Live from the Viking Sky (Ft Lauderdale to London) December 20, 2023 - May 6, 2024

[vslparis]

On 5/6/2024 at 12:17 PM, Clay Clayton said:

After 121 days with only a few hour of rain, I guess we can’t complain about the downpour while disembarking, but it seemed to capture my feelings perfectly 😂

 

After hauling our bags out to the Gypsy Moth pub, we ordered up an UberXL and it finally arrived 15 minutes later. XL in London isn’t as XL as at home but we and our bags fit (barely).  An hour or so after that we made it to the Premier Inn Paddington-both us and the luggage still damp but not dripping like when we got in.  

 

 

The room is similar to our DV home except no balcony, closet, or storage space but it does come with mood lighting!😂

Glad to see you guys made it to your place in London for the week.  
Just an FYI for the Admiral’s Club in Terminal 3. Yes, it definitely is open for business. Since you are in Business Class, you get to use the Fast Track TSA sort of thing at Heathrow.Fast being a relative term 😉.  When you exit from there all you have to do is walk across the area ( following the Yellow signs some Gates like 10-28 or something  like that and to Airport Lounges -AA is Lounge H ) passing thru the place where people are waiting to see their gate show up on the board, past the champagne and caviar bar until have to turn either left or right. Turn right and go to Lounge H which is the Admiral’s Club . 
Have a Bloody Mary for me ! 

[Twitchly]

Thanks for bringing us along virtually with you. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute. What a wonderful adventure! 

[Clay Clayton]

On 5/6/2024 at 2:26 AM, janetcbl said:

May I add  my thanks to all of you WC travelers for “taking us along”. If we couldn’t be onboard in person, we could enjoy the trip vicariously. We join the Mars in Bergen in 19 days; wonder if there will be any remaining WC passengers going on to NYC?

I know Robin and Sam are going to be aboard.  They are TwoLeosTravels on Instagram

[cruising denise]

21 hours ago, big_red5312 said:

Pretty sure they low balled the cookie numbers!

 

21 hours ago, vslparis said:

Me too, especially with Michael in the Living Room bar being the resident

“ Cookie pusher “ 🤣

I'm pretty sure the wine count is understated, too.  I must have had 5,000 bottles by myself 🍷...So right about Michael the Cookie Pusher, though!!!!  We tried to stay away from that counter - too many delicious items!

[vslparis]

16 hours ago, cruising denise said:

 

I'm pretty sure the wine count is understated, too.  I must have had 5,000 bottles by myself 🍷...So right about Michael the Cookie Pusher, though!!!!  We tried to stay away from that counter - too many delicious items!

I poured my husband a glass of wine last night and then said “ how many cookies” 🤣

Just glad that they stopped making the shortbread type U shaped cookies with the ends dipped in chocolate ( think they were just on until LA ) after awhile. I would have been in a lot more trouble if they made those all the way to Greenwich😬

[cruising denise]

2 hours ago, vslparis said:

I poured my husband a glass of wine last night and then said “ how many cookies” 🤣

Just glad that they stopped making the shortbread type U shaped cookies with the ends dipped in chocolate ( think they were just on until LA ) after awhile. I would have been in a lot more trouble if they made those all the way to Greenwich😬

We're both working on removing those pounds that somehow glommed themselves onto our bodies during our nearly 4 months onboard...sadly that involves little to no wine...or cookies....Oh well, it took a while to put them on, we anticipate it will be a while to take them off again!!!  But well worth it!

[Joy1004]

I always enjoy following world cruisers and I especially appreciate all the fun adventures that Denise and Clay described so vividly! Thank you so much for “taking us along” with you on your fantastic journey. 
 

Clay and Mike, welcome back to NC after your time in London (from a “neighbor” in Cary, NC)!

[CCWineLover]

On 5/8/2024 at 5:22 PM, Clay Clayton said:

I know Robin and Sam are going to be aboard.  They are TwoLeosTravels on Instagram

Hi Clay - good to know.  We will be on Mars tomorrow in Barcelona headed to Bergen, then staying on Mars for Bergen to Iceland.  Will hopefully get to meet the two Leo's!

Kent

[Hobson1754]

Just now, CCWineLover said:

Hi Clay - good to know.  We will be on Mars tomorrow in Barcelona headed to Bergen, then staying on Mars for Bergen to Iceland.  Will hopefully get to meet the two Leo's!

Kent

Have a great cruise Kent

[janetcbl]

26 minutes ago, CCWineLover said:

Hi Clay - good to know.  We will be on Mars tomorrow in Barcelona headed to Bergen, then staying on Mars for Bergen to Iceland.  Will hopefully get to meet the two Leo's!

Kent

And we are looking forward to meeting you in Bergen. Safe travels…..and take good care of the ship for all of us who will be boarding in Norway.😁

[UWDawg]

On 5/9/2024 at 7:31 AM, cruising denise said:

We're both working on removing those pounds that somehow glommed themselves onto our bodies during our nearly 4 months onboard...sadly that involves little to no wine...or cookies....Oh well, it took a while to put them on, we anticipate it will be a while to take them off again!!!  But well worth it!

After a couple days home, I finally mustered up the courage to step on the scale yesterday... something I hadn't done since leaving for our WC more than 4 months ago.  I figured I probably put on a "couple" pounds.

 

I was WRONG.

 

The scale tells me that I actually lost about five pounds during the voyage.  I certainly can NOT attribute weight loss to the time I spent taking advantage of the Viking gym's exercise equipment (zero minutes in the gym) or laps around deck 2 (probably less than 10 miles over the 4 months).  I could possibly contribute the change to limiting the number of cookies during the entire journey to probably less than 10... or limiting alcohol intake to "mostly" the Chef's Table pairings and various wine and liquor tastings... instead opting for ice water and ginger ale while at the Star Theater... or skipping most breakfasts... or opting for the stairs most of the time rather than the elevator, but it is probably more likely that the battery in my digital scale needs to be replaced.  

[Clay Clayton]

On 5/9/2024 at 4:39 PM, Joy1004 said:

I always enjoy following world cruisers and I especially appreciate all the fun adventures that Denise and Clay described so vividly! Thank you so much for “taking us along” with you on your fantastic journey. 
 

Clay and Mike, welcome back to NC after your time in London (from a “neighbor” in Cary, NC)!

Thanks! We don’t get back until next week presuming Indont die of exhaustion first.  Sightseeing with a 22 year old is hard!  😂

[Clay Clayton]

So bittersweet to see Neptune in Greenwich yesterday and not be among those embarking!😢

[LindaS272]

4 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

So bittersweet to see Neptune in Greenwich yesterday and not be among those embarking!😢

Didja say Hi to Peregrina (Andrea) and Santa Fe (Christine)? Inquiring minds want to know! 😉😎

[Clay Clayton]

17 hours ago, LindaS272 said:

Didja say Hi to Peregrina (Andrea) and Santa Fe (Christine)? Inquiring minds want to know! 😉😎

No.  I didn’t realize they were boarding 😡

[LindaS272]

2 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

No.  I didn’t realize they were boarding 😡

Gotta keep up Clay! 😂😎🤦‍♀️

 

 😎

Edited May 11 by LindaS272

[Twitchly]

On 5/9/2024 at 10:31 AM, cruising denise said:

We're both working on removing those pounds that somehow glommed themselves onto our bodies during our nearly 4 months onboard

It’s horrifying to imagine how much weight I could gain after four months on a Viking ship. 

[TravelerTeacherRetired]

On 5/11/2024 at 9:56 AM, Clay Clayton said:

No.  I didn’t realize they were boarding 😡

Clay help!! I’ve lost your packing list post. 

[TravelerTeacherRetired]

Help I’ve lost the packing list post. Can you help me get it? 

[ustowas]

report from those who arrived early for the May 20 Viking homeland report 70s in Bergen.

We will board the Neptune on the 23.

[TravelerTeacherRetired]

47 minutes ago, ustowas said:

report from those who arrived early for the May 20 Viking homeland report 70s in Bergen.

We will board the Neptune on the 23.

 

[TravelerTeacherRetired]

Copenhagen forecast rainy and in the 50s

[Clay Clayton]

17 hours ago, TravelerTeacherRetired said:

Help I’ve lost the packing list post. Can you help me get it? 

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2880934-viking-sky-december-20-2023-world-cruise-including-la-jan-6-2024/?do=findComment&comment=67315758

[OneSixtyToOne]

BBC just posted a video report about the world cruise and its diversion to Africa https://bbc.com/news/world-africa-69008529

[Clay Clayton]

On 5/9/2024 at 10:31 AM, cruising denise said:

We're both working on removing those pounds that somehow glommed themselves onto our bodies during our nearly 4 months onboard...sadly that involves little to no wine...or cookies....Oh well, it took a while to put them on, we anticipate it will be a while to take them off again!!!  But well worth it!

Just got home and while during the cruise I lost and gained 5 pounds, happy to say that per our home scale, I only gained 1/2 a pound.  Of course part of that could be I’m dried out as we both have colds (just took a Covid test, negative thank goodness) and have been taking cold meds.  But I’ll prefer to say that despite drinking more, and eating worse, we did ok!