Day 11 - Sailing the Pacific Ocean

Today was a busy day at sea for Tim and me. Our morning began with a crew drill, followed by a presentation by Captain Ivo Botica about “Viking Expedition Insights.” This was a first for us, since no other Captain has ever given a lecture.

Viking Expedition Insights by Captain Ivo

The talk introduced us to our state-of-the-art expedition ship with its cutting-edge technology, and it included an explanation of the shipboard organizational structure and hierarchies; the departments on board; what it takes to become a Captain, Chief Engineer, or Hotel General Manager; and many other topics.

Everything We Might Want to Know about Viking Expedition Ships

Captain Ivo also explained that Viking Octantis and its sister ship Viking Polaris are rated as Polar Class 6 vessels, meaning that they are designed to operate in medium first-year ice during summer and autumn. It was very cool to watch short videos of Viking Octantis cutting through first-year ice in Antarctica and making the first-ever Viking Expedition ice landing in 2024. Hopefully, we will be able to recreate something similar.

Explanation of First Year Ice Through Which Viking Octantis Cut to Make an Ice Landing

Captain Ivo has a great personality and is an excellent public speaker. He has always peppered his daily briefings with stories, personal tales, and jokes. We will miss him when he leaves in a few days for his four weeks off, four weeks on schedule.

Captain Ivo Always Comes Up with Fun Facts

From there we headed to Deck 6 for a special BBQ Lunch. The food was great, and luckily, we finished before the wind picked up.

BBQ Lunch

In the afternoon, Executive Chef Beni led us on a Galley Tour. Naturally, the galley here is much smaller than on Ocean ships, but there are many similarities. We even passed by the crew kitchen and dining area, which was interesting to see.

Chef Beni and His Team Keep Us Well-Fed

Crew Dining Area

After dinner, Tim and I said goodbye to our always-smiling Stateroom Steward Kandi. He will be leaving us tomorrow, but his wonderful assistant Joan will remain with us until the end of our cruise.

Tim and Sarah with Kandi; and Joan and Kandi

Our final activity for today was another lecture by Matias, “Incas: The People of the Andes.” Since we’ll be arriving in Peru tomorrow, the talk was very timely, and we received a comprehensive overview of the Inca civilization. I’m so glad the Expedition Team includes a historian to provide us with the history of the places we are visiting.

Inca Empire - The People of the Andes