Expected weather: Hi 48F, Partly Cloudy

Seas: Calm

Another sea day…. what to do?

Today we are crossing the Labrador Sea. Per the captain’s noon report, the closest land is somewhere between 120 and 180 nautical miles (none of us remember the exact number, but suffice it to say, it’s not close!) and we are still 371 nautical miles (I do remember that number!) from our next port of Qaqortoq, Greenland.

For breakfast this morning, we went to The Restaurant as I’d been wanting to try the lamb chops there that so many people rave about on the Cruise Critic Viking Ocean board. I’m not usually a big breakfast eater and I did also order my usual blueberries and yogurt, so lunch will definitely be later and lighter today! Dave followed my lead and got the lamb chops as well. I just might have to do this again later in the cruise! Hopefully, I figured out my lighting issue and took a better photo this morning, than I did last night at the Chef’s Table. Also, I should add that I absolutely love the sauteed mushrooms available at breakfast.

Today is Laundry Day! We sent our laundry out yesterday (a perk of our stateroom level) to be returned later today and will do so again a couple of days before we disembark. But, today we also had a tour of the ship’s laundry facilities with Executive Housekeeper Goran Cekov who has been with Viking Ocean for 7 years. This was another activity for which we signed up when we visited Guest Services immediately upon embarking in NYC.

The laundry is a much smaller footprint than the galley operations, but they handle all the crew and guest laundry – from linens used throughout the ship to crew uniforms to guests’ clothing! It is a 24×7 operation with 8 staff working during the day, and 2 staff at night. The housekeeping staff under Goran totals 95 – almost as many as work in the restaurant/galley operations. The ship’s total water utilization per day (for all functions) is approximately 80,000 gallons. I’d hate to get that bill! I’ve included pictures of the huge washers (which hold up to 187 pounds), dryers (with one dedicated for G.I. and Medical laundry only), the fantastic presser and folder of pillowcases and sheets as well as the general pressing area below. I want a mini version!  

Similar to the logistics provided to us on the Galley tour – the Laundry also has to maintain a consistent rotation of linens to ensure even usage and they order replacements 3-4 months in advance to be staged at their future ports. They have calculated the average loss of items due to damage, contamination, and just flat-out disappearances (it seems washcloths disappear at a higher rate than other items) which factors into their resupply order. Goran stated that there are approximately 920 guests (so almost 99% full) onboard for this itinerary and almost 450 crew. That’s a lot of laundry just for linens and uniforms!

In addition to the ship’s laundry service, Viking provides free self-service launderettes on Decks 3-6. Soap is included and is automatically dispensed (remember to press the button for your machine on the appropriate box on the wall to the left of the machines). There are also two ironing boards and irons available on the wall across from the washer/dryers. There were actually a couple of empty machines when I went to take pictures this afternoon! This was not part of the tour, I just thought I’d include it here to cover the options available to guests on Viking Ocean.

When the Laundry tour ended we rushed to the Star Theater (a few minutes late) to see the Cooking Demonstration by the Executive Chef, Clifford Fernandes, and Executive Pastry Chef, Maher Mohieldin Mahmoud. They were cooking Risotto ai Funghi Porcini and Tiramisu, respectively. The overhead camera operator needs some training, but it was an entertaining and informative session, plus they handed out the recipes they use. However, I think I’ll stick to letting the pros prepare these dishes for me!

We went to The Restaurant again for a late, leisurely lunch. Three of us had salads (Niçoise and Caesar with grilled salmon or grilled chicken) as our mains and the spring rolls to start. One had the chilled strawberry soup for starter and spaghetti & meatballs for main. I was the lone decliner on dessert as the rest enjoyed a variety of desserts from cheese board to sorbet – I’ll probably make up for it this evening though!

Now I’m back in the room for the afternoon, writing this, and forming a plan for the rest of the day. Keith and Paula have massages in the late afternoon, while Dave and I will attend the port talk discussing our next two days in Greenland at Qaqortoq and Nanortalik. We are all going on the Viking included tours in both ports, plus an optional Viking fur house tour. The seas are calm right now, the sun is shining, and it appears that the temperature may have entered the mid-50’s Fahrenheit. I decided to pop up the stairs one level to check out the periodic thumping occurring above us on the Sports Deck – my bet was on bocce ball, but it was lawn bowling! I’ll describe and post Sports Deck photos on the next sea day three days from now. It was in high use this afternoon on this unexpectedly pleasant day at sea.

Tonight, we plan to eat dinner in The Restaurant again as there are several options that looked good to us when we previewed the menu. Afterwards, we’ll either go listen to Sasha play the piano in the Atrium or to the Assistant Cruise Director Madison Benson’s show in the Star Theater covering “the music of the lady legends Barbara Streisand, Liza Minelli, and Judy Garland”.  There were additional lectures today that didn’t quit capture our interest as well as afternoon tea and the usual sea day activities previously mentioned.

P.S. When we came back to our room from the port talk to change for dinner, our laundry had been delivered to our room. Shirts and pants were hanging in the closet and underwear and socks were nicely wrapped and in a box on the bed.

Our dinners were excellent tonight. Paula and I both ordered the Chocolate Crown (chocolate namelaka, crunchy praline, apricot gel) and Crème Brûlée for the dessert! We should have just ordered one Crème Brûlée between us, but oh well! Dave got just the Crème Brûlée and Keith got Cherry Streusel. Sasha on piano in the Atrium won out tonight for our after dinner wind down.

I might get a migraine from this but it’ll be worth it! It’s a close tie right now with the chocolate soufflé for the best dessert I’ve had onboard.