I am currently on Viking Sky sailing a week long cruise around Iceland. This is the third Viking cruise in the region since the cruises resumed, and I’m here with a group of media outlets who have firsthand experience of the company’s Welcome Back to the World cruises.

This seven-day, round-trip cruise from Reykjavik visits six ports around Iceland. It’s a new itinerary for Viking as Iceland was one of the first countries to open to foreign tourists.

This morning’s edition #MyVikingStory started with spectacular views across a fjord as we sail on @Vikings Heaven to Akureyri, Iceland. #Sponsored #VikingCruises pic.twitter.com/n1H7dOtPn2

– Cruise Fever (@CruiseFever) July 13, 2021

We will cover this incredible itinerary in depth upon our return. We’ll also look at all of the various health protocols Viking has added to keep guests safe. But for now, here are our first impressions of sailing with Viking after the cruises resumed.

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embarkation – Since we embarked in Reykjavik and there is no cruise terminal there, we used the local conference center in the city. Viking served us breakfast until it was time to get on a bus and make the short 7 minute ride to the ship. It went very smoothly considering we checked in 3 miles from the ship for our cruise. Viking made it as seamless as possible.

Health protocols – As I just said, we will soon be publishing an entire article detailing all of the health protocols that Viking has implemented. In short, Viking uses daily tests, contact tracing, daily health checkups, daily temperature checks, masks required on board, and everyone on the ship, including all crew, has been vaccinated.

service – It’s like the staff on board the ship didn’t even miss a beat during the 15-month cruise. I expected the staff to be a bit rusty but they picked up exactly where they left off in March 2020.

The service was phenomenal all over the ship. We went to the restaurant (main dining room) for dinner tonight and it took us about an hour, the perfect time for dinner. Our servers were right on top of the game.

Everywhere we go on the ship we are greeted with a friendly smile and hello, everyone is so happy to be back on board.

Our housekeepers were great and took the time to explain the change in protocols from previous cruises to us.

route – We are in the port every day and so far it has been spectacular. Today we went on a trip to see the national treasures of North Iceland and it was amazing. The highlight of the seven-hour tour was a stop at the Goðafoss waterfall.

Iceland always blows us away when we visited the Goðafoss waterfall today. #Sponsored #MyVikingStory #VikingCruises pic.twitter.com/pTh7UFmru4

– Cruise Fever (@CruiseFever) July 13, 2021

ship – One of the many things I love about the Viking ocean ships is that they are all the same. When you step on board you will feel at home. Viking Sky is absolutely pristine, it could pass as a brand new ship.

The cruise feels mostly like 2019. During the shutdown, I was concerned about what the onboard experience would be when cruises resume. I am happy to announce that the experience on board is very similar to that of the pre-Covid era.

Stay tuned for more articles that dive into the onboard health logs and this awesome new itinerary around Iceland we’re sailing.