Does it get any better!

Crystal Cruises its expanding its fine dining options with ‘Perfect Choice Dining,’ a concept that maintains the line’s traditional dining experience while adding a new ‘open dining by reservation’ option.

Starting in 2011 and part of it's expansive online Priority Check-in and Planning Center (PCPC) launching in July, the Crystal Dining Room choices of classic main and late seating will be retained. But guests who choose the new open dining by reservation will be able to make nightly bookings in the main dining room in advance of their cruise.

This new option will satisfy the demand for open dining, an cruise industry trend for several years.

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The State Department is proposing increases in the cost of passports. The proposed rule for the new passport fees was published in the Federal Register last month and will be followed by a public comment period of at least 30 days. The public will be notified of the date the new fees will go into effect. Adult first-time passports will increase from $95 plus the $25 execution fee to $135. The U.S. Passport Book and U.S. Passport Card for adults are valid for 10 years.

The proposed schedule of fees for passport application services is as follows:

* Total Cost: $135 for a first-time U.S. Passport Book for adults (age 16 and over)
* Total Cost: $110 for U.S. Passport Book renewal (age 16 and over only)
* Total Cost: $105 for a U.S. Passport Book for minors (under age 16)
* Total Cost: $55 for a first-time U.S. Passport Card for adults (age 16 and over)
* Total Cost: $30 for a U.S. Passport Card for adults (age 16 and over) who currently hold a fully valid U.S. Passport
* Total Cost: $40 for a U.S. Passport Card for minors (under age 16)
* Total Cost: $82 for additional visa pages

The fee for expedited service will remain $60.

The proposed passport “Schedule of Fees” is based on a Cost of Service Study conducted in June 2009. “It’s the most detailed study the Department of State has ever conducted of its for-fee services, and represents a cost correction from the last update of the Schedule of Fees four years ago,” the State Deoartment says.

Passport application fees are not only used to cover the costs of producing a U.S. Passport Book or Passport Card. Passport fees also cover the costs of providing emergency services for American citizens overseas in crisis situations, such as the current earthquake disaster in Haiti, helping Americans who have been the victims of crime while traveling or living abroad, and providing support to the families of American citizens who have died overseas, State says.