Day 1: Travel & Board The Viking Octantis

 Saturday July 16

Viking Expeditions:  Great Lakes Explorer

FINALLY we were back to "exploring the world" as we headed out early Saturday morning for Fort Lauderdale International airport for a flight to Detroit and then connecting to Milwaukee where we would be taken to the Viking Octantis and meet our great friends Mary Pat and Tom who were coming from their home in Cincinnati.  We were all anxious about our pre-trip testing and multiple forms we had to fill out via apps on our phones to be able to travel.  And once those were all completed, would our flights be on time and get us to our final destination without issue.  EVERYTHING went smoothly!  Mary Pat & Tom did have their flights moved up but they just arrived early, where Viking treated them to breakfast before taking them to the ship.  Both our flights were smooth and on time and by mid-afternoon we'd arrived at the ship.

When we checked in at the airport we were greeted by a surprise.....our rooms had been upgraded from a "Deluxe Veranda" to a "Penthouse Deluxe Veranda" stateroom with about 65 more square feet and a few extra perks while on board.  AND we were greeted with a glass of champagne!

A couple pics of our room....first, standing on the "indoor balcony" area looking back towards the door.  You see the open closet?  Look to the left, see the shaft of light?  That's ANOTHER full closet.  And we have a mini-bar which is replenished DAILY, at no additional charge!

The "balcony" is pictured here, looking to the left, then below to the right.  The left of the photo is right next to the edge of the bed.  The cool thing about the design is that instead of having a smaller room with a balcony, the "balcony" is INSIDE the room to give you more room.  And the window goes virtually ceiling to floor.....

And check this out....all automated.....Kim presses a button and the shade comes down, as far as you want, all the way to the floor to block out all the light.  I push the other button and the top window drops all the way down (or stop it anywhere you want) and voila your balcony is now open to the water!

Before dinner we had our nightly meeting to preview the next day's activities.  It became very apparent that this is NOT a "cruise" adventure but truly an "expedition" with science labs and a lot of learning and exploring about to take place over the next week.  The first part of the presentation was from the lead scientist who previewed many of the things we'd be studying this week while sailing on the Great Lakes.  The second photo I took because unlike other cruise ships where the auditorium is closed off, this one is surrounded by glass where you can see outside.  AND.....the main screen you see in the first photo....it all retracts into the ceiling so that this becomes one gigantic observation room - with doors that lead to the front deck of the ship.

After the meeting we had time for cocktails and I had my traditional frozen mud-slide.  Ahhhh, live on a cruise ship - it's been way too long!

We had dinner at the specialty restaurant, "Manfredi's" which is far, FAR and away the best.....THE BEST restaurant ever on a cruise ship (if not anywhere).  EVERYTHING thing was amazing and before the meal was over Mary Pat and Tom both agreed we needed to make at least two more return trips here for our evening meal!

The day ended with a gorgeous sunset as we left the restaurant and Kim and I headed to the top deck for a day-ending selfie!  Tomorrow we will be on Mackinac Island on Lake Michigan where we have a four and a half hour horse-drawn carriage tour of the island, topped off by lunch in the historic Grand Hotel.