The Viking Jupiter cruise ship, which is owned by the Viking Cruises shipping company, commenced the 2021-2022 cruise season at the VTP (Valparaiso Passenger Terminal) on December 21, after a total of 22 months had passed without being able to receive tourist vessels due to the COVID crisis.
For this season, between 8-10 cruise ship calls are expected, the first being carried out by the 227-metre Norwegian liner which brought 400 passengers and 465 crew.
Viking Jupiter docked at Port Valparaiso (Santiago, Chile) on Tuesday at ~8:00 a.m.
An official welcoming ceremony was held for tourists by the authorities, including the mayor of Valparaiso Jorge Sharp; The Minister of Health Georg Hubner; the general manager of Puerto Valparaiso Juan Marcos Mancilla.
More cruise ships are expected to arrive in the port city and the next season is due to boast double or triple numbers, the mayor of Valparaiso said.
The cruise line has a daily PCR control on the guests to avoid possible infections during the voyage.
Francisco Godoy, general manager of the Regional Tourism Corporation, said they were very happy to receive the cruises again in the Valparaiso region.
"We have been working together with the different tourism entrepreneurs, Seremi de Salud, Sernatur to establish all protocols and help visitors arriving in the region.”