Los Angeles

Saturday January 6, 2024 - We docked in LA early in the morning! For over 350 passengers it was Disembarkation Day and for another 350 new passengers it was Embarkation Day for the World Cruise - or at least the cruise to Australia. The Port was very busy and we watched as at least 5 tractor trailers unloading pallets of food and supplies on the dock which were then loaded onboard. Fascinating operation! We took the opportunity today to take the shuttle buses provided to go to Long Beach and walk around and do some shopping for extra things we planned to pick up rather than pack. As we returned to our ship we spotted Torstein Hagen, Founder and CEO of Viking and he was happy to take a picture with us. We complimented him on the staff that was on the Viking Sky and how great they have been. Torstein’s daughter Karine also joined us onboard later to wish us all well on our World Cruise journey at a reception that evening. He gave a speech talking about what Viking accomplished in 2023 and some plans for 2024 including a building new hydrogen powered vessels — at least hybrid of hydrogen and diesel to start. He did talk about the current state of affairs in the Suez Canal and assured us that they are monitoring it and will, as always, make decisions based on safety. For Dinner this evening we went to the Chef’s Table, one of the specialty restaurants that has a set menu with wine pairings for each course. Tonight’s menu was “California Cuisine” which was largely fish — and we throughly enjoyed it! It was great to be onlLand after 6 days at Sea, since we had to miss Costa Rica. Tonight we will have a short sail to Santa Barbara.