At Sea Day on Viking Venus! For the second time in a week, we didn’t have a port call and it gave me time to supremely relax. I spent the overnight hours rocking peacefully with the waves raised by Typhoon Fengshen. At some point, I woke up but decided that I could use some more sleep - as a result, I wasn't out of bed until very late (0730). After that, I worked on puzzles, games and reading and then decided to take advantage of the onboard pools and spas. A few years ago, I read a Danish book on the concept of “Hygge” (n. “something nice, cozy, safe and known, referring to a psychological state”) and went off in search of this ideal when I left the room. My first stop was at the Main Pool, which was located on Deck 7. Fortunately, there was hardly anyone else there when I arrived and was actually able to do some lap swimming (0.25 miles) for a short time. Next, I soaked in the hot tub for about 15 minutes and talked to a few other guests who had recently arrived. It was sprinkling and there were some interesting water patters developing on the glass roof overhead - that added to the relaxing feelings. My next destination was the stern of Viking Venus, where I found the Infinity Pool completely empty. It was still sprinkling but the outside air was so warm that it felt good to be in the pool. I just floated for a while and then moved into the adjacent hot tub. No one ever joined me during this window so I reached my fill of the outdoors. After putting my robe and slippers back on, I made my way to Deck 1 so I could check out the Nordic Spa area. Upon arrival, I was reminded of my 2024 experience onboard Viking Polaris. However, not everything was exactly the same - the Viking Venus spa was smaller. Fortunately, it did have the ice bucket room and I was (again) brave enough to dump the water over my head. Next, I visited the Snow Grotto ("snow bath" for a short time), Steam Room (as long as I could stand it) and Experience Shower. By this point, I'd tried every amenity I could find in the open areas. So, I got in the pool and turned on the bubbles - they felt great on my lower back. While I was relaxing, many other passengers began to arrive. As a result, I was not able to go in the jacuzzi tub (too busy). Instead, I went into the locker room and discovered a Sauna and Cold Plunge pool - I tried both (only made it half way into the pool) before I was done with my (overall) 90 minutes of Hygge. After returning to my room, I changed into comfortable clothing and made my way to the World Cafe (0945). By then, I'd worked up a big appetite and my breakfast consisted of pancakes, samples French toast, eggs, sausage, beans, fruit. From the window of the restaurant, I saw several different kinds of birds and got a glimpse of the coastline of Vietnam. After finishing my meal (1010), I went walking on the lower decks (1-3) that were pare of "The Atrium" - at one point, I watched a "Baggo" (Cornhole) match between the Crew and some Passengers. At 1030, my tour of the Bridge began and I joined one of the junior officers (and energetic young man) as he walked us through the life of the Bridge Watch crew. We got to see all of the whiz-bang equipment that the ship has for navigating, avoiding obstacles and monitoring passenger safety. Here, again, Viking Venus was different than Viking Polaris - no dynamic positioning available in this case. The hour we got on the Bridge learning about navigation, propulsion and Norwegian seafaring precision - along with a chance to sit in the Captain's seat - were big highlights of my day. Before departing for my stateroom, I noticed a dry erase board that showed there were 837 guests onboard (more than 100 less than "fully booked"). Afterwards (1130), I went back to my room and started a load of laundry. While waiting for the clothes to finish, I got to do some reading, filled out excursion survey and watched movies on the ship's entertainment system. Along the way, I skipped lunch. With laundry complete (ahh, that feels good), I decided to check out a full Teatime in the Wintergarden (1600) - more relaxation! Next, I attended (in person) the Port Talk for our upcoming visit to Ho Chi Minh City (three days) in the Star Theater (1630). As soon as that was completed (1720), I went walking on the exercise loop (AKA "jogging track") on Deck 2. The weather was hot and sticky, with a stiff breeze at some points. Even though I wasn't finished with my daily pedometer goal, I went back to my stateroom and changed clothes again. Hoping to avoid the early dinner rush, I watched more movies, read books and sat out on my personal veranda deck. At 1945, I went to dinner (pizza, lumpia, fried rice) at World Cafe. Afterwards, I did some more walking on Deck 2 (reached 10K steps) before returning to my room for good. I thought about going back out, possibly to check out Thorshavn (jazz lounge), but ended up reading and relaxing until bedtime (just after 2215). What a great day of relaxing and recharging - life is good!
