[Worldtrippers home] [2025 Crystal-Viking]
Gail had her final needle-felting workshop at 1:00 pm. This was for any guests who had not yet finished their projects. Gail had to shorten her previous class due to a conflict with another Russell lecture, so her entire class needed to come to today’s workshop. (Because we provide support for each other, we have requested that Viking never schedule our events within two hours of each other. Due to last-minute changes, this is not always possible.)
In between Russell’s morning lecture and Gail’s afternoon workshop, we had promised a couple of guests that we would have lunch with them. Miraculously, we were able to squeeze that in.
After Gail’s afternoon workshop, we met with guest entertainers Christine Andreas and Martin Silvestri in the Torshavn lounge. We have been trying to get together for days to share music, and this was our last chance. Russell shared several songs he had written. In return, Martin shared several songs he has written.
Martin was a staff composer for “Captain Kangaroo” and “Sesame Street” (He was even a muppet!) He wrote the jingle for Toys R Us and others. We ended up being treated to a private recital by Marty and Christine. It was a “pinch me” moment from two Broadway stars, and it was absolutely amazing.
Right after that, we were invited by another group of guests to a 5:00 pm farewell party. Sadly, this meant missing the final performance by the Viking Sky guest choir.
At 6:00 pm, Russell began preparing for his second lecture of the day. Yes, two lectures in one day!
Two months ago during the World Cruise, Russell had presented a lecture on “The Beach Boys.” On June 11, news broke that Brian Wilson had died. Several guests requested that Russell repeat his Beach Boys lecture. The only available spot was 8:00 pm tonight. (Viking normally shows a movie on the final night of an itinerary, as guests need to pack.) Russell didn’t mind if no one showed up; he was just giving the lecture for fun. Nevertheless, we had more than 200 guests in the theater. As we said our final “goodbyes” to the audience, we were greeted (and stunned) by a standing ovation.
In between our events, we had to finish our own packing and have our suitcases out in the hallway by 10:00 pm.
On June 17, Viking Sky docked at our final port of New York City. Normally, Russell provides scenic commentary for what he calls “one of the top five sail-ins anywhere in the world.” Unfortunately, there was no commentary today, because:
That turned out to be just as well, because we had a very foggy morning where you could barely see New York.
This morning we were walking off instead of catching a plane, so we were able to stay aboard until 9:30 am. We went around saying “goodbye” to guests and crew. Then we stepped off Viking Sky for the last time in the foreseeable future. (We have no further contracts aboard Sky for the next two years.)
After reclaiming our luggage, we found ourselves dragging around three large suitcases, two small suitcases and three backpacks. We wouldn’t be able to check into our Airbnb until the afternoon, and we didn’t want to sit around at the terminal for six hours.
Fortunately, Gail found a luggage storage place called “Bounce,” and we took a short Uber ride there. Unfortunately, this “Bounce” franchise turned out to be a sketchy-looking storage room next to a bodega. We said “goodbye” to our suitcases and wondered if we would ever see them again.
Gail’s priority today was to visit Ellis Island. In all the times we have been to New York, Gail has never gone there. So we took another Uber from midtown to Battery Park (at the south end of Manhattan) and boarded the ferry.
For the second time, we had to trust a sketchy situation. There were several men standing around claiming they were the official ferry ticket-takers. One promised to get us on the next ferry and wanted our credit card. Gail kept saying that we would just go to the ticket booth. The man insisted that he was part of the process. He took Gail’s cash (no receipt) and told us a man in a hat would escort us past the line directly onto the ferry. The good news is that a man in a hat did indeed show up, and he did indeed escort us past the line directly onto the ferry.
While most passengers got off to visit the Statue of Liberty, we stayed aboard and got off at Ellis Island. There is an excellent and comprehensive exhibit in the old immigration building. As a genealogist, Gail was particularly interested. We spent hours there – as much time as we could spare – and it still wasn’t enough time.
We had to get back by early afternoon. And fortunately, we retrieved all of our luggage with no problem. We have rented an Airbnb in Weehawken, New Jersey, just across the Hudson River from midtown Manhattan. Gail picked New Jersey instead of New York because it’s a lot cheaper. It’s easy to take public transit through the Lincoln Tunnel.
Our daughter Colleen and granddaughter Avery are flying out from Wisconsin to spend three days with us in New York City. Our next adventure is about to begin!