Viking announces 136-day, 27-country world cruise
The package starts at nearly $50,000 per person
Viking Cruises on Wednesday announced a 136-day, 27-country world cruise vacation option for 2021 and 2022.
The 136-day package called the "2021-2022 Viking World Cruise" includes overnight stays in 11 major cities including Yangon, Myanmar; Auckland, New Zealand; Singapore; Mumbai, India; Luxor, Egypt; Haifa, Israel; and Istanbul.
The cruise will leave on December 24, 2021, from Fort Lauderdale, according to a press release.
"For more than 20 years, we have been committed to providing our guests with immersive and culturally enriching experiences while traveling the world in comfort," Viking Chairman Torstein Hagen said in a Wednesday statement.
The new 2021-2022 Viking World Cruise, setting sail on December 24, 2021, will span 136-days, 27 countries and 56 ports with overnights in 11 cities (Viking.com)
He added that while 2020 has "been an unusual year for all travelers" due to the coronavirus pandemic, Viking will "remain focused on the future and are pleased to offer [its] guests a new destination-focused World Cruise that allows for extensive exploration in 2021-2022."
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Up to 930 guests will be able to travel on the Viking Star cruise ship through the Panama Canal, up along the U.S. West Coast, across the Pacific Ocean to Hawaii and onto New Zealand, then through Asia, the Middle East and the Mediterranean until the journey ends in London, the release says.
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The 136-day option covers 56 ports, though travelers can also pick a 119-day option called "2022 World Cruise Horizons" that will leave on Jan. 10, 2022, from Los Angeles covers 49 ports and 22 countries before ending in London.
The new 2021-2022 Viking World Cruise, setting sail on December 24, 2021, will span 136-days, 27 countries and 56 ports with overnights in 11 cities (Viking.com)
Once travelers arrive in London at the conclusion of their trips, they will have the option to remain on board for three days.
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Both vacation packages cost $49,995 per person, and those who book between now and September 30, 2020, will receive $2,000 per person in "shore excursion credit for any optional land programs" and $1,000 per person "in shipboard credit," according to the release.
Viking and other travel and hospitality companies, including airlines, have taken a significant hit due to the coronavirus pandemic as people opt to stay home and avoid exposing themselves or others to the virus. The Norway-based company announced on July 9 that it was extending the suspension of its operations until October.