RETURN TO CRUISING

from VES_Trade_Marketing

by Viking Cruises (Aus/NZ)

NOT QUITE YOUR TRADITIONAL AFTERNOON TEA...

A welcome return to CRUISING

Guests Nigel and Veronica recently returned from their first Viking cruise post COVID‑19 and share their experiences about life onboard and the added health and safety benefits.

What were the highlights of your recent voyage to Portugal?

Veronica: For me the highlight of our trip was actually cruising on the Douro River. I very much enjoyed calmly gliding down the river, watching the lovely vineyards, olive trees and traditional houses on the banks. I loved seeing the locals out working, the trains going by and other boats passing us. We even waved to the captain’s mother. The captain sounded the horn and she came out for us all to wave at, it was a special moment for us. Nigel: I enjoyed going through the locks. We went through fi ve locks and it was fascinating to watch the ship rise and fall in the concrete chamber and just fi t under the bridges. I think in one of my pictures we are about 50cm from the bridge. They provided us handouts on the locks with information on them and the diff erent heights. It was great fun to watch the wheel house sink into the ship to fi t under the bridges too.

We also both enjoyed the enrichment aspect of the cruise. The constant theme of the Douro River about Port wine, development of the trade and how it all works, really helped us to appreciate the country and river we were cruising on.

Overall we both really enjoyed the cruise and the captain was very welcoming, letting us knock on his door any time to ask questions. We loved sitting on the top deck of the ship or popping down for a coff ee or tea at any time. It was a small cruise also so it was wonderful getting to know everyone and feel comfortable on board.

Why did you choose to travel with Viking for your fi rst cruise post-COVID-19?

We have travelled before with Viking and loved it. As we were ready to travel again we opted for a river cruise as these were resuming more quickly than ocean cruises. We also wanted to travel to one country, rather than have to deal with diff erent COVID‑19 measures if travelling to multiple countries, so our Douro cruise was a perfect choice for us.

How did you fi nd the extra health and safety features on board?

Excellent! As everyone was fully vaccinated and daily testing was carried out we felt like we were in a protected environment on board. The daily testing was non‑invasive and low key making it very comfortable. We had a couple on board who mentioned to us they felt safer onboard than back home in their country. At the end of our cruise we were even provided a full PCR test and documents confi rming we were fi t to fl y which saved us going and paying a local laboratory on shore before our fl ight.

We had a couple on board who mentioned to us they felt safer onboard than back home in their country

What would you say to friends or family who were hesitant about booking a cruise at this time?

If you are worried about safety, defi nitely travel with Viking. Viking has a high COVID‑19 surveillance of the ship and everyone is very well protected, probably even better than in daily life. We watched videos by Viking’s Chairman before we left and after being on board, the remarkably high level of testing was much appreciated.

Are you planning to cruise again, if so where and why?

Nigel has his eye on the Rhine cruises, with fantastic scenery and cities along the river it would be hard not to fi nd that interesting every day.

Overall we had a wonderful time on our cruise. Everything from the helpful staff and quality of the guides, to the chefs who cooked with local ingredients and made sure there were many Portugal dishes to try, to the Viking coaches that transported us on our daily excursions — everything was of the highest quality. We enjoyed getting to know everyone, playing cards and having some bubbles. We even made some new friends from America who we plan to catch up with in New Zealand in the future.