LissaKay

There was a bit of drama last night, as might be surmised from this morning's announcements. I don't have any specific details beyond what I witnessed, which may or may not be relevant or even related. At the end of the Farewell Reception, there was a pax who had some issue that required medical response team and a stretcher. Then, around 11 pm, we were chatting with Damian in Torshavn when he was summoned by the Captain. Not something that is usual at that time of night. He hurried away, clearly concerned. About 11:30, there was an urgent announcement requesting those with O+ or O- blood type to volunteer a donation for a patient in need. That's all I know, and the events may or may not be related. I was extremely proud to see the incredible turn out of people that showed up to help. It was truly amazing. Most of the volunteers had to be turned away because they had been imbibing that evening, but still plenty who had not, including the crew that have been on board renovating staterooms. We're now awaiting our excursion to start - we're on the Best of Barcelona and Our Lady of Montserrat. As I've mentioned, we're staying on for the Med Odyssey, so will also have two more days in Barcelona. I'm going to miss all the new friends we've made, but excited to experience the next adventures and more new friends!

Hellooo Sky Princess! Fancy meeting you out here! And land ho, mateys! We've reached the Straights! Yes, we're up really late. We're night owls.

The weather was looking very iffy this morning, but aside from a brief shower and some wind while waiting in line for the tobaggan, it was a nice day. Tonight, though, it's getting pretty spicy. I love it! We're having our anniversary dinner at the Chef's Table, watching the wild sea outside the windows. Here is our photo from the tobaggan ride! Weee!

They do in Torshavn!

Here are the three ships in port today. The Star is absolutely dwarfed by the Wonder OTS. We went on the Half Day Land and Sea excursion. The land part was ... meh. It was also cut short because of the delay in disembarking. The boat trip with snorkeling and a visit to a beach was marvelous. Not the best snorkeling - I'm spoiled by Hawaiian beaches, but great company and fun guides. I'm now fighting to stay awake with a Gascon Coffee while the ship rocks me to sleep in the Explorer Lounge. The blanket isn't helping matters ....zZzZzZzZz

Very cool ... we got to see the harbor pilot jump off the ship back to the escort boat. I'll try to upload the video here before I lose cell signal. 20240318_223442.mp4

Underway finally!

I just came here to see if there's any word on this further delay ... but everyone seems to be quite happy in the Explorers Lounge for now.

It is. We have two days before we get to Sint Maarten on the 21st.

They just announced that the sail away is being delayed some to wait on the delayed passengers. It's 6 right now, and we're still here. Breathe!

The last time I looked, there was one cabin available.

We arrived at FLL yesterday morning with minimal fuss. Airports always stress me out and getting up at 2am after only a couple hours of sleep following a frenetic day of packing and getting the house ready ... Whew! Then a long Uber drive from the airport to the Westin and we were exhausted! Our room wasn't ready so we went and had brunch in the restaurant there ... St Patrick's day plus mariachi band made for a fun but less than relaxing meal. We were able to arrange for Viking to pick up our bags and transport us to the ship - one less thing to stress over! The lovely Christine who set things up for us has set the bar for Viking staff. If the rest are even half as gracious and helpful as she has been, we will be spoiled rotten! We're currently relaxing in our room until check out time. We can hardly wait to get going!

Never mind ... I found it. I swear I searched all the FAQs and forums for this ... is there a specific phone number that family can call in the case of emergency back home that would go directly to someone on the ship? We are instructing our kids to use Facebook Messenger to stay in touch, but we'd like to leave them some way to contact us in case we don't have Wifi internet or are out of range.

We are booked on the "Gaudi Architecture and La Sagrada Familia" tour with Viking. Does this enter the LSG? If not, is there an option to get tickets and go on our own, leaving the booked tour at this point?

There is an episode on the TV series "Mighty Cruise Ships" with the Viking Star, I believe season 2, and it goes into some detail about porting in Falmouth, with the timing of tides both getting in and out of port. It was pretty interesting!