World Cruise Day 36/152 - Sea Day - From Pollywogs to Shellbacks

Cruise day: 36/152
Ports days: 12
Sea days: 24
Countries: 4
Continents: 1
Ports: 8

If you read my post yesterday, you'll know that at 3:00 AM yesterday morning, we crossed the equator north to south and are now enjoying summer here in the Southern Hemisphere.  But, crossing the equator on a ship is kind of a big deal, and with big deals come ceremonies.  Today, we witnessed that ceremony.

Sailors that have never crossed the equator are known as pollywogs.  This is not an admirable status for a sailor and certainly nothing to brag about.  Once you have crossed the equator on a ship, you become a shellback - something to be admired and respected.  If only it was that easy...

In order to complete the transition from pollywog to shellback, one must stand in the court of King Neptune and answer for sins that you have been accused of.  Lucky for us, the passengers are spared that humiliation on this cruise ship.  The officers, however, are not!

First, a lowly soul, Davey Jones, read a description of the events that were about to unfold.

The King's mermaids arrive to oversee the proceedings.  A couple of scurvy pirates and the ship's "doctor" with her cat of nine tails also made an appearance.

King Neptune, ruler of all the seas appeared so he could command the event. 

Pirates led our Captain out for an audience with the King.  

The King was pleased and presented the Captain with a medal and safe passage.  The Captain was pleased. The Captain then decreed that all clocks on the ship would immediately move ahead one hour to mark the event, moving us to Chilean time. Of course, for you east coast US folks reading this, it means that the posts will be coming earlier so you should have it in plenty of time for it to put you to sleep before bedtime!

Finally, the accused were dragged out to face their charges.  The Guest Services Manager was accused of incorrectly removing credits from our stateroom bills. The Chief Engineer was accused of drinking all the engine oil.  The Navigation Officer was accused of making the Captain steer the ship in the wrong direction. The Financial Officer was accused of spying and leaking information to Carnival. The Beverage Manager was accused of stealing bottles of wine for himself.  The General Manager was accused of forcing us to wear silly face masks even though we have been 100% COVID-free for several days.  You get the idea.  The King asked the jury (all of the passengers) for their verdict.  Guilty - all of them!

They were all humiliated with marks of shame. Traditionally, it is done by throwing mushy fruit.  Today, they used meringue colored with food coloring.

Then, they were forced into the water!

As they emerged from the water, the stain of their sins was washed away and they were rewarded with a shot of aquavit. 

The final step in completing their transition from pollywog to shellback was to kiss the fish that also oversaw the proceedings.  Of course, the fish were masked per COVID protocol.

The pirates and mermaids then tossed both King Neptune and the "doctor" into the water for good measure.

It was all good fun.  Kudos to the officers and crew that participated and made us all laugh and enjoy ourselves.

At the end of the proceedings, we felt it only right that we also kissed the fish and downed the aquavit.

I have mentioned aquavit, but not explained what that is.  In simplest terms, it is like a Norwegian vodka, distilled from grain, potatoes, or other starchy plants.  It is typically golden in color. It is also popular throughout Scandanavia and Germany.

After ascending to our new status as shellbacks, it was time for lunch.  Today's lunch was all about nachos, plus a bunch of other tasty items.

Here are Arlona's chicken nachos with guacamole, sour cream, salsa, and a conch fritter on the side.

Here are my lobster & crab nachos, conch fritters, penne, and a slice of turkey.

The day's other activities included more minor bidding lessons in beginning bridge and art for Arlona.  Today, they worked on floral designs with acrylic paint and collage.  Anyone who knows Arlona knows that she'd choose the bird of paradise for her design.

I think it's another keeper.

Because the Captain decreed that the clocks jump forward, there was no noon hour, and therefore no trivia today.   

Tonight's dinner was Spanish-themed and all about paella. Paella is a rice dish with chicken, seafood, and other ingredients.  It is cooked in a shallow, curved pan similar to a wok.  

They also had a Serrano ham appetizer that was quite tasty.

They shave it thin, almost like prosciutto, and layer it on crunchy bread topped with a tomato spread.  Then they drizzle on a little oil and sprinkle on pepper and salt.  Yum.

The paella looked amazing but didn't appeal to either of us.  We had small ribeye steaks instead and enjoyed them.  

On certain days, they offer mint chip gelato for dessert. I get it almost every time.  When I was young, my mom, for special events, would make creme de menthe parfaits.  She would soften vanilla ice cream and then mix in creme de menthe until the ice cream was that perfect shade of green.  Then, while it was still soft, she would swirl a parfait glass with chocolate sauce and spoon in the softened ice cream.  Into the freezer, they'd go until dessert time.  Even though creme de menthe has alcohol in it, the amount she used was so small, the alcohol was negligible. Therefore, I was allowed to eat them.  They were always wonderful - my favorite dessert. Viking's mint chip gelato has a distinct creme de menthe flavor to it that transports me directly back to my childhood and that special dessert.  My waistline is glad they don't offer it every day.

When we got back to our room, this was waiting for us.

To be honest, it is a little disappointing.  While we had the ceremony today on the 28th, we actually crossed the equator on the 27th. The certificate says January 28, 2021 which is all kinds of wrong. (Thanks to Cruise Critic reader Hark33 for catching the year issue) Plus, unlike our Panama Transit certificate, this one doesn't have our names printed on it.  I know those are small things, but for all the amazing things Viking does, they seemed to just phone it in on this certificate and not make an effort.  That's a shame.

We both felt a little tired this afternoon so we decided to call it an early evening.  Tomorrow is sea day number four of our six-day sail from Panama to Chile.