Voyage of the Vikings at Sea & Waterford

Wednesday, August 12th At Sea We really slept in today! Breakfast was late, lunch was late and dinner was early! Tomorrow is another long day and I am still recouping! There are the new arrivals on board...the ones joining us in Rotterdam! Newbies! You can always spot the ones who can't figure out where they are going! The complaints about this ship are mounting as the days go by. Everyday there seems to be new problems! We are okay after our initial heat/AC problems, which they were able to fix quickly. But every day we hear of things that are more and more bazaar! One couple told us that when they checked in in Boston they were told that they were upgraded. They were thrilled about the better room but when they got to the door the key wouldn't work! They messed with it for a few minutes and then a crew person came by so he tried, but his pass key wouldn't work either. The man left his wife and went to the front desk and was told someone would be right there! They waited almost a whole hour before someone finally showed up. This person couldn't get in either. Finally they decided that the door mechanism batteries must be dead and after some more time they got the door open. Now the couple could get into the room but they couldn't leave! If they left they had to prop the door open, so they had to go to dinner separately. The crew person came back to say that there were no more batteries on the ship!!! Finally the couple said that they would take the batteries out of their camera if they would put them in the lock! So they did and they were told that they would be given new batteries the next day. Sure enough, the next day they arrived to give them 3 batteries that had expired over a year ago!!! It amazes us to think about how many doors that are on this ship....and no batteries!!!!!

Thursday, August 13th Port # 12 Waterford, Ireland Finally, we woke to sun! The Emerald Isle was a blaze of green! We ate, got our tender tickets and were off for a cab ride into town..we shared with Cindy & Phil. We went to the Waterford Treasures Museum, which was really interesting, and then on to a Walking Tour of the city. The guide was a crusty Irishman who was informative and very entertaining, and we really enjoyed the walk..but I am really tired! We took a cab back to the ship, in time for another show aboard by some local Irish singers and dancers. They were good and we were exhausted by the time we got to our room. I peeled myself off the bed, dressed and we were off for dinner early so that we can rest up for tomorrow! We have had very good luck with our dinner table companions, except for one night early on. Tonight a couple from Indiana and another from Sydney. Very interesting conversations!