Wednesday, Jan 7, was spent entirely at sea.
The following picture was taken from the sliding door of our stateroom.
We spent most of the day getting to know the ship even better. We continued exploring all 7 decks.
Viking provides many activities to fill the time when on the ocean. There is a lot of music played throughout the ship (piano, a violin & cello duo). Many board game setups, including backgammon, blackjack, and Scrabble, to name a few. Another popular spot is the jigsaw puzzle area with 1000, 2000, and 3000 piece puzzles. Many people contribute, and the rate is about one completed per day.
There are also multiple educational talks each day. Cheryl and I attended one given by former NASA astronaut Mike Foreman. He shared details of shuttle flight STS-129. He is a fun speaker, weaving facts and humor during his presentation. He playfully ribbed his crew, with whom he remains very close after retiring years ago. We will likely attend all of his sessions during the trip. We also found out that many of the presenters are on board with their spouses. Not a bad gig: cruise the world for free, get paid to talk, and your spouse comes along for free. Cheryl is starting to believe she married the wrong guy. The lecturers are typically on board for a month, so we will get a new group in February.
Bob used the gym for the first time. I had been suffering from very slight motion sickness the first day and thought that a workout would help. It did. The gym is a very popular location. I counted 20 participants while I was there. There are many machines, free weights, and spacious stretching areas. A great facility that I will use frequently. Cheryl took advantage of the room in the afternoon.
A side effect of a workout is clothes that need timely cleaning; therefore, I also experienced the laundry room – good times! (Yes, I could ask Viking to wash my clothes, but I am simply too cheap). Having said that, every activity on the ship presents the possibility of meeting someone new and having a conversation. I met a cool Canadian woman from near Toronto, and she walked me through my first load, babysat my clothes when I went to eat, and shared details about her family life.
Even though we are on a 4-month “vacation”, the real world still needs my attention, and I need to finish various accounting chores that I was unable to complete before leaving (Dan, sitting at an adjacent table, scolded me for my lack of preparation). The shot below is my current setup. Very much like the configuration I used for years as a remote SW developer. This blog is updated using those tools. You can take the boy out of SW development; you can’t take SW development out of the boy…
As an aside, I set up outside the stateroom typically early in the morning. We were told that US electrical plugs were available on board. Turns out that is true in the stateroom. I am in common areas first thing in the morning. So, when in Honolulu, I will make a quick trip to pick up an Amazon-ordered European adapter shipped to a local locker (I have 3 sitting in Portland). Again, the real world beckons, and you have to appreciate Amazon’s reach.
Finally, both of us started to really relax and enjoy the cruise after unpacking and checking out the ship. The seventh deck has multiple great sitting areas. We both read books most of the afternoon. I started playing online backgammon. The two images below were taken from said deck areas. The left image shows the typical view. Again, a lot of water. The right image shows another ship in the far distance; the first man-made item seen for quite a while. Hard to pick out at first, but the white spot in the middle is another cruise ship (we were told later).
Eating is also a high priority, and we finished the day with a great meal at the Italian-themed restaurant. A nice end to an excellent day of cruising.