Important Update!

The cruise industry is in active talks with US health officials to develop a standardized screening process aimed at detecting passengers with symptoms of swine flu as a precautionary measure for keeping ship travel safe.

Until now, the focus has been on cruise ships temporarily dropping calls in Mexico. However, the issue grew much wider with yesterday’s World Health Tourism Organization alert to all countries to activate their pandemic preparedness plans.

No cases of swine flu have been reported on cruise ships.

Important News Part II

As promised here is a good link to paste in your web browser on and follow the updates....

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/cruises/item.aspx?type=blog&ak=66153987.blog

Important News!

Dear Travel Friends,


All of us at Ambassador Tours are just as concerned about the Swine Flu as you must be. Each hour we are receiving updates from our travel suppliers on land and at sea. It’s important for us to stay on top of this matter in order to provide our clients with the most up-to-date information and answer any questions you may have for your upcoming trips.

We know there are many reports telling travelers to not visit Mexico. Our first priority is the well being of our clients, and we can only provide you with facts as we get them. Please understand that at this point, the Swine Flu is affecting only the travel plans for a very small percentage of you, and we are optimistic that this flu virus will be contained soon and will likely not affect the majority of your travel plans.

Our staff is working hard at this moment to keep those travel plans current with those who are affected. Keep checking our website and blog for the latest details, and feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.

This is so unfair!

Effective for tickets issued on or after April 23 for travel on or after July 9, US Airways will charge an additional $5 fee to check a bag at the airport, resulting in a $20 fee for the first checked bag and a $30 fee for second checked bag. Bags checked-in online will pay $15 for their first checked bag and $25 for their second.

Delta’s and Northwest’s baggage policies are aligned. As a result, Delta’s new $50 second bag fee for international travel also applies to Northwest flights.

Effective for tickets issued May 1, 2009 for travel on or after July 7, 2009, Alaska/Horizon will charge $15 for the first checked bag.

Some airlines do not charge baggage fees and the out-of-pocket difference for a family of four traveling on an airline that charges fees could total as much as $400 if each traveler checks two bags.

Are We All Ready for The Biggest Ship?

"Hairspray," is set to raise the curtain on entertainment aboard Oasis of the Seas when the ship debuts in December.

‘Hairspray’ will be one of two productions staged in the Opal Theater.

I am excited!

Carnival Follows them all.....

Today - Carnival Cruise Line announced the launch of a new shipboard dining program called “Your Choice Dining.”

Your Choice Dining provides a selection of three different dinner seating options. In addition to Early and Late assigned seating, Carnival is rolling out “Your Time” open seating to accommodate individual guest preferences.

Clients can choose early dining at 6pm, late dining at 8:15 pm or “Your Time” open seating. “Your Time” may dine any time between 5:45pm and 9:30pm.

“Your Time” open seating is available on five ships and will be implemented one vessel at a time over the next several months as modifications in dining room table configurations are completed on each ship.