Viking Alsvin. My first cruise for 2023- And Murphy’s Law HAS to Happen!
Two nights before I am due to meet guests to start my first cruise on the Viking Alsvin for Season 2023 and disaster strikes…..
Kicking off a season after a short break over the ‘closed’ season. This usually means I have to get those engines reignited and my head in the right space. Adapting from vacation and home comforts and then back to hospitality is usually a process.
This time, however, I felt fresh and ready. I guess it helped that I had a shorter time off last season to this one.
After our winter harbour setup and trainings, it was off to the races. As the Alsvin gently slipped out from the harbour in Cologne and entered the Rhine, a sense of anticipation kicked in.
While the crew busied themselves with the final touches to the ship. I prepared for my upcoming cruise. I would sail with the ship as far as to Trier.
Here I would disembark and make way for my colleague PD, Claudia. She would be bringing the first guests from Paris.
I would then spend a few days in Trier, one of my favorite cities. It is the oldest city in Germany, dating over 2400 years, founded by the Celts in the late 4th century BC. The city is located in the southwestern part of Germany, near the border with Luxembourg and France.
Trier was once an important Roman city, known as Augusta Treverorum, and was the capital of the Western Roman Empire during the 4th century AD.
The history is mind boggling and the Roman ruins are fascinating. This is a city that all guests on both the Cities of Lights and the Paris to Swiss Alps will get to explore. It’s both a great start to your Cruise experience, or end as this is where the Viking Alsvin docks to start and end all the Cities of Lights cruises and end the Swiss Alps cruises.
So the plan was set. I would spend a few days preparing the final paperwork and reservations for my cruise that would follow Claudia’s.
I was in a state of total flow. I felt prepared and 100% ready for my first cruise. I decided to get dinner my last night in Trier.
Turns out it was a bad idea. Ordered Uber Eats. It seems in Germany that the actual restaurant delivers, not an Uber driver. No tracking. You have no clue. You just wait.
They did not arrive after 30 mins waiting for them in the cold. I suddenly got a message that my dinner order was cancelled.
I was mad. H-angry and irritated. I decided that the restaurant would lose my business. I would order again via another take out. I opted for a burger and chicken nuggets. And so, my ordeal began….
I had a weird craving this night. My odd mix of food arrived. Back to the room, I went. I de-thawed myself and began chomping happily away. Each mouthful joyful – driving any residual negativity from my psyche. I was back to happy. Eating with gluttony and then….disaster!
I bit into a nugget and it turns out it lived up to its name. A nugget! Hard as a rock. I heard a crack and discovered I had remnants of a front tooth in my mouth.
OMG! I got rid of the ruins in my mouth and rinsed. Then I looked in the mirror and smiled. Something akin to the beginnings of a piano key ensemble gazed back at me. Fortunately it was neither of my front two teeth, but still…the tooth right next to my left front tooth was a broken stump.
I was in horror. I would be greeting the guests in 2 days. This was the worst. What to do? I examined the tooth. I have to admit it, the thought of superglue sprang to mind. I had some I bought to repair my suitcase (violated by the airlines- of course).
I looked it up on the Net…knowing full well that this would be a bad idea. It was. The horror stories I read quickly dampened any glue heroics.
No problem. Dentist and fixed, right? Wrong. No dentist appointment available – even for an emergency. I checked that night and the next morning. Mission impossible.
Back to Google. Okay, buy dental cement. DIY dentistry. Cool! Ummm. Not so much. Ordered the cement from the pharmacy that next day. Collected it that afternoon.
That evening, in grandiose preparation in the bathroom I stuck the tooth. I had practiced a few times without cement and figured it could fit back perfectly. Then the moment came. Tada! Cement on tooth. Tooth inserted…
Hang on….Nope, that looks weird. I look like a walrus. It is sticking out at an angle. Whyyyyyyy?! I feel the cement is drying fast. I manoeuvre it urgently from its position. But now the cement has dried on the tooth. It does not fit anymore. End of. Aaaaaaargh!
So, there I was. A toothy unattractive smile. I spent an hour practicing a smile without teeth reveal. I looked weird, like I had a paralytic lip. Quite creepy, actually. Okay. Try Zurich, I thought. I call up my hotel host. Yes. I can get an appointment tomorrow night. She gave me the number.
“How much? You must be kidding. Say that again? One thousand Francs to see you? No guarantee that the replacement can stay and possibly will fall back out in a few days? I will need a few appointments. What?! One thousand Francs? With a small probability of success?”
My last option was off the table. I was doomed to endure a cruise with a memorable look. After the cruise I go home for a short break. My dentist will sort it out, I reasoned. I headed out by train to Zurich. It was a long ride.
Unfortunately, the old city hotels can only cater for small groups. However, when the guests are shown how to use the tram right outside the hotel, they get the hang of it, buy a 24 hour pass and travel up and down in a fifteen/twenty minute ride to and from the city as they please. The ambience and food is good. The standards are high.
It was a welcome relief after a long days’ travel to fall back on the comfy bed and take a quick nap. I tried to forget I had a missing tooth but, no getting away from it as my tongue seemed magnetically drawn to the gap
Interestingly, I realized that I was less social and very self-conscious. It was affecting my job. For the 2 days in Zurich I was very uncomfortable. I decided on the coach to Basel, I would just fess up and tell the story to the guests. At least then they would know the background and not think I had serious oral hygiene issues.
That night, at the briefing, all was revealed, including my tooth gap. Guests were great. Some had fun with it and I felt instantly relaxed. Sometimes, I learned, you just be you, regardless and forget your own perceived shortcomings.
This first cruise may have been somewhat personally traumatic at the beginning for me. Okay, maybe that’s a tad melodramatic.
But it certainly was not a great start. However, I learned that people are so much less judgemental than we think. Our own self conscious perceptions are the real challenge and not the actual issue we are physically dealing with.
I had a great time with the guests on this cruise. It was overall, just a solid start to my season and I have them to thank for it.
The crew on the Viking Alsvin were outstanding and really did their best for the guests. The tours ran smoothly and although it was cold, the rain seemed to place itself around our activities perfectly.
Our first port of call was Basel. I found out the French lock operators were on strike (surprise-not) which meant the Viking Alsvin would not be able to get to Basel. Instead, it stayed in Breisach.
Breisach is a lovely German town on the edge of the French Rhine and the gateway to the Black Forest. It is not on the standard Swiss Alps itinerary but is a port in our Rhine Getaway cruises.
I knew it well from the time I was working the Rhine cruises. I was happy that this would be our deviated stop as the guests could enjoy Basel tours in the morning as planned and we could then take the short trip to the ship where they could have lunch and then go explore Breisach as an added bonus. It worked out well
Back to the cruise and the fun element I have now included for this season. It is the Thor Trophy. The Viking God Thor stands proudly aboard the Viking Alsvin.
A floating trophy that the winners of our Trivia night get to have the honor of receiving for the cruise. 17th -23rd March 2023 saw our first champions
I will be engraving the names of the winning teams on a plaque. Perhaps, if on my cruise, your time with Viking will be etched in history should you be a member of the winning team. Congratulations to our first recipients. The Viking All-Stars as they named themselves. Good job!
Sadly, we had one of our guests take a bad fall early on in the cruise. It happens. The guest was visiting a museum in their free time and had to be taken to hospital. Whilst it was not life threatening, it was bad enough to have them disembark the cruise.
I mention this because I cannot stress enough the need to take out travel insurance. I do it. I think everyone should. Also, be sure that the Insurance company has a good reputation. Viking also offer insurance through their own contractor. It is worth investigating.
I am still in touch with the gentleman’s’ wife. They remain in Germany as I write this. I know that this has not been an easy time for either of them . Most likely it will be well remembered for all the wrong reasons. I wish them both well and much happier returns.
What I love about what I do are truly the characters I meet and the friendships I forge in such a small space of time. If anyone wonders what it is about being a Program Director on Viking, it is this. Along with the crew I work with who become like a family in just one season.
As I complete this blog cruise entry, I happily do so with a tooth back in its rightful place. Right, time for some more adventures as the next cruise is fast approaching.
Loved reading this Rob! Yes, it’s better to be honest… people will understand and support you! Keep on keeping on toothless wonder! You are an amazing person and the best PD we have ever had!
Cheers!