Seatrade Cruise News is part of the Informa Markets Division of Informa PLC

This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 8860726.

Viking ends pre-cruise COVID test mandate, unless the destination requires it

CRUISE_Torstein_Hagen.jpg
The vaccine requirement for all passengers and crew remains in place and, for the time being, crew will keep testing as needed and will wear masks at all times, Viking Chairman Torstein Hagen said
Folllowing the US dropping its COVID-19 testing requirement for air travelers to enter the country, Viking is ending its pre-cruise testing mandate where allowed.

Viking still highly recommends a pre-departure COVID-19 test but doesn't require it, unless one is mandated by the destination. 

Select ocean voyages on Viking Orion and expedition voyages on Viking Octantis in the US and Canada will continue to require a pre-departure test. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still mandates pre-embarkation tests for cruisers, vaccinated or not. The same goes for Canada.

In addition, the line is halting its routine onboard testing for passengers unless a passenger reports symptoms, requests a test or if Viking's medical team deems necessary.

Vaccine mandate holds

Viking's vaccine requirement for all passengers and crew remains in place and, for the time being, crew will keep testing as needed and will wear masks at all times, Viking Chairman Torstein Hagen said in a video announcement.

PCR labs on ocean ships

Viking installed full-scale PCR labs on all its ocean ships, which enabled it to carry out daily testing of everyone onboard and to quickly isolate any positive cases. This facilitated the restart of operations on ocean ships in May 2021 and, by August 2021, to have its full ocean fleet carrying passengers.

The company has been facilitating regular testing on its river vessels by taking samples ashore for processing.

Hagen had indicated in March during its Longships naming in Paris that COVID had 'become less serious' and that Viking's testing, in due course, could be scaled back.

The company's medical team, including Chief Health Officer, Dr. Raquel C. Bono, will continue to assess Viking's protocols against the requirements of the destinations visited.

Record bookings

In his video announcement, Hagen said Viking is seeing record bookings this year and next across all its product lines.