• Dag 120

    Day 120: Sushi, need I say more?

    20 april, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ☁️ 75 °F

    Rannel once again prepares a culinary delight.

    I remember when it was special to “go out for sushi.” Now, it has become my mainstay meal most nights.

    Rannel is warm, friendly, and does a sushi roll like no other. He also likes UCONN - Go Huskies!

    Dinner in the World Cafe aboard the Viking Neptune, off the coast of Africa in the North Atlantic Sea - To quote my wife - “I can’t unknow this lifestyle.”

    #sushi #myvikingstory
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  • Dag 120

    Day 120: Memento Competition

    20 april, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ⛅ 77 °F

    What fun today on the Pool Deck and in the Winter Garden. Aoibhin our Master of Ceremonies hosted a wonderful display of arts and crafts mementos which 12 different teams have been diligently working on for several days.

    The rule was create a 3D representation of any aspect of the cruise as a special reminder of this wonderful adventure.

    Once again the Viking Neptune family stood firm as we all voted.

    Aoibhin would ask, “What would you score this entry?”

    “TEN” we all shouted.

    And again, “What would you score this entry?”

    In loud harmony, “TEN!” We all exclaimed.

    And again “……?”

    “TEN”

    “TEN” - “TEN” - “TEN”

    Can you sense a trend here? All the entries are amazing. These are our people, our family, they all win!

    With only one bottle of Prosecco available as a Grand Prize. The judges broke the deadlock and decided on the entry by Robin & Trish “Layla & Lola” the twin elephants as the Grand Prize winner. Well deserved. The heart touching story mirrored what we have all learned on this cruise.

    Please enjoy these photos.

    Also, a special surprise watch the two videos of our own Viking Neptune Choir sing a special number. (It is the last two images out of the entire list of pictures.)
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  • Dag 119

    Day 119: Sailing off the coast of Africa

    19 april, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ⛅ 86 °F

    Today is day six of seven straight sea days. It’s amazing how fast they have flown by. On Sunday, April 21, 2024 at 8:00 AM we will be docked in Dakar, Senegal. Then it is back to back ports & excursions.

    Woke up, showered & dressed, breakfast with Mike at the World Cafe, 11:00 The Neptune Photo Scavenger Hunt Finale, 12:15 Lunch with Donna, then up to deck 8 at the glass table where John & I worked on some personal projects. Piano music from the Explorer’s Lounge fills the air to make the whole day - just calm.

    I am having fun with Roots Magic 9 and how it interfaces with my Family Search online account. Learning tons of stuff about my genealogy. Found some records going back to the early 1600’s which need further research and verification.

    Now that Donna has experienced the Viking Cruising Lifestyle she has come up with a saying; “I can’t un-know this.” I think she is hooked.
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  • Dag 119

    Day 119: Meet Yoyo - It’s Magic

    19 april, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ⛅ 84 °F

    It’s been a while since I have featured a Viking Neptune Crew member - Meet Yoyo - Bar Waitress in the World Cafe - and other places as well.

    It didn’t take long for Yoyo and I to have a secret communication ‘handshake’ — You see Yoyo would stand behind Donna (without Donna’s notice - most of the time) and give me “the look” with a “thumbs-up.” I would give Yoyo a quick wink and head nod - and “Poof” - she was gone.

    A couple of minutes later - much to everyone’s surprise Yoyo would appear out of thin air with a Bailey’s on the Rocks in her hand.

    Now, we have had some great magicians on the Neptune - but have them top that trick! Right?

    I was talking with Ken about Yoyo - he commented yes, sometimes they [Viking waitstaff] see you coming and the drink is at the table before you get there. It’s almost hard if you want to try something else, just have to order that as the next drink.

    Back to Yoyo. She has been with Viking for two years, this is her fifth contract. She is from Thailand has a younger brother and sister. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Literature.

    In her spare time she reads fiction and lately has been focusing on stories around Chinese history and the Marshall arts.

    Yoyo also enjoys K-pop and her favorite flavor ice cream is pistachio.

    If you get a chance to watch her navigate the madness of the busy rush hour streets of the World Cafe she is stellar as she attends to everyone’s order without spilling a drop, and always with a huge warm smile.

    Next time you see Yoyo - just ask her to do the “Bailey’s Magic Trick”. It’s amazing.
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  • Dag 118

    Day 117: Sea Day, Null Island

    18 april ⋅ ☁️ 86 °F

    It seems like so long ago, on Saturday, January 20, 2024 Donna and I joined the “Order of Shellbacks”. Which means we crossed the Equator. Pretty cool.

    Then on Monday, January 29, 2023 we crossed the International Date Line. Also cool.

    But, today Wednesday, April 17, 2024 Donna and I joined the “Order of the Emerald Shellback” or “Royal Diamond Shellback” This is a rarity for many a sailor. Even our own Captain Richard had not been a member of this order until today. So, what does this mean?

    Captain Richard went off the direct route towards Dakar to navigate the Neptune to 0 degrees North, and 0 degrees East - Which means off the West coast of Africa we crossed the Equator and the Prime Meridian at the same time. You can find it on a map. This is WAAAAAYYY cool.

    Null Island was a 12 foot weather buoy that once was anchored at zero - zero. You can Google it. You can see a very poor photo of the buoy that was taken by a passenger who is on this cruise and also was on the 2019 cruise and saw “Null Island.”

    Gail Lee led a group of feltters on making a special Null Island pin to wear on this day.

    I got to kiss my lovely wife at 0 degrees North and 0 degrees East - Not bad!
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  • Dag 116

    Day 116: Sea Day, 3 of 7

    16 april, South Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ⛅ 82 °F

    Tuesday, April 16, 2024 another Sea Day - it was laundry day - Waaaaay over due for me.

    Lunch in the World Cafe served by Casper and Ronald.

    Dinner in at The Chef’s Table serving a South African cuisine once again with excellent wine pairings.

    While Merle spent most of the day searching high and low for items on the Viking Neptune Scavenger Hunt.

    Then we finished the evening with attending an amazing performance in the Star Theater by Jeremy Sassoon’s performance of music written and/or performed by Jewish songwriters. We are looking forward to his performance Saturday April 20th where he will complete this musical history lesson with more current songs.

    Enjoy the attached photos which highlight the things I have mentioned above.

    Thank you.
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  • Dag 115

    Day 115: Trickery on the High Seas

    15 april, South Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    So, SEVEN DAYS at sea — at first glance it just seemed like that was going to be too long. We have been so busy with ‘stuff’ once again I have fallen behind on my penguins posts.

    April 14 - 20, 2024 at first looked like seven long sea days, nothing could be further from the truth.

    Russell and Gail Lee had masterminded a plan that made the time fly like an instant - The now “Infamous Viking Neptune Photo Scavenger Hunt.”

    Congratulations to Susan’s team of two for winning the grand-prize in the final eliminations.

    What was interesting to watch over the past five days (15th-19th) was human behavior - Margaret Mead would have tons to report had she been bushes watching us. Those not in the actual competition enjoyed the people watching as well.

    At first it was every person (or team) for themselves. You would see small coveys of people nestled together around their cell phones. Sharing their secrets unto just themselves.

    You would walk down a hallway and people would turn their backs and whisper softer. Nobody could be trusted. The competition was so fierce if the Neptune had sunk people would still be on board search from the Holy Grail - You know what I am talking about - “the checker board.”

    About halfway through this multi-day event things started to loosen up. The key question to determine your status up against your competitors was; “How many do you need?” We were sizing up the other teams, still with a hint of mistrust.

    In the dark hours of the night “deals” would be made. Example: Person “A” needs 16 more. But Person “B” only needs 6 more. What is the value of a trade? So, I heard (cough-cough) that Person “A” got 5 in exchange for giving 2 to Person “B.”

    By the last day there was a major shift with all the teams. While, there are some VERY competitive people on this ship - the sharing and giving to others just opened up. One person knew I needed just the Holy Grail - Once I found it (by way of a deal I made with another player) he gave me a big thumbs up.

    The game turned into having fun - and wanting to show Russell we could find all 59 items. It was a great finale in the Star Theatre. Congratulations to Susan & Team your win is well deserved.

    Check out the Facebook site for many pictures others have posted.

    I need to give a BIG thanks to Bob & Patty the two other team members on Merle’s Marauders. They were just happy to help me out - they found a ton of them for Merle.

    Of course a huge thank you to Russell & Gail for all the work they did pulling. As well as, all the crew members who helped us all out and organized the logistics of this event.

    I am pretty sure we could go up against the Viking Sky and win with no problem. Just pick a port, and port and we are there!
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  • Dag 114

    Day 114: Sea Day, 1 of 7

    14 april, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ☀️ 73 °F

    For the next seven days we will be sailing the Atlantic Ocean. On day 114 we are in the South Atlantic to later be followed by crossing the Equator and the Prime Meridian at Null Island. This will put us into the North Atlantic Ocean. Read other posts to learn more.

    So what did we do today?

    9ish —> Breakfast

    10:00 —> Craft Appliqué project under the guidance of Tricia Dalton.

    12:00 —> Lunch in the World Cafe

    1:00 —> South African Wine Tasting - you can view my notes in one of the photos.

    2:00 —> 5:00 —> Wine induced nap.

    5:00 —> Shower to wake up and get ready for dinner

    6:00 —> Dinner at Manfredi’s - As always an excellent meal. We also were introduced to a new after dinner drink friend: “Gianduai”. This is Chocolate Moonshine from Italy - It’s REALLY good.

    7:30 —> We missed our scheduled “Champagne Mixology Class due to the friendly introduction noted above at Manfredi’s. However, they did have extra copies of the recipes for future reference.

    9:00 —> We ended our day in the Star Theater listening to international opera singer, Gordana Kostic. What is really nice is while we do not know opera she explained the opera, what was happening, and how the song relates to the story.

    As always Viking educates us, feeds us, and provides for us experiences beyond our expectations.

    #myvikingstory
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  • Dag 113

    Day 113: Walvis Bay Excursion Pics 2:2

    13 april, Namibië ⋅ ☀️ 77 °F

    Here are more pictures from Walvis Bay. There is a nice video at the end. Also the Pink Lagoon was surreal.

    We can’t thank Paulos enough for creating a wonderful experience for our group

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