11-20 Nov Sailing the Pacific

 

This post is based primarily on Don's notes, occasionally supplemented with MT's notes from our cruise in November-December 2023. When information from other sources is added—for further explanation to readers or to satisfy our own curiosity—that is set off in a text box (as this one).
Most of the photos that accompany this post are from Don’s camera (with a caption indicating the time it was taken); those from MT’s iPhone are indicated by “MT” placed at the beginning of the photo caption. Photos from any other source (such as the public domain Wikimedia Commons), occasionally used for clarification, indicate that source in the caption.

The Viking Daily newsletter showed today's weather forecast as "Sunny 77° F" and "Sunrise: 6:00 AM."

MT Monday, November 20, ‎2023,  5:53 AM - Viking Star: sunrise over Pacific (mild telephoto 36 mm).

Don woke at 6:00 am (MT was already up and prepared clothes for Launderette, on other side of Deck 5).

6:25 AM - Viking Star: sunrise over Pacific (panorama).

6:39 AM - Viking Star: sunrise over Pacific.

6:39 AM - Viking Star: sunrise over Pacific (telephoto 79 mm).

MT 6:44 AM - Viking Star: sunrise over Pacific (mild telephoto 56 mm).

At 8:00, we went to the World Café (Deck 7) for breakfast, which we ate outdoors on the adjacent Aquavit Terrace. We shared a table with a gentleman named Al, who it turned out was a (retired) Catholic priest from Wisconsin.

After breakfast we went to walk on the track on Deck 2, but part of it was blocked for painting. So we went up to Sun Deck (forward end of Deck 8) and the Sports Deck (Deck 9), which were connected by stairs, and walked there and tried out various games on the Sports Deck from 9:23 to 10:42.

MT 9:34 AM - Viking Star: Don walking on Deck 8.

MT 9:37 AM - Viking Star: MT walking on Deck 8.

MT 10:02 AM - Viking Star: Don playing mini golf on Deck 9 (mild telephoto 37 mm).

MT 10:12 AM - Viking Star: Don pointing to MT's results in skittles on Deck 9 (mild telephoto 50 mm).

MT 10:17 AM - Viking Star: MT playing shuffleboard on Deck 9.

MT 10:21 AM - Viking Star: Don running around a possible weather device on forward end of Deck 9, with ship's radar mast in background.

MT 10:23 AM - Viking Star: view from Deck 8 down onto of Pool Deck on Deck 7, with retractable roof open.

MT 10:36 AM - Viking Star: view of Pacific from Deck 8 or 9 (mild telephoto 72 mm).

MT 10:38 AM - Viking Star: view of ship's smokestack, with Viking logo, from Deck 9 (mild telephoto 39 mm).

MT 10:40 AM - Viking Star: straight-on view of ship's smokestack, with Viking logo, from Deck 9.

MT 10:42 AM - Viking Star: plaque on Deck 9 for Fincantieri firm, in Marghera (Venice),  that constructed the Viking Star, completed in 2015. (The Viking Star was apparently number 6,236 of the over 7,000 ships built by the firm.)

Fincantieri S.p.A., based in Trieste, Italy, is one of the largest shipbuilding companies in the world, with over 230 years of history and more than 7,000 ships built. It is a leader in construction of cruise ships, defense vessels, and specialized offshore vessels. It was one of the first in the 1980s to take up the opportunity of the new trend in the cruise tourist industry, drawing on its decades of experience as a builder of transatlantic liners. The Viking Star had its keel laid at the Marghera shipyard in Marghera*, Italy, in 2013 and made its maiden voyage in 2015. This was the first in a series of small cruise ships that Viking Ocean Cruises ordered from Fincantieri. (Viking had previously only been in the business of river cruises.) As of 2022, Viking had 9 other ships in this series, all with the same basic plan and built by Fincantieri.
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* Marghera is a municipalitá (borough) of the commune of Venezia (Venice), Italy. It includes the industrial area known as Porto Marghera, in which the Marghera shipyard is located.

At 11:00, we went to the Theater (Deck 2) for the "Future Travel River Presentation" with Travel consultant Miriam, who told us about Viking's European River Cruises and Great Lake itineraries.

At 12:00 noon, we went to the World Café (Deck 7) for the Hawaiian Poke Station, served buffet-style on the Aquavit Terrace, with a choice of raw fish or tofu. The chef got a special ginger-free plate for Don.

Hawaiian Poke is a concoction of diced raw fish embellished with vegetables and marinated in a soy-based sauce (which may be a mixture of soy sauce, rice vinegar, green onion, sesame oil, ginger, and honey). Poke is Hawaiian for “to slice” or “cut crosswise into pieces.” It is sometimes anglicized as poké to aid in correct pronunciation as two syllables.
Poke is usually eaten as a snack or appetizer but has recently been turned into a main course meal called “Poke Bowl,” with about half a pound served over a bed of rice. There is also “fried Poke,” usually a day or two old, cooked and braised then eaten with rice and maybe a side of vegetables. Poke can be made with various kinds of fish, and there is ahi poke, made with tuna, or he’e poke, made with octopus.

Since these were only small portions, we went to Mamsen's  (Deck 7) at 12:30 for split pea soup and then apple pie tart slices and small raspberry tart.

On the way back to our stateroom to relax, Don stopped at the Explorers Desk (Deck 1) for the day's sudoku and crossword puzzles.

From 2:00 to 4:00, we watched the movie "Moving On" (with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin) on the TV in our stateroom.

Then we hurried to the Theater (Deck 2) at 4:15 for the Guest Lecture "Navigator Captain Bligh" about how Bligh and his crew survived navigating a lifeboat 3,500 miles across the Pacific.

According to the Viking Daily newsletter, sunset was supposed to be at 6:00 pm.

MT 5:49 PM - Viking Star: sunset over Pacific.

At 6:00, we went to Manfredi's Italian Restaurant for our pre-ordered dinner.

Sunday, November 19, ‎2023,  9:44 PM - Viking Star: Don's menu for pre-ordering dinner at Manfredi's Italian Restaurant on November 20. (He took this photo to remind him what we had ordered.) Under Le Zuppe (Soups), he ordered Zuppa del Casale (literally Soup of the House but also translated as Rustic Soup, (rustic farmer style f[???] & bean soup according to the menu) - a mixed legume vegetable minestrone); under Primi Piatti (Pasta & Risotto), he ordered Gnocchi alla Sorrentina (Sorrento Gnocchi); under Secondi Piatti (Main Course), he ordered Costata di Maiale, literally Pork Rib (herb roasted black pork chop, according to the menu).

After dinner, we started the movie "Jerry and Marge Go Large" on the TV in our stateroom but we finished it the next afternoon.

Then we pre-ordered out dinner for the following day at The Restaurant.

Monday, November 20, ‎2023, 9:32 PM - Viking Star: Don's menu for pre-ordering dinner for November 21. From the front side, he ordered only Fresh Fruit Plate (melon, pineapple & berries) under Deserts, but put an arrow at bottom right for "more options at the back."

9:33 PM - Viking Star: close-up of front side of Don's menu for November 21, showing that he ordered only Fresh Fruit Plate (melon, pineapple & berries) under Deserts. 

9:34 PM - Viking Star: Don's menu for pre-ordering dinner at The Restaurant on November 21. From the back side, he ordered under Starters, Tomato Bisque (vegan cream soup & croutons); under Main Courses, Risotto ai Funghi Porcini (porcini mushroom risotto, with Parmigiano Reggiano (Parmesan cheese from the Parma-Reggio region, i.e. the two provinces of Parma and Reggio Emilia in Italy).

9:33 PM - Viking Star: close-up of back side of Don's menu, showing that he ordered under Starters, Tomato Bisque (vegan cream soup & croutons); under Main Courses, Risotto ai Funghi Porcini (porcini mushroom risotto, with Parmigiano Reggiano (Parmesan cheese from the Parma-Reggio region, i.e. the two provinces of Parma and Reggio Emilia in Italy).