Still sailing open ocean, but we are now in the Sea of Okhotsk. We are getting closer to Japan. Looks the same. Feels the same. It was mostly cloudy today but much warmer. Seas still relatively calm. Elaine did see a whale swim right by the ship while she was on the balcony. (The whale is not in the picture, so don’t go searching for it.) She also saw a pod of porpoises.
Want to see some rough seas on a Viking Ship? Watch this video. It’s the Viking Star in 2019, mostly taken in the Explorer’s Lounge. The ship, identical to the Orion that we are on, totally lost power and came within feet of running aground off the coast of Norway. Passengers were being helicoptered off the ship 15-20 at a time when power was partially restored and the ship limped into port. Not a good cruise to have been on. 450 or so passengers were taken off by helicopter before the rest arrived at port. The story is told here.
History time.
Attu Island is the westernmost island in the Aleutians and the westernmost point in the fifty US states (Yes, further west than Hawaii). The closest we came was our stop in Dutch Harbor on Unalaska Island. It has historically been home to 200-400 Aleuts. And it (along with nearby Kiska Island) became the only places in the USA ever occupied by a foreign force. Six months after Pearl Harbor, the Japanese invaded and occupied the two islands. The Aleuts were imprisoned and transferred to Japan. Eventually the US counterattacked and retook the island in the deadly Battle of Attu. It remained a military base and/or a coast guard station until 2010 when Casco Bay Coast Guard Station was closed. The island is now uninhabited although the Coast Guard does periodic maintenance of the airfield there for use in possible emergencies. (End of History Lesson)
Today was Viking’s special Brunch served in the enclosed pool area from 12:00-2:00. It was mobbed! We walked by and you couldn’t even get close enough to take a photo of the elaborate food displays. The band played on. We skipped the whole thing and had a delightful quiet lunch in the World Cafe.
Moving on to dinner, we dined in the Restaurant. Here’s the whole meal in pictures. Elaine: Cream of Celeriac Soup (what the hell is celeriac? – Martha Stewart knows – see link) followed by delicious Scallops. I had Tiger Prawns followed by a Duo of Lamb (roast leg and chops). We both had the Berry Cobbler for dessert. We had a wine from Sicily. All good!
Last sea day tomorrow before we run aground at Sapporo, Japan. There is one more sea day after we leave Sapporo for our disembarkation in Tokyo. The temperature prediction for Tokyo on our last day there is 94º.
I watched the video of the Viking Star. Yikes.
I don’t blame you for skipping the brunch. Too crowded for me too. Dinner in the Restaurant looks very good, especially the berry cobbler. I’ve had soup made from celery root but never heard it called celeriac. It’s good.
Hopefully you won’t actually “run aground” in Sapporo. I bet it’ll be nice to be on solid ground for a couple of days.
I love your commentaries on food and ship activities. It briga a smile to my face. The history lesson is always something I don’t know. When the Aleuts were taken to Japan after the battle, did they never come back to Alaska?
Half of them died in Japan. The rest came back but were not allowed by the US government to return to Attu. They were resettled in Atka in the Aleutians.
Although you have had calm sea days, I am sure you are both anxious to get on land. When we were in Japan it was cherry blossom time and it was gorgeous and smelled amazing. Sorry you missed that timing but you will have fun exploring on your stops. Look forward to the pics. “Sayonara” you two.