Voyage of the Vikings Redux - Sea Day

Cruise Day 13

Thursday, August 3, 2023

Happy Birthday, Val!!!  Today is Val’s birthday and we were awakened early with a call from the Neptune Lounge concierge wishing Val a happy birthday and offering us a dinner in one of the specialty restaurants, but we had decided to do save that for our anniversary that will be later in the cruise.

We stayed in bed a bit longer and then got up and got ready and went to the Neptune Lounge where Val was once again wished a happy birthday.  There was a lecture we wanted to attend which was supposed to be on our next port but turned out to be about Iceland’s part in World War II with Akureyri only mentioned in passing.  We have come to expect this, and the lecture was very interesting, so it was certainly worth our time.

The casino is conveniently located just outside the World Stage (the showroom where the lecture was) so since we missed it last night, we decided to make a quick stop and try our luck.  It turned out to be a fortuitous stop and I cashed out a nice win. Val did even better and won two jackpots on the same machine and cashed out a very nice win.  Happy birthday to Val from the casino!

By the time we finished it was time for lunch, so we were off to that.  After lunch I needed to catch up with the blog, so I started in on that.  Val had arranged a private tour for us and one other couple tomorrow, so she confirmed all of the details with the tour operator and checked in with other couple to make sure they knew the time and place to meet.

Since Val had missed most of her ”fam jam” when we were in Greenland she watched a recording someone made of it and it was quite interesting.  Not only do they just get together to say hi, they are doing a deep dive into family history with different family members doing presentations.  The nice thing about it is that it is not just the older cousins participating, but the cousin’s children and cousin's children's children being interested and doing their own presentations, very nice.

It is normally an overnight sailing to get from Isafjordur to Akureyri, but there must have been a scheduling conflict or something, so we are taking an extra day and doing a scenic cruise along the northern coast of Iceland.  Although we didn't get too close too the coast, it is still a very scenic, and we are enjoying the distant coastline as we slowly cruise by.

This looks like smoke from a volcano, but even though Iceland is very volcanic, this was just an unusual cloud.

Around five there was a knock on the door and a small cake was delivered to Val along with a happy birthday card signed by the captain of the ship; Val’s birthday surprises continue.  We didn’t sample the cupcake as it was too close to dinner, but it will get eaten later.

A happy birthday cupcake for Val.

The dining room had been alerted that it was Val’s birthday so at the end of our dinner she was serenaded by a group of dining room stewards singing the Indonesian birthday song.  She was given a big piece of cake for her birthday which she shared with me and a nearby table.  It had been quite a birthday so far for Val, but it wasn’t over yet.  She had another good night in casino and hit another large jackpot, she should plan on gambling every year on her birthday.

Speaking of sharing with a nearby table, we have gotten to know Linda and Steve who are sitting at a table across the aisle from us and also Coreen who is sitting at the table between them and the window.  We look forward to talking to them every evening and getting to know them.  

There must be something about the Voyage of the Vikings Cruise as we met our good friends, Ken and Mary Beth, on this cruise in 2016 and have remained friends ever since.  We have been conversing via email with Ken and Mary Beth as they are on a Scandinavian cruise at the same time we are on this one.  It has been great comparing notes.

After the casino, we went straight back to the room and to bed as we have to get up early tomorrow for an early tour.