume cruise operations with the 1,250-guest Marina (one of our favorite ships) in August, beginning with sailings to Scandinavia and Western Europe. Marina will resume its originally published voyage schedule starting Aug. 29 in Copenhagen.

“The entire Oceania Cruises team is excited to now shift our focus to safely restarting operations and ultimately welcoming back our guests to begin exploring the world once again,” Bob Binder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Oceania Cruises, said in a statement.

Phased restart dates for the balance of the Oceania Cruises fleet will be forthcoming and itineraries will be evaluated for port availability and adjusted as needed closer to the sailing dates.

Viking today announced it took delivery of Viking Venus, the company’s newest ocean ship. The delivery ceremony took place when the ship was presented at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Ancona, Italy. Viking Venus will now make her way to the United Kingdom, where she will be officially named on May 17, 2021, by her ceremonial godmother, Anne Diamond, the noted British journalist and broadcaster.

The ship will then begin an itinerary of spring and summer departures along England’s Scenic Shores.

“Many of us have stayed close to home for months, so this is an important milestone as we begin to get back out into the world again,” Torstein Hagen, chairman of Viking, said in a statement. “We look forward to ... welcoming our UK guests back on board next month.” 

For more than a year, Anne Diamond has been a key figure on Viking’s award-winning enrichment channel, Viking.TV. Viking.TV went live in March 2020, in the early stages of the pandemic, and was conceived as a way to build community, stay connected and share positive experiences while people are staying home, rather than traveling.

Cruising between Canada and New England in summer or fall provides a time to enjoy the weather and witness Mother Nature turn coastal forests into brilliant displays of gold, red and orange.

And now you can get a first-hand look at coastal New England on a Holland America cruise next summer or fall.

The venerable cruise line has just announced plans to offer opportunities to explore North America’s East Coast from May to October 2022. With progress being made daily to get the coronavirus pandemic behind us, HAL is so confident about these voyages that they have opened bookings today.

As cruise lines continue to wait for guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control before they can resume sailing out of U.S. ports, they're beginning to make plans for limited operations.

Viking hopes to reboot in May, with Princess, Crystal, Oceania and Celebrity Cruises close behind.  

Some 85.5 million Americans — one-third of adults — have received at least one dose of the COVID-9 vaccine, the Washington Post reports today. But the pandemic is far from over as cases continue to rise in several hot zones in the US and abroad.

Still, there are glimmers of hope, and cruise lines are now moving forward with plans to  resume operations as early as May 2021. That may be optimistic, but the cruise lines acknowledge they're playing it month by month as the situation on the ground evolves.

Here's the state of play with resumption of cruise line operations. 

Viking leading the pack

Viking Cruises is ending part of its cruise pause in May with a series of cruises around England, but only for UK residents. The line is offering capacity-controlled eight-day voyages.  Like all cruise companies, it is also promising increased safety and health protocols to keep crew and passengers safe.

Now that the United States is on pace to getting most of its citizens vaccinated by late spring or early summer, the return of cruising in summer 2021 seems like not just a possibility but a probability.

While no one is saying it out loud (yet), cruising is likely to return with a flourish sooner than later, thanks to the large-scale COVID-19 vaccination rollout overseen by the Biden administration. As of today, 75.5 million Americans, or 22.7% of the U.S. public, have received at least one dose of the vaccine, the Washington Post reports. 

Which leads to the question: Will crew  members and passengers aboard cruise ships be required to get the vaccine before sailing?

For several smaller luxury lines, the answer is a definitive yes. 

If you're one of those who refuse to wear a mask in public, your life just got a little tougher. The Centers for Disease Control has issued a mandate that everyone boarding a cruise ship, train, plane, subway, ride-share, taxi or any other public transport is required to a mask — effective today.

The goal: To tamp down the pandemic

This stricter rule is in an attempt to combat the spread of the debilitating and sometimes lethal strains of coronavirus that cause COVID-19. And wearing a mask is a proven deterrent for transmission.

The mask order puts the onus on all operators of transportation to enforce it.

The super sleek and upscale SeaDream I was sailing on a luxurious journey in early November when a passenger was diagnosed with COVID19. The incident precipitated the testing of crew and other passengers, and about seven people proved positive.

After a summer in which the cruise industry came to a halt during the coronavirus pandemic the 112-passenger SeaDream I was one of the first ships to resume operations. The outbreak is not only most unfortunate for the cruise line and industry but probably is a key factor in the Centers for Disease Control’s decision to issue a warning not to cruise.

Here’s the gist of the story

SeaDream I was carrying 46 passengers when it docked in Barbados after one passenger tested positive. Those passengers flew home on a private plane. Afterward six or seven more people had positive results and also boarded a private plane to return home.

The cruise had been designed to show that with increased safety protocols, including regular testing aboard the ship, it was safe to cruise during the pandemic. That didn’t work out so well.

One line isn’t letting the coronavirus stop them. Viking Cruises is thinking to the future, 2022 to be exact, when the line will launch a series of new cruises on the Mississippi River.

It certainly is something to look forward to as we all try to picture a world without Covid-19 lurking around the corner.

The announcement was made March 30 by Viking chairman Torstein Hagen, who said this new series will further expand its destination-focused travel experiences.

The company's first custom vessel, utterly modern Viking Mississippi, is expected to debut in August 2022. She will sail the Lower and Upper Mississippi between New Orleans and St. Paul, Minn.

The biggest regret I have about my trip on board Silversea’s Silver Explorer to the Arctic was that I did not have it at the top of my bucket list years ago. Over the course of ten days I discovered that I had missed out on an incredible adventure, and experience, that could have thrilled me ages ago. While indulging in the pampering, good food and service on board, each day was a revelation about the majesty, beauty and fascination of nature in this isolated part of the world. I saw, heard and felt vast glaciers calve off huge chunks of ice. Chuckled as perky Atlantic Puffins peered back as we explored their remote nesting spot and felt my heart lift as lumbering polar bears sniffed at us before going about their business of seeking out food. This is an incredible trip, and one that I want to help anyone thinking about doing it to get the most out of. This is the aim of the following nine questions I believe travelers should ask with my answers and tips on heading to the Arctic.