100 days to go until we board the Viking Sky in Fort Lauderdale and embark on a 138-day journey to London, England.
It’s been a busy time for us as we prepare for this adventure.
Here are some of the major steps we’ve taken so far:
Trip Preparation: Finances are finalized, including insurance, and all our excursions (for 72 port days!) are reserved. Since Viking is an all-inclusive cruise line, we don’t expect additional costs except for optional services like spa treatments, special wine tastings, or cooking classes we might book while onboard. Fortunately, beverages and food, including specialty dining, are all included. We’ll post more details about our planned excursions soon.
Planning & Organization: We’ve created a detailed spreadsheet for the trip, tracking each day’s port of call, arrival/departure times, ship time relative to EST/EDT, average temperatures, sunrise/sunset times, currency in that port and excursion information. This will help us stay organized throughout the journey.
Health Preparations: We visited Passport Health to review our immunizations based on the itinerary. We both received Yellow Fever and Typhoid shots, with no side effects, and updated our Tetanus shots. We’re also planning to get our COVID-19 booster in October. Additionally, we’ve been prescribed malaria pills, as we’ll need to take 51 doses (starting two days before and continuing for seven days after visiting malaria-prone areas). We’ve also stocked up on antibiotics, seasickness patches, and other first-aid essentials.
Tech & Gear: We’ve gathered our initial tech gear, including cameras, batteries, chargers, cords, magnets, baskets, clips, insect repellent, lotions, eyewear, and other useful items we think we’ll need.
Luggage & Packing: We’ve chosen our backpacks and luggage, and are strategizing what to pack and how to organize it all. We haven’t decided whether to use the free luggage forwarding service for two bags, since we live just 14 miles from the port. It might be easier to send them ahead in early December, but we still have time to finalize that detail.
Spa & Dining Reservations: Reservations for the spa and the two specialty restaurants available before boarding open in October. We’re not too concerned about booking reservations during the cruise, as there should be plenty of opportunities to make additional reservations on board.
Cruise Community: Very gratifying to see an active Facebook group for our cruise, with fellow passengers posting introductory photos, asking questions, and sharing recommendations. A directory is being created, listing passengers, their cruise segments (mostly Fort Lauderdale to London, Fort Lauderdale to NYC, LA to London, or LA to NYC), cabin numbers, and hometowns—so we’ll have a chance to meet people beforehand. There are also Facebook message rooms for different interests and groups, like card players, knitting, games, and veterans. It looks like we’ll have plenty to do during sea days and opportunities to enjoy each other’s company.
Post-Cruise Plans: We’ve also finalized our post-cruise plans. We’ll spend two weeks in Great Britain, visiting London and Scotland. We’ll travel by train to Edinburgh/St. Andrews and back to London before heading home. Our return flight from London is booked with Virgin Atlantic, which will be a new experience for us.
I think we have things falling into its’ proper place and hope our planning efforts will be rewarded. When I need to decompress at night, I just think about the peace and tranquility that await us the moment we step onto the ship, unpack, and sail away.