Sea Daze
Finding our rhythm after four glorious days at sea
It was one of the unknowns of this trip…
How would it be spending so much time at sea? Is there much to do? Would I spend my time with my head in a bucket?
Viking doesn’t tout their daily activities. They do a masterful job of under-promising and over-delivering. I am delighted by the flow of days and the rhythm at sea we have found.
Published daily, this bulletin is a listing of the activites on the ship.
My day begins, as it always does, at about 5am. I enjoy a fresh brewed Americano and take a seat in the ‘Explorers Lounge’ reading the paper and waiting for the sun and Cheryl to rise. We typically rondevous for breakfast at around 8am. The food is very good and the ambience is fabulous. Viking does a superb job of creating large spaces that still feel intimate. Lines are at an absolute minimum because they have so many dining options and the buffet (where we enjoy breakfast and lunch) is spread out over a third of deck seven.
After breakfast, we are off to exercise. We do not take the elevators and committed to becoming stair masters. By the end of the trip, I hope to go from deck one to deck 8 without breaking a sweat. Deck two features a quarter mile promenade. We get in anywhere from one to three miles walking the ship, breathing fresh sea air, and marveling at the views.
A prominade is a rarity on today’s newer ships. It’s a throwback feature that we love.
Cheryl on a morning jaunt
At 11am its off to a daily bridge lesson. Our teacher is excellent and the views from deck one of the seas rushing by are fantastic. After bridge, its lunch followed by a duplicate bridge game at 1:45.
While our daily focus is on bridge, the Neptune offers lectures in the theatre. I thought there was a naturalist with each voyage. Turns out there are 14 enrichment lecturers and teachers. Scientists include the naturalist, a marine biologist, historian, astronomer, and more, along with art and craft instructors and our bridge teacher.
All of the lectures are taped and available on our room TV for viewing at a convenient time. They have been outstanding.
The evenings consist of a dinner in one of the three restaurants followed by a live show. The highlight of the featured show to date is with Travis Cloer. Travis lives in Las Vegas and we met him waiting for the ship’s bus to take us to the Neptune. Travis has quite a resume. He played the lead role in Jersey Boys for three years in New York and was the lead for eight years in Las Vegas. As Frankie Vali said, “Travis is more Frankie Vali than I am.” He is a spectacular entertainer. HIs first show was tremendous and we are looking forward to seeing him perform tonight. We had dinner with him the night before last and had a great time getting to know him.
Music is everywhere. Every evening musicians are featured in each of the many ships bars and a wonderful classical duo at the foot of the grand stairway.
And most imortantly, a couple of rough weather evenings at sea and the bucket lays dormant!
We reach Honolulu on Tuesday and will be visiting our dear friends Anne and Lee Davis.