Since there are a significant number of sea days on this trip, I will be able to entertain myself and everyone else with exploring the new ship. Yes, brand new ship and an honest maiden voyage.
None of this excuses the less than well behaved man throwing a temper tantrum at reception last evening. He wasn’t happy with the dining service, the portion size (too small) etc etc etc. He was howling about how he was a “Viking Cruise line regular” and this just wasn’t up to standard. I beat feet out of the area before I decided to take on the idiot. This is a MAIDEN VOYAGE. This is the first day, which means the first dinner, that the crew had EVER served to passengers. Hiccups and challenges are part of the experience. The crew here is good; so far I have recognized at least a dozen from previous cruises.
But I know what this guy looks like and will be avoiding him if at all possible. If not? Well, it isn’t like anything is going to make him happy at this point. His partner dragged him off, so there may be some sense in that particular cabin.
Anyway. The previous Windstar “yachts” we have sailed on had a lovely circular staircase fairly centrally located. Not so here. This ship is smaller ~225 passengers rather than 325. As it turns out, there ARE two stair cases tucked into the center of the ship. One aft and one fairly far forward. There is also an elevator at each. For anyone nimble on their feet, this will not be an issue, but I am not sure that there is a comfortable amount of clearance for canes, walkers and the like. Of course, this normally isn’t a cruise line for those who are significantly mobility challenged, but this is a transatlantic cruise with only two ports in the 16 days, As a result, the passenger age is definitely trending toward older and frequent cruisers.
Back to the stairway issue.
You can see by the picture above that there are two internal stairways, each with an elevator. The ship extends aft with a central corridor and cabins on both sides. Fore is the bridge. I am in 605. Not a problem if I walk up the forward stairs. But I went up the aft stairs (no one is quite sane at 04dark in the morning, right?) and you can walk around that set of stair on both sides. and get confused. The forward stairs? There is only one way out of the stairs and there is a nice sign there with arrows and cabin numbers.
So that was my tour of deck 6 and missing the easy stairs of the other ships. I still have to find the fitness center (Deck 4 apparently) but … there is a lovely WMF coffee machine in the lounge available 24/7 which makes lattes, cappuccino, and heats water for tea,
I have added some harbor photos from right before we sailed out to yesterday’s post.
