Assigned to the North Atlantic Fleet as a dispatch ship, Viking remained at New York for the next two months. On 12 July, she departed New York bound for the blockading forces off the Cuban coast. After brief stops at Port Royal, South Carolina, and Key West, Florida, she joined the Fleet in Cuban waters on 28 July. After three weeks of duty carrying orders, messages, and passengers between ships on station on the blockade, Viking ended her brief war service without having participated in any combat. She headed back to Key West on 16 August, remained overnight, and then continued her voyage—via Port Royal—to Hampton Roads, Virginia. She remained in the Hampton Roads-Norfolk area until 8 September when she headed up Chesapeake Bay to Annapolis, Maryland. After a two-day visit, she returned