World Cruise Day 95/152 - Sea Day - A farewell to Johann and Saudi preparations

Cruise day: 95/152

Ports days: 38
Sea days: 57
Countries: 15
Continents: 4
Ports: 28

It is a bit of a sad day here on the Viking Star.  We learned today that we are losing our illustrious General Manager, Johann, who will be heading home to South Africa for some well-deserved time off.  Johann has done an exceptional job managing this cruise through some very challenging situations, including ship maintenance issues, changing itineraries, and of course, COVID.  While we will miss his charm, leadership, good nature, and sense of humor, we wish him the best and thank him for all that he has done to make this cruise the best it can be.

Safe travels, our Viking friend!

Today is our last sea day before we arrive in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.  For those that follow the news, Yemen attacked Jeddah three days ago, on Friday with a rocket and drone attack.  One rocket hit an Aramco oil depot about 11 miles from the cruise port.  This was an attempt to disrupt Saudi Arabia's oil business as well as the Formula 1 race that took place yesterday (Sunday).  It didn't work and the race went off without a hitch.  We are still headed to Jeddah tomorrow and expect that it will remain calm during our visit.

At breakfast, we had a hitchhiker out on the railing - a mourning dove.  All I could get was a quick cell snap before it flew away.

Since this was a sea day, we had a bridge lesson and also played for an hour before finishing one correct answer out of the points once again in trivia.  The goofs:

• Black, Brown, Spiny, and Norway are types of what?
• Rats
• On the TV show, Thunderbirds (it was done with marionettes - 1964 - 1966), what was the name of Lady Penelope's chauffeur?
• Parker (nobody got this obscure one)
• Where was the sport of curling invented?
• Sure seemed like it would be Canada, but it was invented in Scotland

The Captain confirmed that we still only have one COVID case on the ship.  So far, none of the close contacts have tested positive, so that's good news.  The close contacts will be quarantined for five days and then released if they continue to be negative.  The one person with COVID will remain isolated for ten days and then be released.

For the next four days, we will be in Saudi Arabia.  Let's discuss what that means in terms of requirements.

First, Saudi Arabia bans alcohol in all forms.  Therefore, Viking will not be serving any alcohol for the next four days.  No wine with dinner, no cocktails, nothing.  They also cannot use alcohol in cooking, so that will impact the kitchen as well.

For passengers, we all had to download an app to our smartphones called Tawakkalna.  Viking is working out an alternative plan for the handful of folks that do not carry a smartphone.  Once docked, we will be required to create an account and register with the app and allow full access to our phone's location services. This will allow the Saudis to track our movements.  The app will link with our passport and Saudi e-visa as well as provide vaccination information.  We will still be required to carry our passports and vaccine cards as well as our e-visa printout, but the app will be used to give us access to stores, restaurants, museums, and so on.  We will be bused from the ship to a terminal where every passenger will have a 30-minute or so face-to-face immigration meeting with Saudi immigration officials.  We must receive an entry stamp in our passport to go anywhere and then an exit stamp to leave.

For excursions that visit sensitive religious sites, Viking will provide the required garb for women so they can cover themselves per Saudi requirements.  For regular visits, for men and women, shoulders and knees must be covered.  Head coverings for women are recommended but not required. That will be interesting, having to wear long pants, and not shorts in the 90+-degree weather. They also recommend long-sleeve shirts for men.  Basically, showing skin in any form except a man's face and a woman's eyes is considered immodest and discouraged.

Public displays of affection are also banned.  This includes holding hands.  It is a finable offense.  Seriously.  We've been doing that for over 38 years. It will be hard to not do it simply out of habit.

Saudi Arabia is trying to open itself to tourism.  So far, it seems that they have a very long way to go before it feels welcoming and accepting versus an interrogation and forced compliance.  We shall see how things go tomorrow. Perhaps I'll revise my opinion. I'm trying to keep as open a mind as possible. We have nothing planned for the second day in Jeddah and will decide whether to get off the ship on Wednesday depending on our experience tomorrow.