World Cruise Day 133/152 - Sea Day - Walk the walk

Cruise day: 133/152

Ports days: 65
Sea days: 68
Countries: 22
Continents: 5
Ports: 48

As the dawn broke, the athletes stood ready for the challenge.  An epic event was about to begin - the Viking Star World Cruise 5K/10K/21K walk!  OK, it wasn't anywhere near that dramatic, but the event did happen today.  The 21K folks (that's 13.1 miles or a half marathon) started at 6AM.  The 5K/10K folks started at 7AM.  

The event was well-organized.  Viking, in typical Viking fashion, had fresh-cut fruit and multiple drinks available at every pass along the ship's stern.  They had motivating music playing and enthusiastic guests positioned themselves out back to cheer on the participants.  Financial Officer, Chris, Beverage Manager, Andrej, and Executive Housekeeper, Anna, were stationed at a table, tracking the bib numbers (room number and an A/B if both participated) so we didn't have to keep track of laps.  For the record, the 5K was 13 laps, 10K was 26 laps, and the 21K was 53 laps.

We all walked on the promenade on deck 2, watching the ships as they sailed by.  We are near a couple of shipping lanes and at one point, only looking towards the port side and forward, we counted ten other ships.

One of the better-looking ships that we have been near - the Grimaldi Lines Grande Napoli

It was all good fun.  They will do it again on Saturday, but this time, for the runners!

After bridge lessons, we attended what was the last competitive trivia of the cruise.  

Our amazing Assistant Cruise Director, Sarah-Leanne, getting ready to start the final trivia

Sarah-Leanne split the trivia into four sections:

• Meters - estimate the height of things in meters - an acknowledgment of the group's disdain for such things
• Disney - all questions about Disney movies - again, capitalizing on disdain
• English, Australian, American - pictures of food items, and we had to determine which of the countries was its country of origin
• World Cruise 2021-2022 - questions specific to this cruise

Here's the entire trivia today:

1. In meters, what is the height of the Leaning Tower of Pisa +/- 5 meters?
1. 57 (we guessed 37)
2. In meters, what is the height of the Eiffel Tower +/- 10 meters?
1. 330 (we guessed 100 - not even close)
3. What Disney princess movie featured Prince Charming
1. Cinderella - we debated whether it was Snow White, Cinderella, or Sleeping Beauty and guessed correctly
4. In The Little Mermaid, what did Ariel give up to become human?
1. Her voice
5. What does Hakuna Matata mean (From The Lion King)?
1. No worries
6. In what state was Walt Disney born?
1. Illinois
7. Where was Tim Tam created?
   
1. Australia
8. Twinkies?
   
1. America
9. Maltesers?
   
1. England
10. Terry's Chocolate Orange?
    
1. We guessed America as we've bought them, but they're English
11. Vegemite? (she obscured the "Product of Australia" on the label)
    
1. Australia
12. Hobnobs?
    
1. England
13. What was the name of the app we all needed to download when we visited Saudi Arabia?
1. Tawakkalna (points were given for anything close - spelling didn't matter)
14. How many countries has the Viking Star visited on this World Cruise?
1. 22 including the technical stop in Argentina
15. How far in nautical miles will the Viking Star have sailed from Ft. Lauderdale once it arrives in Tilbury, England +/- 1,000 nautical miles?
1. We guessed 30,000 and the correct answer was 30,320 - well within the allowable margin of error
16. Tiebreaker for second place: How many episodes of Saturday Night Live have been recorded?
1. 880 (although a little research shows that it is higher - 927 and counting)

As luck would have it, our team, dubbed Wasted Tuition, captured the win today with 12/15 correct!  There was a tiebreaker for second place, but that didn't matter.  We basked in the glory of our triumphant finale.  Now, to convince Sarah-Leanne to add a 1,000-point bonus for winning the final trivia.

Team Wasted Tuition - L-R, Steve, Nora, Rosalyn, George, Arlona, Garry

There will be a fun wrap-up trivia Saturday and the winner(s) will be announced.

Lunch today was themed for something that sounded like Sinko-de-mayo - not sure I get it.  It was all Mexican food. :-)

There were all kinds of Mexican dishes with several soups, enchiladas, nachos, and such, plus other items like chicken wings, salads, and more.

Cruise consultant, Hamed, joined us for lunch.  These are the plates he dropped off as he took off saying, "I'll be right back - just grabbing more food..." - I don't know how he does it!

Arlona's art project this afternoon was more birds of paradise - her favorite flower.

I sense that there may be an art kit in her future once we return home.

This evening, we attended a reception for folks that have booked at least portions of the Vancouver to Auckland cruise.  While we will terminate in Sydney, it was nice to meet some folks that we will see in September 2023.

After that, we were honored to attend a couple's 50th wedding anniversary celebration dinner.  Viking provided The Chef's Table private room and Manfredi's menu.  It was a wonderful evening honoring our friends and the 50 years they shared together.

Tomorrow morning, we arrived in Portsmouth, England.