Lowes Travels

World Wonders Cruise Diary – Day 5,6,7 – Pacific Ocean

Day 5,6,7 – Jan 9-11

Cruising the Pacific –

About the only change in scenery during the past 3 days has been the cloud formations.  We did manage to pick up 3 seabirds that somehow flew at least 800 miles from the nearest land to join us as a base for resting and feeding.  Amazing to see birds out here in the middle of nowhere.

The hitchhikers – Red-footed Boobies were having a chat

Although the motion of the ship has varied between calm and quite a bit of rocking and rolling, Mona Liza seems to have overcome her seasickness – yay!  The patch worked like magic, and she highly recommends it.

Our day room – the Explorer’s Lounge has many books to read or browse

I’ve made it a priority to get my back healed before we reach our first port.  So far my daily trips to the hot tub, twice daily icings and 2 deep tissue massages have made a huge improvement and I’m confident I’ll be good to go when we reach the Marquesas Islands.

Our reflection as we head to my massage and  ML’s facial appointment

So how have we kept ourselves busy?  Mona Liza had a Hydra Facial (whatever the heck that is), and she joined the  Bayeux Tapestry tour to gain insights into the captivating images that we see lining the main stairwells.  She also watched a couple of movies at the Star Theater:

The resident historian told us the original tapestry is 230′ long and is actually an embroidery
Replica of the Bayeux tapestry that tells the story of the conquest of England in 1066, told in embroidery.

I’ve been spending a lot of time at the spa and reading, and I took a tour of the ship’s public areas.  It was OK, but I can’t wait for a special tour of the bridge on the 22nd!

Available here are a Nordic thermal pool, steam room, snow grotto and hot tub.  This spa is awesome!
This is how the Nordics do a detox and we are too!

This is a lounging area by the pool (to my right), with additional chairs facing the scenery outside

Things we’ve done together include walking many laps and miles around the ship, enjoying a Q&A with the ship’s senior officers, watching 2 comedian/magician acts and having a 5-course dinner at one of the specialty restaurants.  The quality and variety of the food continue to blow our minds, but Mona Liza has been using pretty good restraint with her meals, while I’ve been gorging myself and feel confident I can put on a few pounds during the next 4 months.

One of the specialty restaurants

Port talks are lectures about the heritage, culture, and history of the country we will visit next

On Day 7 we crossed the equator, and there was a big ceremony with a ritual where folks who have never crossed before kiss a fish and then jump into the pool to be named a “shellback”.  We managed to avoid that madness, but enjoyed watching others make fools of themselves:

A real fish was kissed
The ship’s general manager initiated the ceremony…
…and plunged into the pool sideways
It seemed like everybody wanted to participate

There’s been a concern about ongoing bushfires in Australia and whether our stop would be canceled, but we were advised that so far our itinerary is largely unaffected.  Viking is supporting the relief effort and making a charitable donation to the wildlife charity WIRES and to the Australian Red Cross.  Passengers contributions will be matched by Viking, so we were happy to be able to participate and hopefully help those unfortunate folks and animals.

Our future posts will be a bit more challenging, since we’ll be much busier on most days than we have been so far.  We’ll do our best to keep up!

In the meantime, here are some pictures my crazy photographer wanted to share:

Knitters gather at Wintergarden
Hmm, what do I want for breakfast today?
World Cafe – high-end buffet-style restaurant with a huge variety of choices
My breakfast
Mona Liza’s breakfast
Guest services
Tea time – I wanted a beer 😦
Looking down at the atrium
The classical duo plays traditional Norwegian music at the atrium.  These two and the pianist are amazing
At turndown we don’t get towel animals like we used to
The setting sun capped another lazy day on the Viking Sun

 

 

23 comments

  2. This voyage seems to be the stuff of dreams! Thanks very much for sharing your experiences and for the beautiful photographs.

  4. That ship looks truly amazing…they’ve thought of everything possible to make your journey luxurious and interesting! I would LOVE that spa. You are so funny, wishing for a beer instead of tea at teatime, LOL. Can’t wait to hear about your first port adventure! You’ll have to get your ‘land legs’ back. 😳

    • Yes, Laurel, the Nordic spa is amazing! We have followed the Nordic way and boy my whole body was tingling after I dipped in the hot tub coming out from the Snow grotto. And it wiped me out afterward, for my body was so relaxed. We are really pampered and getting spoiled here 🙂

  5. I can so imagine having daily use of a full service spa! Steve, you are very fortunate to be able to gain a few pounds…I feel sorry for Mona Liza having to control herself!

  6. Thanks for performing this great public service! I’m a fan of Saxon English history, so the Bayeux tapestry is an added treat!

  7. Yay! ML was able to photograph birds. After all this pampering, you won’t want to return to RV life. For a little back therapy, I recommend you check out the YouTube channel “Bob and Brad Physical Therapists”. They offer some great back exercises. The ship looks beautiful and you two don’t look too bad either. Ya clean up real well 🤣

    • There is a resident Wildlife Person that give talks twice a day and point at the birds and any fishes seen.
      Tell me about it, the Nordic spa is heavenly, the food will make me obese in four months. Steve is happy with his massage therapist and she has given him lots of pointers for back exercises.

  8. Really enjoying your commentary Steve. It feels like a natural continuation of being in-person with you which makes me laugh. Tea? No, a beer!

    Glad you’re on the mend. I really like the photo of you two all duded up.

  9. Ok, is the ship sold out? Because I am amazed at the number of photos in which you guys look blessedly alone! I’d be doing the Nordic spa daily as well. Ahhhhh!

    Glad to hear Steve’s back is cooperating. What a surprise to see the formal wear — a tie! Lookin’ mighty sharp, both of you.

    Happy to hear you’ll still be able to visit Australia, and so nice to see that Viking and you are helping out. Such heartbreaking devastation.

    What a treat to see those red-footed boobies so far out. I wonder if they depend on cruise ships now?

    Can’t wait for the details of your first port of call!

    • We were actually overdressed!
      You don’t see many peeps in my photos because we are out and about when the rest are still snoozing, besides there are so many spaces around the ship to lounge around. That Equator Crossing Ceremony is the first time I see most of us in one spot.
      And yes the Nordic spa is one of our favorite spa, loving every minute of it.

  10. Sounds like some relaxing days at sea … which you’ll appreciate even more once you start hitting the ports of call.

  11. That’s a great photo of you two all fancied up! This is like reading about the rich and famous…great pictures ML and thanks Steve for posting! Gay

  12. I don’t know, man… for all that money, I think they owe you some towel animals!! Good ones, too! They can’t phone it in. They need to be creative!! You should definitely talk to the Captain about this next time you see him. 🙂

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