What's to See on a Sea Day

Since we have had so many "sea days" in the past weeks, some of you have asked if we are getting bored.  What can you possibly do to keep you happy when land is not in sight for so long.  Isn't it boring being confined to such a small space with the same people for so long?
The answer is simple. We love sea days!  There is so much to do that I cannot possibly do everything I want.  Let me walk you through a typical day at sea for me.

Breakfast in the World Cafe with its egg stations with bacon, sausage, muffins, toast, rolls, juice, coffee etc.  You will note that I did not put in a time.  We get up when we wake up and eat when we feel like it.  Darrell often lingers over breakfast or joins friends to chat.  If we see people we know who have space at their table, we may join them.  If not, we often make new friends by asking if we may sit with them.  With people getting on and off, there are always new people to meet.

9:00 some days:  Bible Study.  I say some days because it is always  the last sea day when there is 1 or 2, or, if it is a long stretch there may be more than 1 day in those days.  The women meet in the restaurant (no, they do not provide food) and discuss a book which everyone is reading.  Many people download the book on a Kindle or iPad, but I haven't figured out how to do that so I borrow the book or someone's iPad.  That lasts until about 10:00.  The men meet for a series on various topics, such as
bible translations or church history. Darrell's group has met each day this past week at 9:00.

9:30 or 9:00 or 10:00 depending on the day, Crafters' Corner. Some people cross stitch, some crochet, some do hand quilting and some knit.  The knitting instructor comes at 10:00 (or sooner but the class starts at 10.)  She brought very fine yarn and circular knitting needles along with a variety of patterns for scarves and shawls.  Each person is allowed 1 pattern, 1 skein of yarn, 1 set of needles, enough to complete 1 item.  However many of the beginners have difficulty, so end up frogging (frogging = rip it, rip it, rip it.)  My scarf has many "design elements (mistakes)" but that will just make it unique.

One of the other projects

Beverly, the knitting instructor, in the Wintergarden

Knitting in the Wintergarden, overlooking the pool

A hand pieced quilt

The first 400 caps

Our other knitting projects involves larger yarn and a simpler pattern.  We are making baby hats to deliver to  hospitals in Mozambique, Madagascar, South Africa and Senegal.  I was not sure if anyone would be interested, but so far we have over 50 knitters who have produced over 480 hats.  The project really has caught on. Others knit adult size caps for the military.

Seating in Star Theater

Some days people leave to go the "Enrichment Lectures" in the Star Theater which could cover anything from the wild life of the area to the history of some part of the world to how it feels to work for the CIA.  I often skip them and catch up later since they are all added to the TV shortly after they are given live.

12:00 The Captain broadcasts the Noon Sea Report From the Navigational Bridge.  He tells us where we are, how far we have come, the temperature, depth of water, distance to the nearest land, sea, pool and air temperatures and whatever else he feels like telling us.  The message usually ends with an admonition to be careful when walking, hold unto the provided railings, and "take care of each other."

Jessa at Sin City

12:15 or 12:30  Lunch, usually in the World Cafe on Deck 7.  There is a large salad bar, hot foods usually including a couple kinds of meat dishes, a few kinds of vegetables, fish and other creations from the chef. And then there is Sin City, Darrell's name for the dessert bar.  There are always 5 or 6 kinds of puddings, pies, other combinations that the pastry chef concocts and GELATO, the ultimate temptation.  Chocolate, strawberry and vanilla are always available, but the chef comes up with a sherbet and 3 or 4 other gelato flavors each day.  One of these is sugar-free. Darrell's favorite is Bourbon Cherry, but I like Salted Caramel.  Oh, did I mention 4 different kind of cookies?


After lunch, and that can take an hour and a half if we get talking, it is nap time for Darrell.  Sometimes I join him, but more often I will work on the jigsaw puzzle, work on a blog, do laundry, read a book or go to the various lectures.  There may be 3-4 lectures a day. Before each port of call, we get a Port Talk, telling us about the place we will be visiting and all the tours available.  There are usually 5 or 6 optional tours available for a price as well as the free included tour.

6:00 or 6:30 means time for more food.  Our favorite place to eat is The Chef's Table which features a set menu of five courses and 4 paired wines.  The menu changes every 3 days and focuses on food from a specific location, like California or France, or a period of time like European food from Roman times to present.  If we do not eat there, we can choose Manfredi's, an Italian focus with a la carte selections in huge portions. (I always order a half portion.)  We could eat at The Restaurant where the menu changes daily but always offers certain stock items as prawns, salmon, and creme brulee.


However, The World Cafe is our usual choice.  For one thing, they have crab legs, shrimp and suchi every night in addition to hot food, soup and Sin City.  This, too, is usually a long meal with conversation to aid digestion.

Darrell likes to arrange groups to meet in one of the two private dining rooms.  He often gets one of the ship's crew such as the Captain or the Cruise Director to join us. Tonight at 6:30 Darrell has 14 people and joining us will be the Beverage Manager, Matthew, from South Africa, and Gami, from Croatia, who is the overall Manager of all of the food service areas such as Sue mentioned above, plus four other venues.

Dinner with the Captain in Manfredi's private dining room 

By now it is time to get back to the room to read, catch up on the lectures, see a movie or a TV program before going to bed.  There is entertainment every night at 9:15, but we seldom choose to go.  It is past our bedtime!

If you would like to see what our world looks like, I invite you to look us up at Viking Ocean
cruises. Go to ships and select Viking Sun.  There are views of rooms (ours is a Junior Penthouse Suite) and many locations on the ship.  Their photographers do a far better job than I can.