Day 1 – On Board Viking Sky

Tim and I bid a fond farewell to Herbert this morning, and his handyman, Jan, was kind enough to drive us to Fort Lauderdale’s Port Everglades, where we boarded Viking Sky to embark on our Viking World Voyage. The atmosphere seemed to be even more festive than usual, and people were excited to finally be on board after so much anticipation.

The 2024-2025 Viking World Cruise Is Officially Underway

Our Itinerary

We had lunch at the World Café and hung out in the Living Room until our stateroom was ready. While I was admiring the gingerbread village here, Executive Pastry Chef Tony happened by and accepted my compliments. The village is quite spectacular.

An Amazing Gingerbread Village

Executive Pastry Chef Tony Confided that This Is the Best Gingerbread Village in the Viking Fleet

At 1:45 pm, our stateroom was ready. Our room is virtually identical to those on all our other Viking Ocean cruises, and we immediately felt right at home.

Our Bedroom Suite for the Next 180 Days

Our two suitcases that had been sent ahead by Luggage Forward were waiting for us, and we added the four smaller suitcases, and a few other bags, that we had brought with us. Yes, we probably packed too much, but I don’t care. We are prepared for almost every eventuality.

Did We Pack Too Much?

I started to unpack and made it partway through but soon decided to take a break. I headed to the Explorers’ Lounge, took a seat at the bar, and ordered an Aperol Spritz. My new theory that this bar is a great place to meet people was confirmed, and I had a wonderful conversation with Graham and Jaki.

We finally set sail around 5:45 pm. We are officially on our way!

When Tim and I returned to our room sometime after dinner, we found the nicest card and note from Steve and Jerry, the fun couple we had met on Viking Polaris. It was such a strange coincidence that they were disembarking from Viking Sky the same day we were embarking. I wish we were traveling together again.

Day 1 was almost over, and I did not have time to finish this blog post. I hope that’s not an omen as to how far behind I might get!

A Respite in Miami

I always love visiting Herbert and feeding off his energy. He has already made some changes to Villa Moderne since our last visit, and his home is even more gorgeous than before. He chauffeured me around to complete a few remaining errands, and then we picked up Tim and headed for lunch.

Herbert and Villa Moderne

We may have already started our visits to foreign countries, since we had lunch in "North Cuba," at Versailles Restaurant. The restaurant’s website describes this institution perfectly:

Versailles Restaurant, known as the World’s Most Famous Cuban Restaurant, has been serving Cuban cuisine and culture to the local and international community for over five decades. Soon after it opened its doors in 1971, Versailles became the gathering place and unofficial town square for Miami’s Cuban exile. . . . The restaurant is a favorite amongst celebrities and politicians to garner support from the Hispanic community, and the media for gathering commentary and footage on social and political issues.

Versailles Restaurant

Herbert arrived in Miami from Cuba when he was seven years old, and I stayed with his parents when I first moved to Miami in 1981. I fell in love with Cuban food then, and it’s one of the things I miss about this city.

Tim and I had typical Cuban dishes, including Plantain Chips, a traditional Cuban sandwich for me, and a Croquetas Preparada sandwich for Tim, with Flan de Queso and Tres Leches cake for dessert. It was all delicious. I even finished my meal with a Café Cubano, a sweet and strong coffee made by mixing sugar with espresso to create a thick, sweet foam

It was so nice to mostly relax today, complete a few last-minute items, and prepare to board our ship tomorrow.

We Made It to Miami

Tim and I were up early this morning. We checked out of the Westin, crossed the plaza to the airline terminal, dropped off our bags, and easily made it through security with TSA PreCheck. I love that program.

We had decided to eat breakfast in the United Club, and we hung out there until it was time to board our flight. I was even able to see our plane, which had arrived from Anchorage, from the window in the lounge.

The United Club Was Busy This Morning

Our Plane Was Waiting for Us

The Viking World Voyage includes free business class airfare, a nice perk. Tim and I had preselected our meal, the Colorado style green chili pork, the Denver Signature Dish, and it was surprisingly delicious.

Welcome Aboard - Denver to Miami

Do We Look Excited?

I Had a Great View of the Airport as We Taxied from the Gate - 
The Blue Building on the Right Is the Westin, Where We Stayed Last Night

The flight was uneventful, the best kind, and we arrived in Miami early at 3:47 pm. As we left the plane, we met Evelyn and David, who will be fellow passengers on the Viking World Voyage. We had a nice chat on our way to baggage claim, where our bags were waiting for us, thank goodness.

Ready to Land in Miami

Tim and I caught a taxi to Villa Moderne, my friend Herbert’s beautiful home in Coral Gables, where we stayed in October. It was so nice to see him again and check out the latest renovations to his home.

We’re On Our Way

Our morning was filled with more last-minute items than I anticipated, but Tim and I finally got everything together and locked the door for the last time. We’ll be back in six months!

Our wonderful neighbor Steve had volunteered to look after our condo and collect our mail while we’re away. He even drove us to the Northern Colorado Regional Airport, which is just ten minutes from our place, where we caught a Landline bus to Denver International Airport.

Thanks, Steve, for the Ride (And, Yes, We Do Have Too Much Luggage!)

Our Chariot to Denver International Airport

Instead of simply relaxing on the bus, Tim and I spent the time carefully studying an email we had received this morning – a preliminary itinerary for Peru! On top of all the other things that we added to our plate over the last week or so, we had added travel planning to the list. Yes, we’re crazy!

In October 2025, Tim and I will be embarking on Viking’s “The Americas, Chile Antarctica Cruise,” which we had booked some time ago. We recently mulled over the idea of tacking another adventure onto the end of that cruise and started looking into options for Peru. I wanted to decide now so that I could book business class flights from South America to Denver using airline miles. The window opens soon, and the seats don’t last long, so a decision about a possible trip couldn’t wait until we return from our Viking World Voyage in June 2025.

Last week, we made the decision to book a WOW trip, using Wendy Perrin’s WOW list, as we had done for our trip to Provence in 2023. On Friday, we had a Zoom call with Mark, a WOW travel specialist based in Peru, and we discussed our ideas and preferences. Today, we received an email from Mark with a suggested itinerary. It looks amazing! More on that later.

The time on the bus to the airport, therefore, passed quickly, and once we arrived, we walked from the terminal to the Westin Denver International Airport. I’m so glad we decided to arrive here today so we can relax and not have to get up in the middle of the night tomorrow.

The Entrance to the Westin Is Decorated for Christmas

Even since we stepped on the Landline bus, I have been giddy and must pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming. For Tim and me, our Viking World Voyage has already begun.

Preparations and A Few Hiccups

December started off very well as far as preparations for our Viking World Voyage were concerned. Luggage Forward was scheduled to pick up our two large suitcases on December 3, and I was able to pack virtually all our clothes in these suitcases. For some unknown reason, I was not stressed out this time and even managed to finish packing with two days to spare.

Packed and Ready for Pickup by Luggage Forward

Tim and I prefer to tip our local tour guides in their own currency, if possible, although we will use U.S. currency. Tim developed a spreadsheet listing every country we will visit, each currency name, the U.S. dollar equivalent, and the total currency needed. Our bank was only able to obtain currencies for about half of the countries, but it’s a great start and will save us time when we arrive in each port.

An Array of Foreign Currency

Many countries do accept U.S. dollars, but the bills must be in pristine condition, with no tears, marks, or folds. A very helpful teller provided Tim with brand new one-and five-dollar bills and sorted through hundreds of twenties to find those in the best condition. She really went out of her way to help us.

Brand New Ones and Fives

Getting overrides for six months of prescriptions was a pain, but we were finally successful with that task. Tim and I saw our doctors, dentists, and optometrist and got additional vaccinations for Tdap and Hepatitis B. The Hepatitis B vaccine requires two doses, and, surprisingly, was not covered by insurance. Almost $150 for each dose for each of us was more painful than the shots!

Amid all this preparation, Tim and I realized that it was time to update our estate documents, and we just decided to retain a financial advisor last week. That consumed a lot of our time, but we felt both were necessary tasks.

As if I didn’t have enough on my plate, my computer died, and I could not get past the sign-in screen. Tim and I tried everything, but I finally dropped it off at Computer Doctors last Saturday and paid for expedited service. Yesterday, when I stopped by to check on the status, I learned that the hard drive was corrupted and that my files could not be transferred. Really??? You’ve got to be kidding!!!

I didn’t have time to shop for a computer, so I bought one that Computer Doctors had in stock. Brian was able to load Windows on it; however, since I had no passwords with me, that was about as far as he was able to get by the time I left the store. Thank goodness I had started using OneDrive as a backup this year, so I was able to retrieve most of my files, but it took a long time to set up a new computer. I’m typing on it now, and I’m optimistic that I have what I need.

My New Computer

The Blog Is Up to Date!

Believe it or not, the blog is finally up to date, at least for a little while. I just completed the posts for our Canadian Rail Adventure, so the Canadian trip is now complete.

I may even have time (HAH!!!) to post an update on how preparations for our Viking World Voyage are coming along. Since we’re leaving here on Monday, that may or may not happen!

Trying to Catch Up

Anyone who has followed this blog knows that I never seem to be caught up on postings. Posts for our trip to Canada are no exception.

As Tim and I work on preparations for our Viking World Cruise, I have been trying to finish the missing posts. Today, I finally added the remaining entries for the Canada and East Coast Explorer cruise.

Hopefully, fingers crossed, I can finish and post the ones for the Canadian Rail Adventure within the next week or two. I better finish before we leave for Florida!