It's Time for Another "Live From" Series!

It's been awhile since I've done a "Live From" series for you, but the wait is now over!

I'm heading out today to sail on Azamara Quest's Best of Italy 14-night itinerary. If you've been following this blog for awhile, you've seen my "live from" reports from exotic destinations such as Antarctica and Galapagos. (They can be found on my Past Feature Article page.) Europe, especially Italy, is far less exotic, but I'm hoping to bring it to you in a way you've not seen before.

Instead of focusing as much on the well-known ports, traveled in the traditional ways, to familiar sites and museums, I'm instead planning on taking a look at how Deluxe and Luxury lines, such as Azamara, allow for using cruise travel in ways you may not have envisioned.

Because of itineraries which allow for several overnights in ports, along with late night departures, and a ship size which allows docking in areas the larger ships can't access, touring options open up and you can see far more, spending more time in a region than on a traditional large ship.

I'm also going to look at the solo and independent traveler aspect of this type of travel. Regardless of whether you travel alone, or with a partner or spouse, this may help you in planning how you want to travel in the future.

Are you seeking to cross things off your "bucket list", or are you seeking life experiences? This series will, I hope, show you how to achieve both with this type of cruising.

I will be both blogging and tweeting my reports. Don't worry - you don't have to sign up with Twitter and figure all that out in order to follow me. Simply follow the link below to catch up on my activities:

Live From the Azamara Quest on Twitter

The Tweets from Twitter will contain links back to blog posts I make here, but there will be comments on Twitter not made on the blog, so the very best site to watch is Twitter.

If you do sign up for a free account on Twitter, or are already a member, you will have the advantage of being able to ask me questions, which I'll do my best to answer in real time (taking into consideration the time difference). You can follow me directly at @CruiseResource.

If you're looking to book a cruise while I'm gone, my associates, Mike and Darlene Jordan, will be happy to assist you until my return. They can be reached at 719-379-3133, toll-free at 800-267-7613, and by email at mjordan@cruisesinc.com. Their contact information can also be gotten by calling my voice mail or emailing me as my auto-responders will have all their information, as well as what to do if you're already booked and need assistance.

I will have email access while I'm gone, so feel free to email me, just know it may take a day or two for me to respond. This is quite an ambitious itinerary I'm undertaking. If you are wanting to wait for me, rather than contacting the Jordans, please indicate so in your email so I know you're waiting.

Unfortunately, I will be unable to post the Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Azamara Happy Hour specials while I'm away, but if you're looking for something along those lines, the Jordans can help you with those - just give them a call or email them!

First blog will be about using miles to upgrade, and how to save on upgradeable fares! I'll probably talk about my adventures with a foreign SIM card and using my Blackberry in Italy. Then we'll hit the ground running with an overnight in Sorrento, Italy, and one of my favorite places on earth, the Amalfi Coast.

From there, I'll visit Taormina, Ravenna, head off the ship for a couple nights to visit the Palio activities in Siena and see Tosca at the Opera Festival held annually in a 1st Century Roman Coliseum in Verona, before rejoining the ship for an overnight and birthday celebration in Venice. From there, we have a day in Dubrovnik, Croatia, head to Olbia, Sardinia, then up to La Spezia and the Cinque Terre before ending in Livorno and a drive down to Volterra on my own.

Expect to hear a lot about how smaller ship cruising of this type is different from the large ship experience. How to set up independent travel from a cruise, and hopefully information for those considering cruising for the first time (I know there are some of you among my subscribers) on aspects of cruising you never knew were options.

Please feel free to pass these links to friends who might also be interested. The more the merrier! There's a reason they call Blogging and Tweeting "social" networking. Join in!