We have been home for two weeks since our South Pacific adventure. These are a few reflections on my life on an extended cruise.
My impressions about a cruise haven been shaped by fictional depictions on TV and movies like Love Boat, Titanic and The Poseidon Adventure.
Over time, I heard accounts about modern day cruises to different parts of the world. They sounded fascinating and hard to resist.
Then, 23 years ago, we went on a cruise of our own to Alaska and got to enjoy the experience first hand. My opinions were generally positive, although I wondered about some aspects such as the shameless marketing and the unfettered consumption of food and drink.
Just over a year ago, we went on a river cruise in Europe and enjoyed one of the best experiences of our life.
And then came this opportunity to go on the South Pacific and Australia cruise this past January. It would last 40 days and take us to places we always wished to see. It seemed to fulfill a bucket list - the last big adventure together before scaling back on big trips.
The ocean cruise seemed to offer a fascinating lifestyle option. We would spoil ourselves for 40 days, just enjoying rest, relaxation, meeting friends, and having food and drinks available at our leisure. And this cruise delivered all of that and more.
It seemed also that an ocean (or river) cruise was a definite option for retirement. After a hectic 30, or 40 or 50 years of a daily working routine, this was a welcome change of pace.
The benefits took on even more appeal if it meant getting away from winter conditions. In our case, we were spared extremely bitter cold of about -40 to -50 deg C at home.
We had the advantage of knowing a bit about how Viking operates. We kept in touch with the Viking representative and made several inquiries with their travel agent who made our flight arrangements.
The only visas we needed were for Australia and New Zealand. Unlike the old visa application process, we did these applications on our devices, including scanning our passports and taking selfies to add to the forms.
We waited anxiously for a few days before they informed us that the electronic transfers were approved.
I planned to record our entire cruise experience in a blog that I. would share with family and friends. I decided to write a blog before we left, one after each major section of the journey an this final wrap up. Details can be seen in these blogs.
While on the cruise, I also started a daily journal to record details of our everyday experiences for our personal recollection.
Once the cruise started, we adjusted to the major differences in a river cruise ship and an ocean cruise liner.
Obviously, the river ship was shorter and much lower. The river cruise involved navigating narrower and shallower waterways with numerous locks for passing bridges.
The Viking Sky that we used was luxurious from stem to stern. By design and functionality, they were exceptional in every detail. Nothing has been overlooked in the staterooms, dining rooms, meeting rooms, bars, decks, swimming pools, hot tubs, hallways, offices, bathrooms and even stair wells. Almost every part of the ship is pleasing to the eye.
The placement of Norwegian art, artifacts, hangings and decorations are tastefully presented.
Not overlooked also was a very comprehensive communication system. Passengers were kept informed through the central sound system, through daily newsletters, and stateroom monitors.
The most helpful feature for many was easy access to WiFi throughout the ship. One cannot overstate how convenient this was for communication, entertainment and information.
Failures in any of these services and conveniences are distracting and sometimes annoying, but are no different than anywhere else.
One of the most important features of cruises of any kind was the cuisine. From that perspective, this ship got top marks.
There weren't as many restaurants as I first expected, but they were just right for any occasion. The restaurants were the same in all Viking ocean ships and they are called the same.
Two restaurants required reservations and dress codes. Another had a full menu but no dress code nor needed reservations. Then there was a large international restaurant where one could have all three major meals, often with international specialties on certain days.
Light meals were available also at other food and drink bars on several decks.
The passengers on the ship were mostly seniors, ranging in their 70s, 80s, and 90s. Some were 50s and 60s. I was amazed at the great physical condition of most of the passengers.
There was no reliable way to make a fair assumption of peoples’ health and fitness, but I saw much older passengers than I in the gym every day. They were almost all extremely fit, and could be seen comfortably using all the equipment from weights to treadmills and cross trainers. They were very inspiring.
We boarded the cruise in Los Angeles, unaware at the time that we were hitchhiking on a world cruise. The actual starting port was Fort Lauderdale and the final disembarkation was London, England, after going through the Panama Canal to Los Angeles, and will continue to Hawaii, French Polynesia, New Zealand and Australia. The original journey would continue to several Asian ports including Mumbai, Viet Nam, Thailand, and then to the Red Sea, through the Suez Canal, and on to London, England.
A crisis in the Suez Canal where ships were being attacked, forced Viking and other cruise lines to bypass the Red Sea and instead go around Africa and then proceed to London.
This unexpected change in itinerary has caused some passengers to disembark early and return home.
The original world cruise would have taken 140 days, while our segment was 40 days. Translated in dollars, that represents a huge investment for the world cruise passengers and is a statement amount the enormous wealth floating these oceans.
None of this took away from the pleasure of being on board this vessel and the absolutely glorious time we are having. Most importantly, we continued to enjoy great health.
They only issue we experienced was trying to cope with rough seas. The often changing weather, strong winds, boisterous waves cause the ship to rock resulting in cases of nausea. I had about four of these occurrences.
Off the ship, the climate on Kauai and Oahu was comfortable, but we found the heat in Tahiti quite unbearable and we could not enjoy this South Pacific gem the way we hoped.
We have not had any major mishaps on the cruise. I lost a good quality wide brimmed hat on the island of Bora Bora. On the ship, I lost my drivers license, which I later recovered from Lost and Found.
These paled in comparison with the countless wonderful experiences on the cruise. You could use the phrase Bucket List or Trip of a Lifetime or whatever superlative you wish, we are overjoyed to have this vacation together and pleased to share it through our blogs. Thanks for your interest and for joining us on our cruise.
