Aboard and Never Bored

November 12, 2022. In the Mediterranean Sea off the east coast of Spain.

Hello Everyone from our stateroom on the Viking Jupiter!

We boarded ship on Thursday, November 10th, spending the first of 22 days and 21 nights of this journey in the Port of Barcelona.

Excursions were offered for the 11th, but as Christine and I had been in Barcelona since the 5th we opted instead to do some light shopping and focus on acclimating to our new “digs”.

It is hard to imagine a greater contrast between my last 42 days and the 22 that lay ahead. This is opulent comfort where the service of passenger “wants” is the staff’s first priority.

It is amazing that every single staff person on the ship greets us with a genuine smile and a greeting,“How is your morning/day/evening“… Is there anything I can do for you?“ Their’s is an uncommon courtesy that I will linger on in another post.

It is also my intention to later present a pictorial “tour” of the ship.

In cruise ship terms this vessel is relatively small. There are approximately 900 passengers aboard, and what we like best about the “Viking experience“ is what it omits: There are no children, there is no casino, there are no dress up nights, and there is no “nickel and diming“ at every turn. This is a picture of Viking Sky, an identical sister ship that pulled into port on the 11th.

We were docked the night of the 10th next to a cruise ship that serves roughly 5 times as many passengers. We watched what seemed to be an endless line of humanity waiting to take buses for their excursions, and later in the day waited to process back on board. That vessel featured a number of water slides and amusement-park-like features. That’s fine for those folks, its just not for us.

I have read that Royal Caribbean is preparing to launch the largest passenger ship ever built. It will accommodate over 7,500 passengers and another 2,500 crew!

We sailed out of Barcelona harbor last night at 10 p.m..

Today is the first of 10 “at sea days” spread among our 12 “in port” days.

I have been asked what is there to do when the entire day is spent at sea, “Don’t you get bored?” The short answer is no. The longer answer may be found in these next images which are taken from the daily newsletter that is delivered nightly to our room for the following day.

There is no excuse for “nothing to do”, unless of course it is a matter of choice.

Peace Everyone. Pete and (a restful) Christine.