From March 11, 2020, Viking Cruises will temporarily suspend all river and sea cruises between March 12 and April 30, 2020. We believe Viking will be the best place to deliver the experience our guests expect and deserve. After this time, we plan to resume work on May 1, 2020, continuing all further cruises, as originally planned.

 

Guests and travel agents will be notified directly through Viking Customer Relations if a re-routing is required. Please log on to MyVikingJourney.com for details on your specific trip.

 

Below is an important message from Viking Chairman Thorstein Hagen, who also recorded a video version of his message.

 

Since we founded Viking almost 23 years ago, we have always looked after our guests and our employees first and foremost. I feel like we have become one big Viking family with 500,000 guests every year and 10,000 employees. From day one, our mission has been to create an experience for our guests that focuses on the destination and allows them to explore the world in comfort. This has always been the goal of the company and will remain so.

 

I'm sure you understand that COVID-19 has made travel extremely difficult. An increasing number of ports, including Venice, Monte Carlo and Bergen, are temporarily closed to cruise ships; major attractions such as the Vatican and other museums have been closed; and some countries impose restrictions on public gatherings and visitors.

 

I am writing this today because now the situation has become such that working as a cruise company carries a significant risk of quarantine or medical detention, which can reduce the number of travels our guests have planned. As a financially strong company, we do not worry about quarterly earnings expectations - and this flexibility allows us to do what is best for our guests and our employees, as we have always done.

 

We made the difficult decision to temporarily suspend our river and sea cruises, which were scheduled to sail from March 12 to April 30, 2020. We believe Viking will be the best place to provide the experience our guests expect and deserve. This is a decision we made with a heavy heart, but under the current circumstances, whatever they may be, we cannot provide the high quality service we are known for.

 

For those guests whose cruise falls during the suspended cruise period, we offer a choice of a voucher (Future Cruise Voucher) worth 125% of all money paid in Viking, or a refund equal to the amount paid. Guests will have 24 months to use their Future Cruise Voucher and place a new order on any river, sea or expedition cruise. For added flexibility, if you are unable to use your voucher, we will automatically send you a refund equal to the original amount paid by Viking after the voucher expired.

 

Rest assured, our reservations team is currently in the process of issuing Future Cruise Vouchers for 125% of all Viking money paid. However, if you prefer an alternative, please call 1-833-900-0951 or contact your travel agent by March 25, 2020.

 

We will look forward to the resumption of trips, as we plan to expand the geography of visited places. In addition to our many award-winning river and sea cruises, in early 2022 we are launching expedition cruises to the Arctic and Antarctic, as well as the Great Lakes of North America. In early April 2020, we will announce our newest river travel, in the heart of America.

 

We will support our guests, employees and partners during these difficult times and we hope that they, in turn, will support us.

 

Thorstein Hagen