Shipboard Codes

Code Brown. Code Gold. And, tragically, Code Alpha. Today, and once a week, the entire crew participated in a drill mandated by International Maritime Law. The captain came on the PA to announce it would happen shortly and not to worry, then when it happened, he announced Code Brown, then Code Gold, then some other international maritime lingo.

... guarding the elevator

I was still inside, but they pretended

they’d evacuated me...

Three days ago, I had heard an unforewarned announcement on the PA: ‘Code Alpha in Spa.’ I found out yesterday that it was a medical emergency: a solo traveler [that’s what they call singles] had died in the spa area. Rumor has it he had gone back and forth between someplace hot — the sauna, steam room or hot tub — and the ‘snow grotto,’ the room filled with snow. I doubt we’ll ever know much more since Viking is very private about privacy. Within a couple days of embarking in Miami, a woman was taken off the ship after breaking her hip; she spent 5 days in a Cuban hospital waiting to be ‘evacuated’ home. Around the same time, a man suffered a heart attack and was also taken off the ship. This is why it was impossible to book this trip without purchasing Viking’s travel insurance policy, and I know some passengers who bought additional supplemental insurance as well. #