Viking welcomed American guests on board for the first time in 15 months today in Bermuda, as the company continues its successful restart of operations, according to a press release.

Guests boarded the award-winning Viking Orion in Hamilton and will sail the new Bermuda Escape itinerary. Offered as part of Viking’s Welcome Back collection, exclusively available for vaccinated guests, this is the first of eight roundtrip sailings from Hamilton planned for summer 2021.

“Today is an extraordinary milestone as the world continues to reopen for international travel. On behalf of the entire Viking family, we are delighted to welcome our loyal American guests back on board,” said Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking. “We applaud the government of Bermuda for its collaboration and support as we have restarted our operations. Bermuda has been a favorite destination among our guests since our ocean ships began calling there in 2017, and we look forward to introducing even more Viking guests to the island’s history, culture and phenomenal natural beauty.”

Viking successfully restarted operations in May and has been sailing in England with British guests since May 22.

Later this month, Viking will launch Welcome Back sailings around Iceland and in the Mediterranean – and will restart its European river operations in July 2021 with select itineraries in Portugal, France and along the Rhine.