Planning a trip of a lifetime
Sometimes taking a trip requires days of planning and sometimes it is a spur-of-the-moment and we just grab and go. My husband Jim and I are about to embark on our dream-of-a-lifetime trip to Italy, and it has taken hours and hours of planning.
For years we have talked about this trip. There are so many places we want to see and only so many days and dollars for it. We have often planned trips on our own, using recommendations from friends and family and using travel sites on the Internet. For this trip, however, we decided a travel agent and lots of planning would be in order.
After doing a lot of research on cruises to the Mediterranean, we found a sailing that appears perfect for us on the Azamara Quest. We have used an online vacation site (Vacations to Go) several times and have found it to be a good resource with efficient agents. Past cruises to the Caribbean and Alaska booked through Vacations to Go were very successful. For this trip, though, we decided to use AAA Travel.
Many people have told us they never heard of Azamara, but its parent company is Celebrity Cruises. The Azamara ships are considerably smaller, with about 800 passengers, which allows them to enter many more ports than the large ships.
Selecting our desired stateroom (with veranda), booking the cruise and adding travel insurance were the easy parts, of course. We were able to select a cruise that departs from and returns to Rome, so our flights from Oklahoma City to Washington, D.C. to Rome and back were simpler than trying to return from a different destination.
Included in the planning for such a memorable trip have been the flights, transfers to a hotel in Rome, tours while in Rome, and timely transfers from the hotel to the port to begin our cruise. In addition, we have planned excursions for some of the ports and have left others for last-minute decisions.
I will be posting more about our plans and about getting ready for this trip — especially how to keep our luggage under the weight limit. Between clothes and electronics, we’ll be pushing that to the max! And once we’ve arrived in Rome, I’ll be talking about all the incredible sights and posting pictures. Hope you’ll join us on our trip!
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Very, Very Good. Want to see more.