The Sea dominates a Sea Day…and random thoughts

[videopress 1VQTwaBs]

Yesterday was a sea day, and the sea took over. Just after we left Lerwick, the weather and the seas changed. The winds picked up (the captain announced 50-60 knot winds yesterday at noon), and the seas were fairly high. The video above is a good example of what we were into. Today (which is also a sea day) is much calmer. The worst part for me is that on sea days, I like to walk on the Promenade Deck (Deck 2). Due to the extreme seas yesterday, the outside of that deck was closed off. It is back open today, and I truly enjoyed a six-mile walk this morning.

You knew it was bad because beautiful leather barf bag holders were placed all around the ship. We had someone lose it just down the hall from our stateroom, and the crew got that carpet cleaned up quickly. It also made for both a very quiet breakfast and lunch for us. The World Cafe (buffet) was practically empty for breakfast, and when we went back for lunch, they kept having dishes fall over and glasses breaking, so we went down and had lunch in the dining room. Pretty empty there as well. The captain was right when he predicted things would get better around midnight. We weren’t up then, but when I woke up around that time because it had become too quiet, I looked out the window, and the seas were much calmer. Thankfully, they still are.

Random Thoughts

Since I have few photos to show you (other than the video above), I wanted to comment on a few things around the ship.

Let’s start with the interior of the ship itself. I think Viking truly has the most beautifully decorated ships at sea. At least they appeal to my taste in design much more than any other line I have ever cruised on—the furnishings, carpets, and floors in every venue work for me.

And if I am looking for a place to sit…I also think that after 35-plus cruises, there are more awesome places to sit and look out at the ocean on a Viking ship than on any other ship we have sailed on. Right now, I am sitting in my favorite place on the ship, the upstairs gallery of the Explorer’s Lounge. On deck eight forward, long-time cruisers will know it as the Crow’s Nest or Sky Lounge on other lines. It has numerous couches and chairs, a fantastic view and tons of books and artifacts. Right now (because it is a sea day), it is a little louder than normal, but most of the time, it is the quietest place on the ship. We sailed on Oceania’s Vista last fall, and my biggest complaint was that there was no place below the top two decks where I could sit and look out at the sea unless I were on my verandah.

There is no deck on Viking ships with a public area where you can’t look out at the sea in every direction. On Deck 7, starting in the Explorer Lounge at the bow and walking aft to the stern, you can see almost every step of the way. And all along that walk, there are a lot of places to sit. Whoever designed these ships did it right. The same is true for Deck 2. You can see outside from The Restaurant aft until you reach the Star Theater in the bow. And there is seating everywhere if you are looking for a quiet place to sit and read…or post on a blog.

I have only taken a few photos around the ship (other than in our stateroom), but I will try to do a few more so I can show you what I mean. Here are some quick shots I took just now to give you an idea. Feel free to look at them on your phone; I took them with mine.

I love the Promenade Deck, but I wish it went one way. This is a tiny complaint, and I will write it up as a suggestion to Viking. When we are at home, I walk a lot—more than 120 miles every month. In good weather, I do that outside. In lousy weather (we have a lot of that in the Seattle area), I walk indoors on the track above our pool at Trilogy (the 55+ community where we live).

On that track, we have a wonderful sign that says, “Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, walk clockwise. Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, walk counter-clockwise.” Viking needs that on the Promenade Deck. When I go out to walk, I try to wait to see which way the majority of people are going and go with the flow. But since I will walk for more than an hour, eventually, people will start walking in the other direction, and pretty soon, there will be more coming towards me than going away from me. This wouldn’t be a problem on the track at Trilogy, but here on the ship, it is a HUGE problem. There are spaces on that deck where you can’t pass anyone. One of you (like on a Scottish country road) has to pull over and stop walking. (see the hallway above. It’s about as wide as I am.) If I am behind someone in these tight places, it’s easy to slow down until I can pass them. But when I am in a tight, metal tunnel at the bow of the ship, and I come around the corner, and there is someone coming full tilt directly at me, it’s tough to find a way to get around them or move over. Near collisions are rampant, and I have to believe there are a few that actually happen. All this could be solved with a sign like we have at Trilogy. Then everyone would walk one way, and there would never be a problem in those tight spaces. No surprises—that’s the ticket.

The crew on this ship is awesome…and very happy. We have had great crew members over the years who we have loved and sometimes sailed with numerous times and developed relationships with. But I have never seen an overall crew as happy in their work as this one. With the exception of one or two that we have run into, every single one is always smiling. And not just at us. One of my favorite things this week is to see the people in the World Cafe (buffet) interacting with one another. They are constantly smiling and laughing while they do their excellent job.

And they are fun to talk to. There is a new station at the back of the buffet that does Asian food. Every time I would come by and look at what they had, the assistant chef who works there would entice me to try it. Finally, I did, and it was awesome, but now, if he sees me walking past, he will call me out and ask why I am not eating from this station today ?. When I do, he always encourages me to try new things that I am not sure of. When I do, he always checks later to see if I liked it. That’s amazing service. That’s above and beyond.

The attitude of this crew tells me two things. They have a great boss at the top who sets the tone, and he gives his supervisors leeway in hiring and they are hiring the right people. I have yet to meet the Hotel Manager here on Venus, but I know he is the one who lets his managers in the kitchens, the dining rooms and housekeeping set the tone. And those supervisors seem to have the same attitude as their workers.

I have seen head servers, managers and the like helping to set up tables, serve food or bus dishes that I have never seen on other ships. Yesterday afternoon, they were doing a salmon lunch set up on the aft deck, and the executive chef of the entire ship was there helping to set up. When one of the assistant cooks suggested a change to the setup, he stood back and said, “You’re right. That would be better. Let’s change it.” And he jumped right in to help her change it. And while they were changing it, he thanked her for the idea. (Then he stopped to talk to us—nice guy.) That’s what real management is all about—giving the crew ownership and listening. Whoever is running this part of the ship is doing it right.

Tomorrow, we are back in port again, and it’s a long excursion, so I am not sure if I will have a report for you. It’s the first of three consecutive port days starting with Honningsvåg, Norway.

Sweet it is, when on the high seas the winds are lashing the waters, to gaze from the land on another’s struggles.  —Lucretius