Day 3 - Viking Vela

Today, we journeyed to the ship. It took two trains and a taxi and about two hours. Other than dragging luggage around, it was seamless. It helped that after the trains, we nabbed taxi one of two to get to the port. And, on the train, we met the couple who nabbed the only other taxi; so we have already made friends even before stepping foot on the boat.

The check in process was easy. No other cruisers were around when we went through the process and were on board within 15 minutes. Funnily enough, last night I mentioned to Martha that we didn’t receive luggage tags. As soon as we got out of the taxi the boat people asked about luggage tags - nope, no tags.

The ship is much larger than we expected. It is Viking’s Ocean cruise and most Viking commercials only show the two deck River cruise ships. So far, it beats NCL as everything is complimentary including the workout rooms and spas, but not spa treatments. We did lower the average age a bit, but for the most part, there really aren’t many “old” people here. That was a concern because of Viking’s rep. But maybe the Ocean cruises skew younger - we’ll get back to you later as we meet more people.

We have a 2 hour delay in departing as there is a problem at the airport that affects a significant number of cruisers. It must be VIPs, because on other ships, the rule is, ‘the ship doesn’t leave you, you leave the ship’ meaning it is your responsibility to be onboard at the appropriate time or be left waiting.

During the delay Martha is spending her downtime binge watching Squid Game; that’s too violent for me. From Martha: at least I learned a new variation of Rho Sham Beau. It is Rock Paper Scissors Minus One. It’s not as intricate as Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock. But from a psychological standpoint, it very interesting to observe what the other person throws and then removes. But, yes, the rest of the series is the cause of nightmares. I’m ready for a Hallmark Christmas movie next. Back to Maggie…

It is fun meeting new people and talking about their travels. I was taken aback by two women fawning over an Alaska trip. I mean, I liked it but it’s definitely not in my top anything, except the people with whom we traveled. Then there was the couple who loved the NCL Vibe Beach club. Our group considered it deceptive as it didn’t have a pool. Yes, no kids; yes, good drinks; yes, festive vibe; no, pool in a “beach” club. It will be fun comparing notes with other guests throughout this cruise.