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D & P Viking Neptune WC 23D & P Viking Neptune WC 23
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D & P Viking Neptune WC 23

December 2023 - May 2024
We are embarking on a world cruise on the Viking Neptune, scheduled to start in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on December 23, 2023, and end in London, England on May 9, 2024, with loads of exciting stops, and new countries along the way. Read more
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  • 149footprints
  • 23countries
  • 140days
  • 1.2kphotos
  • 11videos
  • 84.7kkilometers
  • 21.6ksea miles
  • 29.4kkilometers
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  • TravelerD & P Viking Neptune WC 23
    Day 12

    One of 4 Sea Days

    January 2, North Pacific Ocean ⋅ 🌬 28 °C

    Last night was a remarkable evening. Dennis Gyllenhaal called to catch up, (my phone is on Airplane/data and roaming is turned off (it must have been via internet somehow) and we are on a ship off the coast of Central America - Costa Rica. We shared dinner with a couple living in Chicago. The man (Jay Miller) mentioned his dad worked for Boeing in Wichita, Kansas and making conversation, I mentioned Kay Wallick, and it turns out they were very good friends and his first marriage was t one of Jay’s very good friends. I mentioned I was an OT, and the wife, (Madeline Schneider), now a CPA in Chicago, went to KU OT school from 1971-1975, where Nelwyn Patti Pitts Longfield Gyllenhaal went to OT school for the first two years 71-72, before she transferred to WU. Crazy coincidence to be sure. We are all more connected than we imagine at first glance. We had brunch in the Wintergarten, played Baggo, Trivia, (didn’t win) did a bridge tour, and took a Salsa class and… Denny a nap. Tonight at dinner we shared a table for 6, and again won the jackpot. We again had dinner with Jay Miller and Madaline Schneider, and a couple from Canada, Betyl and Bent Hudson who live in Collingwood, ON, L9y 4X4, Canada, which is a reportedly a small walking town near amazing lakes and waterways. They like to camp, have camped in Moab, and have been to Lake Powell, and rented a run about on which to explore Lake Powell.Read more

  • TravelerD & P Viking Neptune WC 23
    1
    Day 13

    2nd of 4 Sea Days

    January 3, North Pacific Ocean ⋅ 🌙 29 °C

    The ship had a passenger with a medical emergency and we were delayed a bit but all is well and we are on track for an on time arrival at our port in Mexico. Denny worked out for an hour in the gym this AM, and I had a much needed ‘sleep in’ with my mask and ear plugs in place. I am not sure which is more activity packed, a port stop or sea day. Latin and Romance languages such as French and Italian define nouns as feminine or masculine, and the for word ship is feminine - Navis. We played trivia with the usual crew - Heather, Marie, Ray, Paula, John, and 2 new friends from Bacon Hill Sidney, Australia - Susan and Angelo. I learned a new word today, dag . Literally it is the shaved off bottom fur covered with poop from a sheep. According to Australian Slang, it is a person who is fun and a lovely happy character. I read more of the Path Between the Seas book on the back deck, and we went to Tea at 4:00, and later to the photo lecture before dressing for dinner. We dined on the Starboard side - Alisha’s station with Jan and John from Santa Fe, (again) which was lovely, and David and Janet from Brisbane Australia who are disembarking in Las Angeles, to fly back to Australia. They have already been cruising for a couple of cruises, before this cruise. They are all, truly world travelers.Read more

  • TravelerD & P Viking Neptune WC 23
    Day 14

    3rd Sea Day before Cabo

    January 4, North Pacific Ocean ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Poseidon is the Greek God of the Sea and is the counterpart to the Roman God Neptune, who is also the God of rivers, earthquakes and horses. Praying and sacrificing horses to him was considered necessary for success and safe passage. Alexander the Great sent 4 horses and a chariot, over a cliff into the sea before going to battle in Syria to insure victory. Greek mythology divided the world into 3 domains. Poseidon was given the sea. His brother Zeus received the sky, and Hades ruled the underworld. Zeus had the thunderbolts, Hades his helmet of darkness and Poseidon’s trident, when struck to the ground could bring forth bubbling water and earthquakes. Poseidon has long been prominent in seafaring paintings, sculptures, mythology and chariots pulled by a hippocampus, (upper body of a horse and lower body of a fish. The hippocampus dwells at the bottom of the seabed in a coral and gem palace.
    The ship spent the morning training crew for emergency evacuation, etc. Baggo was cancelled, so we spend some time by the pool until the shade disappeared, and we got too hot We had a small Trivia team 7, John, Marie, Heather, Ray, Paula, and us…. 15 and 22 won…. More reading, crocheting - (gloves-seems silly here) and a few lectures. We had dinner with Gloria (elementary teacher), and Tom (Pediatrician and infectious disease specialist in Boulder Colorado), and Beverly (dancer and recreational therapist turned personal trainer), and her husband Jim who was a 20 year army retiree from the intelligence area now living in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Beverly’s sister lives in Edmond, Oklahoma. We went to the Heather Clancy concert with 200 years of music wrapped up in one amazing evening from opera to pop. What a talent… one of Vikings very best talents. Her dynamic range, voice control, style, skill, humor, and overall command of the stage was second to none…
    Civilization was built on salt and therefore on the sea. Without salt, food preservation would not have been possible. Salt is necessary to preserve meat, fish, season, transport or store food. This practice dates back to the 1st century BC. Salt was used in battle to render the land useless. Salt was used as currency in trade. The word salary comes from the Latin word Sal for salt. Italy’s Via Samaria is one of the many roads used to transport salt from the sea to cities of empires. Salterns extracted the mineral very simply by evaporation. Empire, ceramic vessels with narrow necks were used to hasten the process over a fire. When the water boiled away, salt was left. Workers broke the vases and extracted the salt. Later shallow pans were used and left in the sun evaporate the water.    Read more

  • TravelerD & P Viking Neptune WC 23
    Day 15

    4th Sea Day on our way to Cabo

    January 5, North Pacific Ocean ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    The Ancient Greek as well as modern ornithologists have identified specific species that travel routes which are thousands of miles from feeding to breeding waters. Highly adapted to marine life, seabirds flying over water for months feed on krill or fish that swim near the surface. Migrating birds can dive as deep as 100 feet below the surface if the water to catch squid, or survive by foraging for food along the coast. Some follow the ships and feed on fish disturbed in the wake of the ships. The Arctic tern boasts one of the longest migrations routes of any bird, flying between the Arctic and the Antarctic each year. Few birds cover the miles of the Sooty Shearwater. It also flies between polar regions, but during the summer, they follow the warm weather, flying quite remarkably some 40,000 miles in a year from New Zealand to Japan then over to Alaska and California. Clearly, these birds prefer to be on the move.
    We played Baggo, Trivia, danced in the Tordhaven, joined the photo lecture and port talk where we met Robyn and Josh in the Star and had dinner with Lorie from Boca Raton, pat an Jan from Santa Fe New Mexico and next to Marie and Heather in a table for two.    Read more

  • TravelerD & P Viking Neptune WC 23
    Day 16

    Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

    January 6 in Mexico ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Located at the tip of the 775 mile Baja Peninsula, where the Pacific meets the Sea of Cortez, Cabo is picturesque coast, with resorts, scuba diving, fishing and a busy town center, and harbor with spectacular beaches and the recognizable rock formations. As we know, the more sleepy San Jose del Cabo, which is a charming small Mexican town with the lovely town square, church and quaint atmosphere surrounded by the traditional adobe homes. The authentic Spanish Mission and city were founded in 1730 where galleons were replenished to make their way onto the Philippines. This is a lovely, Cabo Port day, great weather, and we will be taking the Cactus Tour - with our individual 4 x 4’s in the desert and along the beach. They didn’t allow us to take pictures or to take anything with us, and we didn’t buy the $80.00 thumb drive of the whole groups trip. - Who signed up for this excursion? Some people are happier about this adventure, than others… it was fun and we returned in one piece. They provided tacos for lunch (which they said, were gluten free) at the modern camel and ATV tour facility. Papa wants to do the camel’s next time. We returned to Cabo via bus and walked around for a time in the shopping plaza along the harbor, before returning to the ship.
    We had another Medical Emergency this morning, not sure of the details yet. We had dinner with multiple time World Cruisers - Roger and Janet (Seattle by way of Henderson, NV) who were also on the Magical Mystery cruise (2020) with us, and watched a movie before bed… Viking Mars was also in Cabo. Dale, Candyce’s husband, caught a large fish on his adventure.    Read more

  • TravelerD & P Viking Neptune WC 23
    Day 17

    2 of 2 Sea Days to LA

    January 7 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ -4 °C

    Sailing the South Pacific Ocean it is getting too cool to eat outside for breakfast snd lunch.
    When Ferdinand Magellan crossed the Pacific Ocean almost 500 years ago, he dubbed it Mar Pacífico, meaning "peaceful sea." The name has remained, though those who have sailed these waters have not always brought peace. Soon after Magellan's sailing and as Europeans continued to expand their reach, five Spanish galleons carrying some 400 explorers pioneered a westward crossing, establishing one of the longest trade routes in history, which operated for 250 years. With trade came settlement and conflict whose ripple effects are still felt today. More recently, in 1947, Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl crossed this ocean on a balsa raft he built himself in
    order to prove that ancient civilizations could have done the same.
    The Spanish Empire in the 18th Century was the largest in the world. Rulers Ferdinand and Isabella enlisted Columbus to find a westward tour to the East Indies. In 1492 he reached the Bahamas which launched an endless tide of Spanish voyages to the New World with Catholic clergy and Dominicans, Franciscans and Jesuits accompanied for spiritual guidance to the troops and spread their religion around the world. Teachers, doctors, scribes and cartographers also provided supporting roles to document, heal and teach along the way. Natives alliances were forged and locals mere enslaved, enlisted or killed. Settlements were established in North, South and what is now Central Americas.
    We went to the gym, played Baggo with the Red team and Trivia with our Aussie friends before lunch in the World Cafe. Paula is still sea sick - the sea is very active this leg to be sure. We will have our hull inspected and cleaned in LA as Australia and New Zealand. We have gone 5,000 nautical miles to get to LA.    Read more

  • TravelerD & P Viking Neptune WC 23
    Day 17

    1 o 2 Sea Days, before LA

    January 7 in the United States ⋅ 🌬 12 °C

    Jan 7, 2023
    Ferdinand Magellan (born 1480) crossed the Pacific Ocean 500 years ago, he called it Mar Pacífico, meaning "peaceful sea." The name has remained, though those who have sailed these waters have not always brought peace. Soon after Magellan's sailing and as Europeans continued to expand their reach, five Spanish galleons carrying some 400 explorers pioneered a westward crossing, establishing one of the longest trade routes in history, which operated for 250 years. With trade came settlement and conflict whose ripple effects are still felt today. More recently, in 1947, Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl crossed this ocean on a balsa raft he built himself in order to prove that ancient civilizations could have done the crossing.
    We played Baggo, went on the general ship tour which included a small peek at a kitchen, wine storage, engine control room, crew quarters, and I 95 corridor, which is the length of the ship and the laundry with a $1.4 million dollar flat sheet machine which dried, and folds sheets. They have a shirt machine that takes a few seconds to dry and steam a shirt on a hanger. We checked in with our Aussie friends to try and gain some points, but were less than stellar today. At lunch we met and sat on the back deck with Molly, and Stan who will be leaving us in LA and will join the Sky in Sidney for the remainder of their World Cruise on the Sky.    Read more

  • TravelerD & P Viking Neptune WC 23
    Day 19

    Port of Las Angeles

    January 9 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    We disembarked to go through customs and walked around the port area. We stopped by the Iowa and embarked back on the ship and met a new couple from Kansas City, Kansas. Darrel went to Northwestern Medical School and graduated 2 years before Papa. Sally was a TWA flight attendant, and they met and married after she was 27 years old. There was a Cocktail Party on the Pool Deck at 5:15 and we met and talked with Karine Hagen, the daughter of the owner of Viking. She and Torstein Hagen were on board for the welcome ceremony as their headquarters are in LA. Her partner is from Salt Lake City - and we chatted about her desire to spend more time there. She is lovely and very easy to talk to - what a treat. We had dinner with Angelo, Susan - Australian, and after were joined by Paula and Ray. Ray - wanted to look at a Tesla truck in Santa Barbara, but after asking Wade, there were none there, nor in Honolulu. Lovely evening. Thanks Wade!Read more

  • TravelerD & P Viking Neptune WC 23
    Day 20

    Santa Baraba, Calfornia

    January 10 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

    Santa Barbara between the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Ynez Mountains is truly beautiful, and is called by some the Americas Rivieras. The history of Santa Barbara runs deep, through many cultures, across the Santa Barbara Channel, and throughout the city as it stands today. Culture is around every corner, and as you step into Santa Barbara, it’s also a step back in time into early Hollywood or to the very first days of Fiesta.
    From the basketry and boat-building techniques of the Chumash Indians, to the Spanish Colonial influence that can be seen around every corner, and the first days of filmmaking, Santa Barbara’s history is vast and truly unique.
    Spanish settlers gave the city its distinct architectural style in the form of Old Mission Santa Barbara and what is now the County Courthouse — a style that was carried forward by local visionaries after a massive earthquake destroyed much of the area’s infrastructure in 1925.
    And before the curtain went up on the Los Angeles film scene, Santa Barbara was a booming hub for the silver screen, home to California’s first major movie studio, Flying A Studios. Hundreds of silent films were produced in Santa Barbara in the early 1920s, and Charlie Chaplin himself was known to frequent the area.
    Maritime tradition began long ago and remains prominent in Santa Barbara. The famed Stearns Wharf is the oldest working wharf in California, built in 1872 by John Peck Stearns. Today, visitors enjoy walking Stearns Wharf, which is where one can find a variety of shops, restaurants, and local businesses.
    Santa Barbara continued to make notable history into modern times when it established the world’s very first official Earth Day celebration in 1969. The annual Earth Day Festival still takes place in Alameda Park every April. Santa Barbara marks its history throughout the year with a series of festivals and events. Relive the festive Latin heritage during Old Spanish Fiesta Days. Celebrate the city’s 300+ days of annual sunshine during Summer Solstice. Watch as stars still walk the red carpet into the city’s many beautiful theaters during the annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival. We took th included bus tour, climbed the clock tower at city hall had a wonderful lecture by a history teacher and walked back to tge ship. We had trouble getting back as the seas were not cooperating but we made it… We had lunch and went straight to the spa before dinner. We had dinner with Diane and Dan before retiring.    Read more

  • TravelerD & P Viking Neptune WC 23
    Day 21

    1 of 5 Sea Days to Oahu

    January 11, North Pacific Ocean ⋅ 🌬 15 °C

    Looking at a globe, it is not difficult to imagine the land masses fitting together like a puzzle. In 1912, Alfred Wegener (1880-1930) geophysicist, posed the Origin of the Continents theory that all continents were once joined. This theory of continental drift was first proposed in 1596 by Abraham Ortelius (1527-1598). he was a cartographer (map maker) and creator of the first modern Atlas. In 1920, Wegener, coined the term “Pangea” to refer to the massive supercontinent. This word is of Greek duration, and means (pan - all and Gaia - Mother Earth). Today, scientists believe that Pangea merged together some 300 million years ago and started to drift apart 200 million years ago. During its 100 million years Pangea resided mostly in the Southern Hemisphere. Geologists have identified matching fossils and identical geological features, in eastern regions of South America and western part of Africa. Given the Earth consisted of one huge continent likewise there was one enormous ocean. Panthalassa (Thalassa - sea) described the watery 70% of the planet. The Pacific Ocean, it appears, is the closest relative to the Panthalassa as all other seas were created after the drift of the land masses. Nautical Trivia - The term “As the Crow Flies” is a nautical term. Ships carried crows onboard and when released their flight path would determine the most direct route to land. This practice of keeping and releasing crows, is also why the highest place on a ship is called the crows next.
    The Captain announced we will be changing course to avoid a storm in our path to Oahu. (Follow the Viking Neptune on cruise mapper. https://www.cruisemapper.com/?imo=9845910 New guest lecturers came aboard in LA. It should be fun to hear what they have to say over the coming weeks. Last night Travis Clover performed in the StarTheatre (50-70’s tunes) He was on broadway and had the longest running performance of Jersey Boys - he now lives and performs in Las Vegas - he is very good.    Read more

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