Sea Day(s)

Having left the surprise package that was the gorgeous port of Mariehamn the previous night, we are spending today at sea as we sail south to Gdansk in Poland. It's our only scheduled sea day and I'm looking forward to it as an opportunity to settle into what will be our home for the next couple of weeks and explore all the ship has to offer a little further.

We are definitely still very much novices when it comes to cruising and have a lot to learn but by Day 3 of the cruise (Day 8 of our entire trip) we are already settling into a routine of sorts.

Viking Cruises prides itself on providing a 'destination focussed, culturally immersive travel option' (that's straight from the brochure) with marketing focussed on adults-only cruises on ships without casinos. There is an emphasis on providing a daily offering of activities, lectures and presentations to enhance your experience of the ports/areas you are visiting. Viking has definitely delivered on all they promised and we are beyond impressed!

So on days we are in port we have a schedule of pre-booked shore excursions and, depending on the ship's onboard itinerary, possibly a lecture and always a 'Port Talk' at 4:30 in the afternoon, where you are given an overview of the country/city you will be visiting the following day, along with the specific details of each of the shore excursions. The ship also publishes the 'Viking Daily' which is delivered to your room each night with a full list of everything happening the next day. It all works like a very well-oiled machine - even when things go awry which they will in the days to come!

There are five main dining options onboard. One is casual buffet style, one is more formal a la carte, and one is a poolside cafe that is open for lunch. There are also two specialty options, one Italian and one chef's choice degustation - both of which are a bit more 'fine dining' and are included in the fare, but you are limited to the number of times you can dine at each. The latter two require a booking made in advance but tables can not be booked in the other restaurants, so it's just a matter of turning up and taking the table you are given. In all cases the tables are spaced enough apart that you can, without being rude, pretty much ignore the guests at the next table but, if you choose to, you can also engage easily enough. This is where caution should be exercised and the same caution should be applied when choosing a seat in any of the bars.

To set the scene a little, there are a few things to be aware of…

• There are 930 passengers on board the ship, 167 of which are Australian (apparently a record number and evidence that all the marketing and newspaper inserts are working). Apart from a smattering of English, New Zealanders and Canadians, the rest are Americans. Every single tour guide will assume you are American and customise their stories to suit The better ones will ask and adapt accordingly, which is appreciated
• Most of the passengers are travelling in groups of two, however, there are also quite a large number of bigger groups and a small number of solo travellers but by day 2 or 3 they appear to have found each other and started to form their own little travelling parties.
• Prior to boarding the ship I had anticipated, largely due to the marketing suggesting the cruise is quite active, that the average passenger would be a relatively fit and inquisitive person in about the same age demographic as Andrew and I. However, as it turns out, we are very much in the younger percentile and definitely much more mobile than most.

With the above in mind, we need to:

Firstly, avoid sitting next to or near large groups, particularly if they are large groups of Americans - you will not be able to hear yourself talk or think. After a few days, this seems to sort itself out with different groups tending to congregate in different areas. The nice quiet bars where people are reading or chatting quietly or the rowdy bars where it's more of a party than a cruise - then there's the more middling bunch which is where we find ourselves most of the time

Secondly, avoid sitting next to the person who puts their hand up during every single Port Talk, interrupting the presenter to ask a question that has already been addressed during the same presentation, and...

Finally, be aware that every guided tour that involves walking will be a lot slower than you would have liked.

None of the above is meant as a criticism but, having an awareness will help you navigate your day for the best outcome. It's also not an exhaustive list but, with time, we will learn more that I will share in future blogs.

In the meantime, our first sea day looks like this....

• 8am - a yoga session on the pool deck which is surprisingly strenuous and hard on the knees
• 9am - breakfast
• 9:30am - a lecture on "The Vikings" by the ship's resident historian
• 11am - a session at the gym on the rower and treadmill (this is where I find the rest of the passengers on the ship under 65)
• 1pm - lunch in the World Cafe, the buffet-style dining option where optimum self-control is required but plenty of healthy, salad type options are available so it's not too difficult
• 2 to 4:30pm - I have been so tardy in writing this blog that I can't actually remember what we did but no doubt we did something, maybe I did do some blogging

• 4:30pm - attended the Port Talk to learn about our destination for the next day - Gdansk in Poland, which actually sounds quite interesting and we are looking forward to our day there
• 5:30pm - head to the Viking Lounge bar where are regular barman, Wayan, already knows I will have a prosecco, which worries me slightly until I realise he knows what everyone is going to order (this regularly happens on board with all crew remembering your room number and your preferences - it literally blows my mind!)
• 6:30pm - change for dinner - although none of the options are 'formal' or even 'semi-formal' it is expected that you will wear smart clothes with men requiring pants and a shirt with a collar and women a similar level of attire in all restaurants other than the World Cafe (buffet) where you can get away with basically anything (within reason)
• 9pm - head back to our room for a good night's sleep ahead of a big day in Gdansk tomorrow

Also to note - we have also agreed to a rule whereby the only time we are allowed to take an elevator is if we have a drink in our hands, otherwise we have to take the stairs. As we are on deck 5 and the restaurants, bars, theatre and disembarkation points are on decks 1, 2 and 7, this makes for quite a workout each day.

This ship has been unbelievably steady and quiet to this point and we're sleeping like babies, so it's odd when things start to get a little unsteady and we are jolted awake the following morning. Literally.

It seems we will not be going to Gdansk today after all, despite coming to within a couple of hundred metres. Despite a valiant attempt, the conditions are just too rough for the Captain to dock the ship. All excursions are cancelled, and the crew scramble to deal with another day at sea - something that, apparently, takes some planning as, obviously, there are more passengers onboard during the day to be fed, entertained and generally care for. Although I was quite looking forward to visiting Poland, albeit briefly, for the first time, I'm not massively disappointed. I enjoyed yesterday and now know we will have no trouble keeping ourselves entertained for the day. So, essentially it's a repeat of yesterday, except a lot rougher and, for the first time, there are bowls of dried ginger scattered around the ship.

Rather than docking in Gdansk, the Captain informs us we are setting sail, slowly, for our next port, Bornholme in Denmark. That is until, a few hours later, the Captain again comes over the PA to inform us the conditions are even tougher in Bornholme and, consequently, he has made the decision to skip that too and head straight for Warnemunde in Germany (the port that accesses Berlin) and we will have an additional day there.

So what we're now learning is that plans can change very rapidly at sea and I feel for the Shore Excursion and Cruise team that needs to scramble to change excursions and generally keep us entertained.