Morris & Susan's Viking WC

January - May 2024

Set Sail for a 4 Month Viking Neptune 4 Month World Ocean Cruise Read more

Currently traveling

68footprints
16countries
110days
1.0kphotos
13videos
32.4kmiles
19.2ksea miles
5.5kmiles
742miles
549miles
124miles
5sea miles

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Morris & Susan's Viking WC
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- Jan 9, 2024, 4:00pm
- ☁️ 59 °F
- Altitude: 36 ft
- United States California Los Angeles County San Pedro Fish Harbor 33.741951, -118.26123733°44’31” N 118°15’40” W
Day 1
Journey Begins, Departing LA
January 9 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F
Morris and Susan's retirement journey begins with a 4 month Ocean World Cruise!

We flew from San Jose to LA on Jan. 9th. to begin our adventures aboard the Viking Neptune, a beautiful Norweigian flagged ship and our home for the next 121 days. We are so excited to be visiting 23 countries and 50 ports of call with our final destination in London on May 9, 2024.Read more
Have fun. Can’t wait to see the pictures [Phyllis Gaoiran]
1/19/24Reply
Traveler Way to go!
1/19/24Reply
Woohoo! [Terry Mac]
1/19/24Reply
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Morris & Susan's Viking WC
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- Jan 11, 2024, 1:54pm
- ☀️ 59 °F
- Altitude: 108 ft
- United States California Santa Barbara Fearing Library 34.423677, -119.70481934°25’25” N 119°42’17” W
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Day 3
Santa Barbara
January 11 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 59 °F
First Stop - Santa Barabara, California
Delighted our daughter Jessica came up from LA to spend the day with us before setting to sea on our journey. After a delicious breakfast, we explored the Court House - a working 1929 built Spanish Style Superior Court House with beautiful Moorish tiles, wrought iron works and wood beams. The mural room covered the history of Santa Barbara and the surrounding gardens host more than 300 weddings each year. As you ascend up the stairs, you reach the Bisno Schall Clock Gallery. It houses the restored Seth Thomas model 18 clock, one of the few left in America.

We then spent the afternoon at the Art Museum, loved the exhibit "Inside Out" how artists take what's inside them and express it outward as seen on the Santa Barbara Scene painted on used cardboard boxes. Stopped in at Sama Sama for an awesome lunch, Morris loved the chicken wings....and Morris doesnt like wings.
Since the ship can not dock we were Transported to and from the ship on a "Tender" which can about 200 people. Fun way to get back and forth to shore.
We are now ready for the Sea Journey!😁Read more
Traveler Old Explorers discovering Santa Barbara, New explorers trying to find their way around. LOL
1/21/24Reply
Sounds like a trip of a lifetime Safe travels to you both and have a wonderful time full of memories to share and look back on [Mary McIntyre]
1/21/24Reply
Traveler Morris doesn't like wings?!?! 😮
1/31/24Reply
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Morris & Susan's Viking WC
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- Jan 14, 2024, 8:35am
- ⛅ 75 °F
- Altitude: Sea level
- North Pacific Ocean 14.391667, -156.30740914°23’30” N 156°18’27” W
Day 6
Sea Days: Lectures
January 14, North Pacific Ocean ⋅ ⛅ 75 °F
More Brains than Booze
is how this cruise was described to us. Well, they are doing a great job delivering both. It's like being in college, except you can drink wine while enjoying the lectures, and no tests!!!

Sea Days are busy with 4 educational sessions scheduled per day. The speakers that are currently on board range from a Historian, Astrologist, Conservationist, Geologist, Marine Biologist, Anthropoligist, a Professional Story Teller, and others. New speakers will be boarding in New Zealand.

Our favorite lectures so far have included: We are made of Star Dust, The History of Polynesia, The History Behind the Book/Movie South Pacific, WWII - The Pacific War from 1930 to 1945. Marine life, History of Pacific Exploration and Navigation, The Continents Formation and its Early Inhabitants, and Aloha - The story of Hawaii as told by a Shirt.Read more
Those lectures sound fascinating. Our favorite place in the world is New Zealand. What a wonderful trip this is! 💖 [Lyn Calvin Stoecker]
1/30/24Reply
Sounds like you are having quite an experience [Mary Evans- McIntyre]
1/31/24Reply
Traveler The title of the last lecture sounds quite interesting LOL
1/31/24Reply
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Morris & Susan's Viking WC
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- Jan 17, 2024, 1:12pm
- ☀️ 79 °F
- Altitude: 118 ft
- United States Hawaii Honolulu County Kamehameha Heights Kingdom Hall of Jehovahs Witnesses 21.333279, -157.87086621°19’60” N 157°52’15” W
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Day 9
Oahu, Hawaii
January 17 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F
This is our first time on Oahu, Hawaii.
Sometimes called “The Gathering Place,” Oʻahu certainly lives up to its name. The third largest Hawaiian island is home to the majority of Hawaiʻi’s diverse population, a fusion of East and West cultures rooted in the values and traditions of the Native Hawaiian people.
We were surprised to learn that there are over 140 islands that make up the state of Hawaii, but tourists only visit the six largest islands.
West of Honolulu is Pearl Harbor, site of the WWII's 1941 bombing attack and home to the USS Arizona Memorial.
Started the day by going to the Pearl Harbor National Memorial and learning about the events that led up to the war in the Pacific, the attack itself, and the strategy used to win the war.

We then spent the afternoon at the Bishop Museum, the world's largest collection of Polynesian artifacts. It is held in trust for Hawaii's people and showcases the Polynesian History and culture of the Pacific.
Susan was fascinated by the process used to make cloth (Kapa), and as usual, I was fascinated by the tools, and the rafts constructed to fish and island hop.

We ended our day by going to a beautiful beach for a luau.Read more
Traveler Diamond Head
1/23/24Reply
I bought a few antiques when I was there, 20 years ago. Just sayin😉😉😉 [Kat]
1/23/24Reply
Traveler Lol...
1/23/24Reply
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Morris & Susan's Viking WC
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- Jan 18, 2024, 8:26am
- ☀️ 64 °F
- Altitude: 997 ft
- United States Hawaii Honolulu County Poamoho Camp 21.513068, -158.04105221°30’47” N 158°2’28” W
1
Day 10
Diamond Head Hike and Coffee Groves
January 18 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F
After all of our "together time", Morris and I went in different directions today to further explore Oahu. Morris headed out to hike Diamond Head, and Susan went to learn the art of coffee growing and roasting at Green World Coffee Farm.Read more
Traveler Lovely! Good to follow your journey this way.
1/24/24Reply
I have done both! Sounds like a brilliant day for both of you! [Tina Lilly]
1/25/24Reply
Aloha beautiful Susan [Mary Mcintyre]
1/31/24Reply
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Morris & Susan's Viking WC
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- Jan 20, 2024
- 🌬 82 °F
- Altitude: Sea level
- North Pacific Ocean 2.045771, -154.6054382°2’45” N 154°36’20” W
Day 12
Crossing the Equater.
January 20, North Pacific Ocean ⋅ 🌬 82 °F
Celebration today as we officially crossed the equater from Northern Hemisphere to Southern Hemisphere. Since this is our first crossing, we went from being a "Polliwog to a Shellback".
We are now officially Shellbacks, and in the South Pacific!!Read more
wow...so how did they get those yellow lines painted on water? Pretty cool LOL [Paul Smith]
1/30/24Reply
Traveler Easy. Just like a football first down line. 😄
2/2/24Reply
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Morris & Susan's Viking WC
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- Jan 21, 2024
- 🌬 82 °F
- Altitude: Sea level
- North Pacific Ocean 7.471748, -154.8432667°28’18” N 154°50’36” W
1
Day 13
Sea Days : What Shall we do Today?
January 21, North Pacific Ocean ⋅ 🌬 82 °F
Sea days are awhirl of activities.
Enjoying activities with the variety of people that we are meeting from around the world is our favorite part of the day. (We are now at the point where remembering names is a challenging activity by itself. 🤣)

Each morning, we head to the Lookout Library, where we can sit with our coffee and the ocean view to write about our adventures. We found that there are a lot of writers on board jotting thoughts about the latest ports of call. Meanwhile, we are still trying to figure out how Facebook, Penguins, etc, work. Lol.

The ship has many nooks and crannies to explore. We enjoyed a " Behind the Scenes tour" to see how the ship operates - kitchen, room service, engine controls, laundry, etc.

Susan is leaning to paint with watercolors and felting, (her cute gnome " Vikiee"). Morris has joined a team for a ship building contest (his heart is always with whaleboating). You can also find him in a game of Baggo or at his favorite reading corner. Of course, there is always swimming, gym, spa, sports deck (Morris is waiting for the weather to clear for a good game of ping pong), and dancing lessons. It's a good thing that the ship's app has a calendar of events!Read more
Traveler Love it!
2/11/24Reply
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Morris & Susan's Viking WC
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- Jan 23, 2024
- ☁️ 84 °F
- Altitude: 46 ft
- French Polynesia Anau Pererao-Fai -16.515915, -151.73182616°30’57” S 151°43’55” W
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Day 15
Bora Bora
January 23 in French Polynesia ⋅ ☁️ 84 °F
The name Bora Bora comes from the Tahitian word pōpora, which means 'first born' (Guess Morris and I found our island home!)

You might be asking, " Are those colors real?" Yes, the water really is all those colors with its vivid shades of royal blue, emerald, and turquoise, which are truly mesmerizing. The water is crystal clear with white sand underneath, which also creates their beautiful beaches. Thanks to its coral reef, the water of the island is teeming with life.

A storm was coming in today as we arrived, so we were unable to snorkel. Instead, we enjoyed a lovely tour of the island. We watched how they used local flowers to make vibrant dyes for their wraps and, of course, made a stop at the infamous "Bloody Mary's" Bar from the character from "South Pacific".Read more
lol almost a self portrait [Paul]
1/31/24Reply
Traveler I bet things are expensive on that island
1/31/24Reply
Traveler Yes, they are!
2/1/24Reply
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Morris & Susan's Viking WC
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- Jan 24, 2024
- 🌧 82 °F
- Altitude: 210 ft
- French Polynesia Oponu Mont Muaroa -17.53294, -149.8440817°31’59” S 149°50’39” W
Day 16
Moorea
January 24 in French Polynesia ⋅ 🌧 82 °F
Believed to have inspired the mythical Bali Hai from James Michener's Tales of the South Pacific, Moorea is one of the most scenically striking islands in French Polynesia.

We went out on a snorkeling excursion and were hoping to be able to swim with the lemon sharks and black tip reef sharks. However, the storm swell was too strong, so we just observed them from the boat. We were able to get in the coral reef at a calmer location before the storm hit.

Lovely prawn lunch fresh from the Pacific.Read more
Traveler Absolutely breathtaking scenery! Those mountains are spectacular!
1/31/24Reply
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Morris & Susan's Viking WC
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- Jan 25, 2024
- 🌧 79 °F
- Altitude: 39 ft
- French Polynesia Îles du Vent Fariipiti Pointe de la Manutention -17.542574, -149.56887417°32’33” S 149°34’8” W
Day 17
Flowers of Tahiti
January 25 in French Polynesia ⋅ 🌧 79 °F
Well, what can I say.....the flowers of Tahiti are stunningly beautiful!

We walked through the local open-air market, displaying an array of flowers and arrangements that were as common as finding roses in the states. A real treat for the senses.

The flowers on the garden grounds at the Government Assembly house were amazing.Read more
Traveler Gorgeous! Looks like an amazing trip thus far! Keep the blogs coming! Miss you guys 💕
1/31/24Reply
💖💖 gorgeous! [Lyn Stoecker]
2/3/24Reply
The flowers are truly beautiful! [Kay]
1wReply
In 2 days we will be in Moorea [Jocelyne]
2hReply
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