LIVE from Viking Sea - West Indies to Iberia (BCN--SJU) Dec. 3--Dec. 17

[kldough]

Late breaking update, just back to the room from dinner to find a note from the Captain that due to expected rough weather instead of Madera, w seee now will be stopping at Las Palmas, Canary Islands. 

[CCWineLover]

37 minutes ago, kldough said:

Late breaking update, just back to the room from dinner to find a note from the Captain that due to expected rough weather instead of Madera, w seee now will be stopping at Las Palmas, Canary Islands. 

Been to both.  Las Palmas is quite nice too!  You'll have to read up on it.  You are fortunate you didn't just have a sea day added!

[TayanaLorna]

46 minutes ago, kldough said:

Late breaking update, just back to the room from dinner to find a note from the Captain that due to expected rough weather instead of Madera, w seee now will be stopping at Las Palmas, Canary Islands. 

Too bad you are missing Maderia but the Canaries should be nice.  Looking at windy.com I can see the 2 deep low pressure systems causing some weather issues.  The predicted movement for both shows to the NE with the 2nd one taking all week to move well to the north.  My guess is your crossing will take a more southerly route then ours did in 2021 and might be a tad rougher.  One of the low pressure systems has been north-northeast of us since the weekend bringing wind and rain from the north which is unusual.  Our NNE facing beaches are getting a big swell and we are having 55 degree F night time temps in the mountains.  Last night I asked my DH to put on the heat (we don't have heat in PR).

[FetaCheese]

Took the incl tour in Malaga. Had a very knowledgeable and personable guide, Juan.  Coach ride around old city sites, then a walking tour.  City was full of tourists, including local Spanish groups, and groups from the P&O Iona, a huge ship.

 

Dinner at WC featured "A Taste of Spain" buffet.

 

Spoke with GM today and asked pax count: 820, nearly full.  Had dinner at rest, 8pm, place was really busy.  Friendly and courteous crew working hard to accommodate us.

 

Tomorrow Cadiz.

Edited December 5, 2022 by FetaCheese

[TayanaLorna]

2 hours ago, kldough said:

Late breaking update, just back to the room from dinner to find a note from the Captain that due to expected rough weather instead of Madera, w seee now will be stopping at Las Palmas, Canary Islands. 

When does your crossing begin?

[powderhorn]

7 hours ago, TayanaLorna said:

When does your crossing begin?

Looks like first sea day is Saturday, Dec 10 after our stop in Canary Islands....in Cadiz today, then Casablanca, sea day, Canary Islands...then cross the pond....6 sea days in a row.....boat is rocking a bit coming into Cadiz....

[FetaCheese]

Quick Note:  In Our DV2:  no drawers in closet.

 

This morning in Cadiz we walked old city, most all shops were closed.

 

My observation: all crew is masked, pax estimate 5% masked.  

Edited December 6, 2022 by FetaCheese
Addl info

[TayanaLorna]

1 hour ago, FetaCheese said:

Quick Note:  In Our DV2:  no drawers in closet.

 

This morning in Cadiz we walked old city, most all shops were closed.

 

My observation: all crew is masked, pax estimate 5% masked.  

Hopefully next Sea refit will include more DV drawers.  The masked percentage follows what people are saying on other V cruises.  Any Covid testing?

[TayanaLorna]

8 hours ago, powderhorn said:

Looks like first sea day is Saturday, Dec 10 after our stop in Canary Islands....in Cadiz today, then Casablanca, sea day, Canary Islands...then cross the pond....6 sea days in a row.....boat is rocking a bit coming into Cadiz....

Great.  Looks like that very deep low pressure will be well to the North by Saturday with a nice slot of 10-15 knot winds and 3-4 meter seas south of the system by then.  The low is still disrupting the normal E or NE trade winds.  Hope you have pleasant crossing.  Happy you are going to Casablanca as Morroco was closed to us last year.

[FetaCheese]

2 hours ago, TayanaLorna said:

Hopefully next Sea refit will include more DV drawers.  The masked percentage follows what people are saying on other V cruises.  Any Covid testing?

So far, no testing, no temp scanning, no questionnaire, no contact tracing.

 

Just back from afternoon walking tour of Cadiz. Guide, Paqui, was excellent.  Many more shops open now.  Today is Constitution Day.

 

[Sleep7]

Oh yay! So excited to see that you are posting about your cruise Fetacheese!

I'm looking forward to "sailing" along with you.

Thank you for posting!

[FetaCheese]

13 hours ago, Sleep7 said:

Oh yay! So excited to see that you are posting about your cruise Fetacheese!

I'm looking forward to "sailing" along with you.

Thank you for posting!

I so much appreciated your Live From, that I wanted to start this one.

 

Yours included way more!

 

Thanks for reading.

[Sleep7]

1 hour ago, FetaCheese said:

I so much appreciated your Live From, that I wanted to start this one.

 

Yours included way more!

 

Thanks for reading.

Oh thanks! I'm honored!😃

You will be so happy that you wrote about your trip.. when you come home you can look back and relive all the wonderful moments.

[powderhorn]

On 12/6/2022 at 10:37 AM, TayanaLorna said:

Great.  Looks like that very deep low pressure will be well to the North by Saturday with a nice slot of 10-15 knot winds and 3-4 meter seas south of the system by then.  The low is still disrupting the normal E or NE trade winds.  Hope you have pleasant crossing.  Happy you are going to Casablanca as Morroco was closed to us last year.

Had a great tour of Casablanca and the Hassan II mosque today...beautiful sunny day....looks like we may have a rough crossing to the Canary Islands....announcement says forecasted 40mph winds tonight and tomorrow.....never sailed on a ship this small before and we are on deck 5 forward so this will be 'interesting'.....:-)

[FetaCheese]

Update:

 

Enjoyed a dinner back at Manfredis, with a fine couple, Kldough.  Dinner was at 8:30, and we closed the place! They did not rush us out!

 

A few days ago, during dinner at Restaurant, Exec Chef stopped by our table to hear my comments re: prior dinner.  When I said I was comparing Bisteca on Venus Dec. 2021, he said he was exec Chef on that voyage.

 

He appreciated my comments, and apologized for not having met standards and expectations.  Also, he knew we had reservations for yesterday evening, and said quality would improve.

 

Ordered Bisteca, and yes, quality was spot on.  Wife had mussels appetizer which was superb.  Quantity was really a dinner size portion, so she'll get that again as main, next time.  Very satisfied with Manfredis.  We will return on another night.

 

Best dessert was Amarone Chocolate item.

 

Today, early am, Shorex for Gran Canaria were available to book.

 

Sea day today, so lots of activities: lectures, bridge instructors, film, art class.

 

Lunch today at WC features "Taste of Italy".

 

[TayanaLorna]

17 hours ago, powderhorn said:

Had a great tour of Casablanca and the Hassan II mosque today...beautiful sunny day....looks like we may have a rough crossing to the Canary Islands....announcement says forecasted 40mph winds tonight and tomorrow.....never sailed on a ship this small before and we are on deck 5 forward so this will be 'interesting'.....:-)

Glad you got there.  That was the tour of our choice before port was cancelled.

[CCWineLover]

3 hours ago, TayanaLorna said:

Glad you got there.  That was the tour of our choice before port was cancelled.

Likewise, Lorna!  Glad they were able to make Casablanca, since the just recent Jupiter Southern Crossing people had it cancelled in November.

[TayanaLorna]

3 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

Likewise, Lorna!  Glad they were able to make Casablanca, since the just recent Jupiter Southern Crossing people had it cancelled in November.

Right.  I didn't want to rain on their parade in case they didn't know that.

[FetaCheese]

Today the Viking Sea called on Gran Canaria de Las Palmas.  Viking had to scramble to add shore excursions because this is the first V ship to call on this island, except for one of the expedition ships which had called here for a fueling stop.

 

We took an optional tour to the south of the island. The highlight of the tour was the last stop, a village called Port Mogán.  This part of the island is very popular with European tourists.

 

The 1st stop featured Upscale resorts and shops, and beaches.

 

The second stop was at an area with large sand dunes carved out by strong winds, and a lighthouse. This area is also popular with tourists.

 

For us the third stop, Port Mogán, was the highlight of the tour.  Another spot popular with tourists. There were many shops and cafes, along with a beach and harbor.  We had a nice lunch at a small Cafe.  For the off season, the town was very busy.

 

On the coach ride we traveled through many mountainous areas with tunnels through the mountains.  There are many wind turbines in this part of the island.

 

We have just departed this island to begin our crossing.

Edited December 9, 2022 by FetaCheese
Addl info

[kldough]

On 12/9/2022 at 6:06 PM, FetaCheese said:

Today the Viking Sea called on Gran Canaria de Las Palmas.  Viking had to scramble to add shore excursions because this is the first V ship to call on this island, except for one of the expedition ships which had called here for a fueling stop.

 

We took an optional tour to the south of the island. The highlight of the tour was the last stop, a village called Port Mogán.  This part of the island is very popular with European tourists.

 

The 1st stop featured Upscale resorts and shops, and beaches.

 

The second stop was at an area with large sand dunes carved out by strong winds, and a lighthouse. This area is also popular with tourists.

 

For us the third stop, Port Mogán, was the highlight of the tour.  Another spot popular with tourists. There were many shops and cafes, along with a beach and harbor.  We had a nice lunch at a small Cafe.  For the off season, the town was very busy.

 

On the coach ride we traveled through many mountainous areas with tunnels through the mountains.  There are many wind turbines in this part of the island.

 

We have just departed this island to begin our crossing.

After having dinner in The Restaurant last night with Peter (FetaCheese) and his wife, Pat, I can truly attest he lives up to his handle after he requested a side dish of feta with his meal. 🇬🇷

[J80crew]

Could you possibly post a copy of the daily schedule?  I can soon make reservations for dinners on our February cruise and want to coordinate the times with other activities. Thanks for all your information!

[M.Travels]

Just wanted to say I am enjoying and appreciating your updates! We sail on the Sea on Saturday, and we were on a similar Viking ship (the Orion) in May. I am REALLY looking forward to my first slice of success cake and enjoying people watching at tea!

[FetaCheese]

Celebrating a milestone anniversary onboard.  So  kind of Viking.  We shared the champagne with Kldough and his wife last night in Explorers lounge.

[FetaCheese]

[FetaCheese]

19 hours ago, J80crew said:

Could you possibly post a copy of the daily schedule?  I can soon make reservations for dinners on our February cruise and want to coordinate the times with other activities. Thanks for all your information!

I want to do this.  Internet is slow and spotty, so it may take some time.  I do have all dailies to date.  

Edited December 12, 2022 by FetaCheese