Ultimate World Cruise 245 days and all the parts. Ongoing review, questions, opinion

[Heidi13]

11 hours ago, Jukebo1x said:

Andy, so be thankful you are all in your bubble. 
Within the latest hour, in Illinois:  The governor, has closed Seating in bars & restaurants. 
You can still get food “to go”, but I don’t know about booze. 
Just too weird. 
I guess I too need one of those foil hats

We are certainly happy to be aboard this amazing, clean and healthy ship, where we loaded more beer, wine, toilet paper and possibly even some food last night.

 

Life could not be better. We actually feel sorry for all the issues and paranoia everyone is experiencing at home.😁

[Little Monty]

9 hours ago, Jim Avery said:

And we miss our home on Viking Sun.  Hope we can return sooner. 🍸

 

36 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

Jim - saw a sketch that explained the run on loo-roll perfectly.

 

1 person in a crowd coughs, which causes at least 100 to sh.t themselves.😁

 

ha ha Andy .. that is gold. So good I had to log in to say hello and wish you safe travels.

Please continue to post - and please ignore the cranky-pants members who think they know better.

 

And Jim .. hello again, and I also hope you get to return soon. Your posts are always welcome, and valued.

 

Best regards, LM

[Jim Avery]

3 hours ago, Little Monty said:

 

 

ha ha Andy .. that is gold. So good I had to log in to say hello and wish you safe travels.

Please continue to post - and please ignore the cranky-pants members who think they know better.

 

And Jim .. hello again, and I also hope you get to return soon. Your posts are always welcome, and valued.

 

Best regards, LM

LM, thanks for the kind words and stay safe during this madness.  We will sail again, possibly on a converted Tasmanian ferry, but still sailing.  😎

[Earlinarizona]

Toilet paper at our Safeway was just refreshed and gone quickly. Let us not forget the past.

 

[Heidi13]

4 hours ago, Little Monty said:

 

 

ha ha Andy .. that is gold. So good I had to log in to say hello and wish you safe travels.

Please continue to post - and please ignore the cranky-pants members who think they know better.

 

And Jim .. hello again, and I also hope you get to return soon. Your posts are always welcome, and valued.

 

Best regards, LM

Thanks LM, I survived 40 years at sea, so a couple of remarks from cranky-pants is nothing. Can't even be bothered to respond.

 

Stay safe until this madness subsides.😊

[Twitchly]

Remember that we unfortunately get a lot of chemicals from out of country (mainly China and India).  People are afraid that we will hit the point of untreated water...and that means you could use bottled water only
sorry if this a bad news

Ah. Well, if that ever becomes an issue, one’s best bet is to boil water for 20 minutes before drinking it. We did that for years when living overseas.

[Twitchly]

I think the New York Times makes a good TP substitute.  Washington Post works well too.

Who sells newspapers anymore?

[Twitchly]

Toilet paper at our Safeway was just refreshed and gone quickly. Let us not forget the past.
 

But they apparently had plenty of hairspray!

[Earlinarizona]

Here are a few to make you smile.

[Earlinarizona]

[Gigiandbaba]

8 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

We are certainly happy to be aboard this amazing, clean and healthy ship, where we loaded more beer, wine, toilet paper and possibly even some food last night.

 

Life could not be better. We actually feel sorry for all the issues and paranoia everyone is experiencing at home.😁

Sorry but I guess that I am one of the "cranky-pants members" as I don't think "issues and paranoia" can quite describe what the world is experiencing:  Daily life in the United States continues to grind to a halt as authorities scramble to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. Across the world, countries are taking drastic steps, shutting their borders to travelers and enforcing quarantine requirements. Yet local transmission is on the rise in many places, especially Europe and the United States, demonstrating the difficulty of containing the virus.

 

[Clay Clayton]

Best wishes to all of you aboard the Magical Mystery Tour!  As of our disembarking Sky tomorrow morning (3/17/20) In Miami, I think you will be the last Viking passengers at sea.  Imagine a whole company is working to make you comfortable!

 

We had a great Farewell Reception this evening aboard Sky with a standing ovation for the crew who have gone above and beyond while I’m sure worrying about their families and where they were going to end up. 
 

We also learned that plans have changed and with the closing of all Europe announced earlier today, rather than heading back across the Atlantic tomorrow after dropping (kicking?) us off, the Viking Sky is going to be anchoring off the coast of Florida “until further notice”. 

 

As the Captain put it, while not ideal, at least the weather is better than in the North Atlantic which has been the previous plan!

 

Best wishes for Calm Seas, Following Winds, and full larders and liquor lockers! 
 

Clay

 

Edited March 17, 2020 by Clay Clayton

[OnTheJourney]

15 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

 

Life could not be better. We actually feel sorry for all the issues and paranoia everyone is experiencing at home.😁

 

Seriously?  Hate to tell 'ya, but the "issues and paranoia" will be waiting for you too after the Sun is done floating around out there. The "madness" you refer to isn't going away anytime soon unfortunately. Wish it were otherwise. I'm sorry, Andy, but your attitude just seems a tad flippant given the circumstances. While "life could not be better" on the Sun, thousands of people completely lost their booked cruises within the last few days that they were looking forward to. Millions either are or will be out of work and likely have to start liquidating what's left of savings and investments given the carnage in the markets. Who knows how many will die and/or be unable to get the care they need due to overrun medical facilities. There is quarantining, millions of kids not being able to go to school, business, sports, entertainment, etc. shut down, and the strong possibility of global recession in the works. So, yeah, there are a few "issues" around..... 

Edited March 17, 2020 by OnTheJourney

[OnTheJourney]

7 hours ago, Gigiandbaba said:

Sorry but I guess that I am one of the "cranky-pants members" as I don't think "issues and paranoia" can quite describe what the world is experiencing:  Daily life in the United States continues to grind to a halt as authorities scramble to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. Across the world, countries are taking drastic steps, shutting their borders to travelers and enforcing quarantine requirements. Yet local transmission is on the rise in many places, especially Europe and the United States, demonstrating the difficulty of containing the virus.

 

 

Well said.....

[OnTheJourney]

On 3/15/2020 at 4:00 PM, Cienfuegos said:

There is an element of the surreal.

 

 

 

That pretty much says it all. This is a situation unprecedented in any of our lifetimes. 

[Jim Avery]

53 minutes ago, OnTheJourney said:

 

That pretty much says it all. This is a situation unprecedented in any of our lifetimes. 

I have to disagree.  I have endured quite a few epidemics in my lifetime.  What I find unprecedented is the world wide collective willingness to collapse their ways of life in the name of "safety".  Far more people die every day on this planet  from old age, heart disease and accidents than have died from the Wuhan virus in total so far.  Death is a part of living on this rock.  No one gets out alive.  Sorry, I just don't see giving up everything enjoyable and hiding under my bed waiting for someone to save me.  And I certainly don't feel that Andy voicing appreciation for his circumstances was in any way mocking other people.  But then Andy is fully capable of speaking for himself.

[Clay Clayton]

Jim 

I was of a similar mindset until I watched a video of an Italian turning through the 2.5 pages of obituaries in the Bergamo newspaper in late February and then doing the same through the 10 pages on March 13th.  That was mind shattering enough but when I calculated that there are almost four times as many people in Raleigh-I realized I needed to reconsider my thinking. Just can’t imagine there being 40 pages of obituaries.  

 

I’m not thrilled that I’ve been forced to give up my spring in Europe but I believe it may be worth it if we can improve the odds of keeping more people alive. 
 

As Anthony Fauci was quoted: “When you're dealing with an outbreak, "it will always seem that the best way to address it" is "doing something that looks like it might be an overreaction. It isn't an overreaction."

 

[OnTheJourney]

1 hour ago, Jim Avery said:

I have to disagree.  I have endured quite a few epidemics in my lifetime.  What I find unprecedented is the world wide collective willingness to collapse their ways of life in the name of "safety".  Far more people die every day on this planet  from old age, heart disease and accidents than have died from the Wuhan virus in total so far.  Death is a part of living on this rock.  No one gets out alive.  Sorry, I just don't see giving up everything enjoyable and hiding under my bed waiting for someone to save me.  And I certainly don't feel that Andy voicing appreciation for his circumstances was in any way mocking other people.  But then Andy is fully capable of speaking for himself.

 

Jim, I understand your thoughts, but if everyone adopted the "live free or die" New Hampshire motto - which I can also understand - it will only serve to further the spread of what is not simply an epidemic, but a pandemic. I must admit to being sort of taken aback given your apparent implication that COVID-19 is merely just another 'one of those things' that defines our mortality in a given space and time. I believe an important thing you're ignoring here is that it's much bigger than just another means by which people might leave this earth. Comparing this to old age, heart disease, etc. falls far short of the mark relative to the large-scale ramifications. It is far more wide-reaching in that it is affecting at least the immediate future of - just to name a few  things - global commerce, business, education, economic stability, worldwide healthcare, and...yes...the travel industry - something near and dear to all of us here on CC especially. If we're not all willing to sacrifice some (or maybe even most) of our personal freedoms - that we all probably take for granted anyway - in the interest of maybe saving lives beyond that of our own, then it would seem that there is indeed an unfortunate self-serving motive at play. 

 

I admit to likely being a bit over-the-top in how I responded to Andy, since I suspect there was no harm or insult meant, but please understand that, here on land, we are living this right now - as you well know. So I guess it just hit me the wrong way reading such a 'life is great out here on the water' post and probably misconstrued. 

 

It's surely no secret to anyone here on CC that being on a cruise ship is a temporary and artificial environment compared to when the trip ends and we get back to "reality". THIS new reality - for however long it lasts - just seems to be getting more daunting in its scope and large-scale impact as each day progresses. If you don't wish to "give up everything enjoyable" and go about your usual way, that's totally your call, but I pray two things - 1) that you personally don't contract CV and, more importantly - 2) if you do and don't even realize it right away, that you don't wind up going around enjoying your usual freedoms while just possibly being a "super spreader" at worst, or just infecting others at the least. My prayers extend to all on the Sun, as well as those on any other ships that have not yet reached home, and I hope that all of you never have to worry about whether or not there is a health professional available, IF needed, to "save" you in the event that you become one of the close to 200k people who have CV. At such a point, you may well wish to be 'saved' more than you seem to be indicating. 

 

 "Death is a part of living. No-one gets out alive". Yes...absolutely true. We all owe a death. There are no exceptions, but you might feel a bit differently if someone close to you winds up suffering from the symptoms of the virus - especially if it could be determined that he/she got it by someone that chose to not observe recommended self-quarantine and instead decided to 'not give up' the usual liberties of going out and about at will and thus infected someone dear to you. 

 

Stay healthy. No offense intended, really. Please accept that emotions are running, shall we say, a bit 'high' of late. I had to cancel my cruise that was to start this week. I've been looking forward to it for months - so, again, reading a 'having a great time on our cruise' -type post just didn't sit well. I don't begrudge the experience on the Sky, but perhaps a bit more humility would serve Andy better at times like this?  I have not been involved in any sort of previous epidemics, etc. so perhaps have a different take on all this than you do as well.  

Edited March 17, 2020 by OnTheJourney

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

Most of you are probably too young to remember polio.  That was WAY scarier to me than CV.  Living out your life in an Iron Lung, permanent leg braces, etc. - yikes!  I remember as a kid lining up in huge lines outside the high school to get the Salk vaccine.  The vaccine was a bigger deal then than the space program.  And everyone in line was scared to death.

 

I guess some of us old-timers have a different perspective.

 

This is not to say we don’t take CV seriously and follow all guidelines - we do.

 

Found this little page on polio:

 

https://poliovaccinenhd.weebly.com/before-polio-vaccine.html

 

Edited March 17, 2020 by Ragnar Danneskjold

[OnTheJourney]

Jim..I need to mention this last thing since it would seem to indicate a different side of the coin from the feelings that you are conveying. Just talked to my daughter whose friend's fiancé is a healthcare worker. He is potentially exposed to CV patients and so is not allowed to even go home to see her. He is quarantining at the hospital. Needless to say, it's a tough situation for both of them. She has a long-term history of lung issues and so is at considerably higher risk of infection. We're living in a time of needing to make some sacrifices, if even for a relatively short amount of time. It has now been determined that the US does not have enough medical supplies needed to deal with the likely number of cases.

Edited March 17, 2020 by OnTheJourney

[OnTheJourney]

4 minutes ago, Ragnar Danneskjold said:

Most of you are probably too young to remember polio.  That was WAY scarier to me than CV.  Living out your life in an Iron Lung, permanent leg braces, etc. - yikes!  I remember as a kid lining up in huge lines outside the high school to get the Salk vaccine.  The vaccine was a bigger deal then than the space program.  And everyone in line was scared to death.

 

I guess some of us old-timers have a different perspective.

 

This is not to say we don’t take CV seriously and follow all guidelines - we do.

 

Ragnar....ok.....you got me there. I am a bit too young for that, only being born the year the vaccine came out. I don't think that, along with polio, however, came the potential for such a major breakdown in so many other facets of our society. Still, yes, a terrible thing. A brother of my in-laws developed it just a month or so before the vaccine came out. Talk about heartbreaking. 

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

4 minutes ago, OnTheJourney said:

I am a bit too young for that, only being born the year the vaccine came out.

Young whippersnapper!

[OnTheJourney]

yeah...but a retired whippersnapper anyway 🙂  So I get to spend this part of my retirement self-quarantining (well, partially anyway - still gotta get groceries).  Are you on the cruise? 

Edited March 17, 2020 by OnTheJourney

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

7 minutes ago, OnTheJourney said:

yeah...but a retired whippersnapper anyway 🙂  So I get to spend this part of my retirement self-quarantining (well, partially anyway - still gotta get groceries).  Are you on the cruise? 

Not on cruise.  After some research I believe I got the Sabine oral vaccine.  It was pink stuff squirted on a sugar cube.

 

Sorry about the thread drift!

Edited March 17, 2020 by Ragnar Danneskjold

[photopro2]

Correcting course on the thread drift a little, it just occurred to me that you will almost certainly be setting a world record for most consecutive cruise days at sea 🏆

Being one of the happy breed that loves sea days I truly wish I was with you and trust you are doing all you can to enjoy the experience on my behalf.😉

 

On 3/16/2020 at 9:01 AM, Heidi13 said:

 

However, with this crazy world we are living in, the plans can change every minutes, sometimes even by the second. My belief is that we will eventually arrive in London, whether we can disembark is a different discussion and one that is many weeks away.

 

As plans are obviously now so very different, has anyone considered the idea of rerouting to disembark US nationals directly at a US port, before a TA to deliver UK nationals and others who wished to go to the original final port of London? That really would be living the private yacht lifestyle!! 

 

Have another brilliant day on the high seas 👍