A "My first time in ..." Viking Ocean Cruise

I know it's April, and this cruise started on Monday, December 30th, 2024. That's just life sometimes.

The genesis of my being on this particular journey was me reserving a spot on a March 2025 [Viking] ocean cruise that left from Santiago, Chile and ended in Buenos Aires (with a stop in the Falklands). I reserved this spot in early 2024 while on another cruise.

As the year went on, and I traveled to many places, culminating in my eight-week Australia trip, I realized that the time had finally come to settle down for a little while and add a new member to my family. Samantha (Sammi the Wonder Dog) had passed in mid-December 2021. Yes, I missed her like crazy. But also yes, I was still in the middle of a personal journey of exploration, and I felt the need to go wandering - which I did, for almost 3 years. But now, it was time to get another dog ... not just a dog, but a puppy. One more puppy!

I looked at different breeds, but finally realized I really wanted another dachshund. I just love them, big dogs in a little dog's body. I found a breeder here in NH who seemed like a great fit. She had two litters due right around the end of December 2024, which meant puppies would be available in mid-to-late February. Well, I knew I couldn't go on an 18-day cruise in March if I had a new puppy at home!

Right before I left for Australia, I sat down at my computer one night and looked for an alternative trip to take. I found one, called 'Empires of the Mediterranean'. This was the itinerary:

12/29 Fly to Europe overnight, Boston-Rome-Athens

12/30 Arrive at Viking Saturn - Piraeus (Athens)

12/31 Docked in Piraeus, Greece

01/01 Piraeus - day at sea

01/02 Katakolon (Olympia)

01/03 Kerkira (Corfu)

01/04 Kotor, Croatia

01/05 Dubrovnik, Croatia

01/06 Sadar, Croatia

01/07 Koper. Slovenia

01/08 Arrive Fusina (Venice), Italy for flight Venice-Rome-JFK-Boston (a very long day!)

The only country on this itinerary I had been to before was Italy - although not to Venice. In any case, though, there was no time to spend visiting Venice. Next time I'm in Europe, perhaps!

So, here goes with the blog posts for the "My first time in ..." blog posts. Sorry for the delay. 💚🙂

p.s. I heard from the breeder right after arriving on the ship. Her second litter, usually around 5 puppies ended up being only 2. It looked like I might now get a puppy after all, at least not this time. But at 23:55 New Year's Eve, at a party on the pool deck, I received a text. She had acquired a litter from another breeder who is a friend of hers. The text said "Are you interested in this puppy?".

Look at that face!! Can you guess my answer???

Meet Gretta.