Our Time in Piraeus (Athens) - Embarkation Day

I arrived at the ship around 1:30pm Athens time, 30 December. First stop was a short presentation on the ship and the safety instructions. Then, after almost 16 hours of traveling, it was time for an actual meal. The World Cafe (the Viking buffet) was open until 2:30pm, so I headed there, and was fortunate to find a couple of people I had met at the airport. The 3 of us sat down for lunch.

After eating, I headed to my cabin to start to settle in. My luggage was just arriving as I arrived - good timing! After unpacking, I took a look at the "Viking Daily" to see what was going on.

Viking ocean cruises typically (in my experience at least) have multiple entertainment events pretty much every day in multiple venues (the Atrium, Explorers' Lounge, Torshavn (bar/night club)). This cruise featured:

• Resident Pianist Michal

• Guitar Entertainer Daniel

• Classical Duo Natalia and Andriy

• The Viking Band

• Viking Saturn Vocalists (performing mostly in the Star Theater)

• Others with talent who occasionally join in or have their own shows

There are also lectures; this trip had 3 lecturers on board.

On this day, I noted that the Daniel was performing at 5:30pm. I usually really enjoy the guitar (mostly acoustic) player/singers. I spent about 25 minutes listening to Daniel, then headed to Chanuka services. Yes, the ship actually made space available in Torshavn for Chanukah services (led by the passengers, but with wine and a few noshes provided by the ship). We were fortunate to have both a rabbi and a cantor on board, so we were able to enjoy a nice interlude!

After that, spent some time wandering through the ship, and looked for and found the spot where some folks were already working on a jigsaw puzzle. Of course, I had to help out!

At 9:00pm I headed to Torshavn to have a drink, listen to the Viking Band, and on occasion even get up and dance. Although I usually close the bar, on this night after being up for about 36 hours (with the exception of a short nap on the plane) I decided to 'retire for the evening' around 11:00pm. First full day of the cruise tomorrow!