For weeks we have been speculating what our itinerary would be since we are not able to go through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal due to the current conflicts going on in that region. So today at 9 AM the captain came on to make an announcement that corporate would be giving us a presentation at 10 AM as to what our new itinerary will be. Thorstein Hagen, President of Viking, announced that we will be going around Africa instead. This also means that the Mediterranean is out.
The Star Theatre was packed to hear the announcement on the big screen. They also piped the announcement in to our rooms on the TV, which is where I watched it. This was something that we totally expected, and we are pleased with the new itinerary. Many people are unhappy because they wanted to go to Israel, Egypt, Petra, not to mention Europe. Some folks will choose to get off, most likely in Singapore, and compensation is something Viking will negotiate with each person. Of all the folks I have talked to, most will be staying on and enjoying this unexpected detour in our world cruise adventure.
