Behind the Scenes

Sea days, of which we are currently on day 2 of 3 on our way to Indonesia, give us the opportunity to participate in several activities, or none at all. Recently, we got a "Behind the Scenes" tour of the ship. The bridge was not included in the tour, and we were not allowed to take photos of the engine room, but everything else was open for our inspection, photos, and questions. Some of the more interesting "factoids" -- because we didn't take notes and this is to the best of our recollection -- include:

• The long hallway running through the middle of the ship is called I-95.
• Crew with 2 stripes and above have single cabins; everyone else shares a double cabin outfitted with bunk beds, a desk, tv & bathroom.
• There are currently 27,000 bottles of wine stored onboard.
• The ship has its own butcher onboard; beef is purchased in quarter sides.
• Garbage and recycling is sorted. There is a cold storage room for garbage. Some items, like eggshells and chicken bones, are pulverized & liquified and, when allowed, discharged into the ocean to feed the marine life. Some gray water is also discharged, but only when allowed and after it has been cleaned somehow or another. Otherwise, it gets taken off in port, just like your RV.
• Crew members work 10 hours per day, 7 days per week, for the duration of their contract, which is usually six months. Viking then pays their way home and their way back, after a two month break.
• The ship's captain is on for 10 weeks, then spends 10 weeks studying and recertifying his/her 30-something certificates as well as seeing family, before returning to a ship for another 10 week stint. We are on our second captain, as our first one brought the vessel from Greece last November and then left in Honolulu.
• In order to work in the "front" of the house, crew members have to have a certain level of fluency in English, so they work very hard on their English all the time.
• We see lots of new faces as crew members are promoted often. Then we see our old faces in new places.
• Dry storage takes up a lot of space & tracking/managing inventory is constant.
• Referral bonuses are awarded if a crew member's referral is hired.
• Laundry runs 24 x 7. There is an amazing machine that not only irons, but also folds all the linen.

Our Dorm Room
Our “little, tiny house” is the standard size for most living spaces on the ship. This cozy little room is 270 square feet, including the bathroom. All in all, quite comfy, as long as we put things back away…. Walls are magnetized so we have lots of hooks & clips to hold stuff – from hats to binoculars to papers to clothesline to extra jackets. Our desk has a built-in fridge. Our pantry has been “redesigned” to hold our important stuff, like coffee mugs & wine & chips & cookies & chocolate. We have divvied up the drawers and closet space. Our suitcases under the bed are also used for storage of things we don’t need access to daily – and they are categorized (one for heavy jackets, one for toiletries, one for souvenirs & extra bags, one for meds, and one for miscellaneous other stuff). Our verandah is our very own outdoor space which we visit several times throughout the day, and we leave our sliding door open as often as possible.