Saturday, 4/23. My little printer paid dividends last night when I printed a photo of the bartender. In return for a 50 cent picture, he gave me a free glass of wine.

Sunshine greeted us the morning! It would have been a nice day in Venice, followed by a late bus drive to the ship. Sadly, no. Viking has its program and won’t be distracted. We boarded the boat at 9:30AM. But they exceeded my expectations by providing a water-borne commentary of Venice Harbor. Very interesting. Entertaining pieces of history. Got some great photos of other boats.

After that, the transfer turned painful.  We landed at the airport (which has an incredible boat terminal), had a 25 minute potty stop delay, a 20 minute walk to the buses, then a 2.5 hour drive to the ship. None of it was exciting. But getting onto the ship afterwards was easy.

After our spit in the tube, we had the run of the ship, masks on. Tomorrow masks are optional. 

We went into the spa pool. Surprisingly, Yoriko had not done it on our prior Viking cruise. She loved it! The pail of cold water was refreshing for her. 

Dinner was excellent. I had filet mignon. I questioned the sommelier’s wine recommendation (primotivo) and I was correct. Had an alternative (South African Cab) that worked much better. Chocolate ice cream and port was a nice desert. Now I’m in the night club, typing and drinking (slowly).