I didn’t set the alarm clock for this morning and we were somewhat shocked to wake up at 9am! (Well, if the clocks hadn’t gone forward yesterday, I guess it could be classed as 8am but that is still later than normal for us)
The Viking Ocean ships have several choices for where to eat:
- Manfredi’s Italian Restaurant
- The Chef’s Table
- The Restaurant
- World Cafe
- Pool Grill
- Wintergarden
- Mamsen’s
- Room service
The first two are classed as “alternative” options. They do need to be booked but Viking do not charge any extra for eating in these restaurants. For the Chef’s Table, the five-course degustation menu changes every three days and is described as “a culinary journey”. For example, today’s menu is titled “La Route Des Indes” and comprises:
- Carrot & Cardamon Cream with orange & star anise foam
- Spicy Tuna Tataki with Szechuan peppercorns, coriander & sesame oil, pickled vegetables
- Ginger & Tarragon Granite with infused vodka, lemon foam
- Beef Tenderloin with Four Warm Spices, vitelotte mousseline, mushrooms, jus
- Apple Delice Facon Tarte Tatin with butterscotch calvados sauce
Manfredi’s is a fixed menu and the dining room is described as “a warm, subdued setting that recalls Tuscany’s beloved trattorias”.
The Restaurant is where you can have breakfast, lunch and/or dinner in a more traditional dining experience compared with, say, the World Cafe. The walls are all-glass, allowing views outside the ship while eating. The menu consists of fixed, permanently available items as well as daily changing items.
The World Cafe features open kitchens with live cooking, and buffet-style meal service. As with the Restaurant, passengers can eat here for breakfast, lunch and/or dinner. If the weather is kind enough, you can sit outside and eat al fresco.
The Pool Grill has limited hours compared with the other venues and offers relaxed lunch or an afternoon snack - gourmet burgers to hot dogs & fries. Oh, there is a salad bar as well!
Wintergarden is where afternoon tea is served. Described as “decadent finger sandwiches, scones and dessets accompanied by international teas and relaxing classical music”. Oh, and no extra charge!
Mamsen’s is described as a “tranditional Scandinavian deli serving snacks and light meals”. It is located in the Explorer’s lounge which has a beautiful front-facing outlook.
And, finally, room service. Complementary and available 24-hours.
Today is day two of the cummulative trivia contest. Our team isn’t in the top four, but we continue to improve. Today we scored 12 out of 15. There was one team that got full marks but they weren’t in the top four either, so it will be interesting to see how the scoreboard looks tomorrow!
The World Cafe had a panini station during lunch today. In theory, a great idea. In practice, too many passengers were interested and the two panini grills ended up being so busy that the crew shortened how long each panini was heated for, so my cheese didn’t really get heated up. Never mind. It was a lovely lunchtime.
At 2pm, the ship’s clocks went forward again from UTC +10 to UTC +11.
Every afternoon, there is live classical music played in the Atrium of the ship:
Spent this afternoon writing and tweaking more blog entries but I’m struggling to get the images uploaded so I’m about 3 days behind in terms of getting the pages published.
Early evening drinks: Taylor 10-year old port for myself and a Tom Collins (Gin, lemon juice, soda) for my wife.
We decided to have room service tonight: Southern Fried Chicken with corn on the cob, sweet and chilli sauce & BBQ sauce; Fresh Spaghetti Bolognese, arrabbiata; Bourbon Pecan Brownie with vanilla ice cream and salted caramel sauce; Apple Brown Betty with vanilla ice cream.
After dinner, we went to the Star Theatre to listen to Carl Wishneusky play the piano along with the Viking band, singing songs from “The American Songbook, Redefined”.