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One of the unique attributes about Viking Cruises is its robust enrichment and entertainment program. In addition to enrichment lecturers (like Russell) and workshop hosts (like Gail), itineraries feature guest entertainers. They come onboard in a port, perform two shows in the span of a week, then disembark at a later port.
For the segment between Los Angeles and Honolulu, we had two guest entertainers. Jason Bird is a magician and comedian. Unfortunately, we were not able to meet him outside of the theater. However, we were able to meet with the second entertainer, Travis Cloer.
Travis Cloer is a vocalist who has played the part of Frankie Valli in the musical “Jersey Boys.” In fact, he has the distinction of playing Frankie Valli more than any other performer (except perhaps Frankie Valli). We had a wonderful dinner with him in Manfredi’s, one of Viking’s specialty restaurants. (Manfredi’s features steak, seafood and pasta.)
For the segment between Honolulu and Papeete, we welcomed two more guest entertainers. Lindsay Hamilton is a star of London’s West End (the equivalent of New York’s Broadway). Lindsay has played major roles including Fantine in “Les Misérables” and Eva Peron in “Evita.”
We know Lindsay from a previous cruise. When she found out Russell plays the piano, she asked if he would accompany her on one of her show songs. However, during rehearsal, she learned that Russell also writes music. She fell in love with “Home,” a song he recently wrote. She asked if she could perform it in her second show.
Keep in mind, this is a West End star. She has not added any songs to her show line-up for more than a decade. But in the middle of her second show, Lindsay introduced Russell. He came up on stage and played the piano while she sang “Home.” The audience response was overwhelming. This was easily one of the highlight moments of our entire cruising life. (Lindsay plans to permanently add “Home” to her future shows. We are thrilled.)
The second guest entertainer during this segment was Nathan Sinclair. Nathan is one of Australia’s leading classical and flamenco guitarists, and he performed two fabulous shows.
But the most fun we had with Nathan was at a dinner with him and Lindsay, once more in Manfredi’s. Nathan is a quiet man; while Lindsay, Russell and Gail are all rather boisterous. Earlier that day, Gail had found a galette des rois (“king cake”) in a shop in Mo‘orea, and we had the restaurant serve it for dessert.
A galette des rois is a French Catholic almond cake, normally served before Lent. Hidden somewhere inside is a small figurine, usually of baby Jesus. Whoever gets the figurine in their piece of cake is celebrated and crowned.
Well, poor Nathan was the recipient of the figurine. (Actually, the waitress accidentally pulled it out of the cake, but we all decided Nathan should have it.) Much to Nathan’s chagrin, we crowned him with a paper crown. Then Lindsay started singing “Happy Birthday.” The next thing we knew, the entire restaurant was singing “Happy Birthday” to Nathan. (Note: it was not his birthday.)
For the rest of the evening, guests kept stopping by to wish Nathan “Happy Birthday.” He sat through the rest of the meal with a crown on his head and a somewhat befuddled look on his face. Gail has not laughed this hard in years.
We are having a ton of fun on our Viking World Cruise. And these are just the sea days!
