Day 09 - At Sea

July 29, 2018 - Today is our second day at sea as Viking Sky sails toward Lerwick, the main port in the Shetland Islands. It is cloudy today and there is rain in the forecast, but temperatures stay in the 60s. When we leave our stateroom this morning, we are greeted by Arvin and Kevin, our excellent stateroom attendants. It seems that no matter how late we leave our stateroom in the morning, Arvin and Kevin have the room back in shape before we return. And, each evening, their turn down service is equally impressive. They are always asking if there is anything we need, and if we make a request, they get right on it. They could be the best stateroom attendant team we have ever had.

Kevin (left) and Arvin (right), our wonderful stateroom attendants

This morning, Rickee and I head down to the Star Theater on Deck 2 Forward for a Q&A session with Captain Gustafsson, Chief Engineer, Sollien and Hotel General Manager, Mohan. Before we entered, a monitor outside the theater caught my attention. The screen shows all of the events scheduled for the theater today with corresponding times. It may not sound like much, but technology like this is a real convenience for guests, and rarely seen on cruise ships.

Daily schedule posted outside of Star Theater

The three senior officers took questions from the audience for nearly an hour. They answered questions on everything from "How many engines are in the engine room" to "What happens to the leftover food?" The audience was excited to learn that Viking is building even more ships in the future. It was a very interesting Q&A session.

General Manager, Sujith Mohan, Chief Engineer, Lars Sollien and Captain Bengt Gustafsson

After the lecture, Rickee and I decide to give The Restaurant a try for lunch. This was the first time we have visited The Restaurant (Deck 2 Aft) for lunch. I ordered a Caesar Salad and Bison Burger, both were delicious. Rickee had a vegetarian spring roll, which she enjoyed.

Bison Burger

We spent most of the day in our stateroom, enjoying the excellent programming on the ship's closed-circuit television system. It truly was a relaxing day at sea. Around 6:30pm, we decided to head up to World Cafe for a light bite to eat. I had a slice of pizza (which is quite good, btw) and Rickee visited the waffle station where they were making fresh waffles to order.

Rickee's dinner: a fresh made-to-order waffle

This evening, we decide to take in a movie out by the pool. The ship offers Movies Under The Midnight Sun during this cruise. Typically, this would be Movies Under The Stars, but since the sun shines nearly 24 hours a day here, there are no stars!

The crew turns all of the lounge chairs by the pool to face the large screen and a blanket is placed on the loungers for additional comfort should it get cold.

There is a small table between every two loungers to hold drinks and the wireless headphones which are provided.

Tonight, we saw The Commuter starring Liam Neeson, a very good movie. Before the movie, one of the crew handed out small bags of popcorn to each guest in attendance. As we watched the movie, we could see (and feel) the seas getting a little rougher. The water in the pool behind us began sloshing around from the rolling of the ship. However, the ship was pretty stable given the sea conditions. The ride never got uncomfortable.

Tomorrow, we will be in Lerwick, the main port for The Shetland Islands in Scotland.