Published for the Travel Agents of Suffolk County |
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Our March 9th TASC dinner meeting is being held at
Shandon Court.
We are holding CRUISE NIGHT #2 featuring:
Carnival Cruise Lines
Celebrity Cruises
Ponant Yacht Cruise & Expeditions
Scenic / Emerald River & Ocean
Free raffle for a future TASC dinner
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TASC MARCH MEETING - LIVE!!
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LOCATION
SHANDON COURT, 115 EAST MAIN ST., EAST ISLIP, NY
DATE AND TIME
03/09/22 6:30pm
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03/09/22 8:30pm
SIGN IN & MINI TRADE SHOW: 6:00PM // MEETING & DINNER: 6:30PM MEMBERS: $25, NON-MEMBERS: $35 RSVP IS MANDATORY
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RSVP
RSVP’S for the general meeting should
now be made by using the RSVP button above.
At this time you will continue to be able to RSVP to:
Honey Pressgrove’s office 631-363-9522
RSVP's must be received no later than the MONDAY
before the meeting. If you are unable to attend the meeting after you have already responded PLEASE call to cancel.
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PLEASE RSVP WITH THE "YES I WILL BE ATTENDING" BUTTON ONLY IF YOU DEFINITELY PLAN ON ATTENDING OUR MEETINGS
IMPORTANT INFORMATION IF YOU SHARE A SINGLE EMAIL ADDRESS WITH A COLLEAGUE
SINCE EACH EMAIL ADDRESS IS LINKED TO ONLY 1 PERSON, ONLY THAT 1 PERSON CAN BE COUNTED WHEN YOU RSVP ELECTRONICALLY, ADDITIONAL ATTENDEES MUST PHONE OR EMAIL IN THEIR RSVP.
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Our 2021 TASC Trade Show is now in the books and I think it was one of the best in years!
Thank you to the many agents that came out and to the following suppliers who exhibited at our show.
Affluent Hospitality, AM Resorts, Andaz Resorts, Antigua/Barbuda, AutoEurope, Barbados Tourism,
Blue Diamond Resorts, Cayman Islands Tourism,
Celebrity Cruises, Delta Vacations, E-Z Italy,
Elegant Hotels/All-inclusive Marriott Resorts,
Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau,
AIC-Hard Rock Resorts, Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau, Hyatt Resorts Caribbean, Impressive Resorts, Jamaica Tourist Board, Kensington Tours,
Norwegian Cruises, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Sandals/Beaches, Scenic Cruises USA, Silversea Cruises, St Kitts Tourism, Stan Enden Associates,
The Sol Group/Melia Hotels, Travelsavers,
Turks & Caicos & Vacation Express
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Dear Members,
We are living in crazy times. Now that we are finally seeing low Covid infections and travel plans are ramping up, Russia decides to invade Ukraine! Please pray for a swift end to this war with peace and freedom for the Ukrainian people.
We are again holding a live meeting this month. We will be featuring cruise night # 2. At this month's meeting we are pleased to welcome Carnival, Celebrity, Ponant and Scenic Emerald cruises. Starting at 6pm they will set up their catalogs and brochures and engage in one-on-one discussions, then later they will give their focused presentations.
In honor of Saint Patrick's Day, we will be offering corned beef as one of your selections and we will also be serving wine with dinner. In addition, we will raffle off a free future TASC dinner for a lucky winner.
Respectfully,
Susan Bonesso
A ship in port is safe, but that's not what ships are built for.
-- Grace Murray Hopper
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UPCOMING TASC MEETING/EVENT SCHEDULE
MAR 9 - CRUISE NIGHT # 2
APR 13 - STAN ENDEN
MAY 11 - SANDALS
JUNE 8 - BARBADOS TOURIST BOARD
Attention suppliers! 2022 is booking up quickly, get your choice date booked now. You may contact our Programs Director, Fran Raupp at franr@baytravelandtours.com to book your program.
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Current Industry Affairs (CIA)
Several Caribbean island destinations have eased Covid restrictions as they transition from pandemic to endemic status.
Dominican Republic drops mask requirements
The D.R., whose entry regulations have been among the most relaxed for visitors throughout the pandemic and which has required no proof of vaccination, entry test or quarantine, now has dropped all mask requirements in indoor and outdoor settings, except for at the airport.
Jamaica lifts travel authorization requirement
Visitors to Jamaica no longer will be required to obtain travel authorization to enter the island, effective March 1. Those age 12 and over will only need to provide a negative antigen or PCR test result done within 72 hours prior to arrival. In addition, travelers no longer will face travel-related quarantine measures. Jamaica recently shortened the isolation period for U.S. travelers who test positive while in Jamaica and eliminated quarantine restrictions for fully vaccinated business travelers who present a negative PCR test taken within three days of travel to Jamaica.
St. Maarten eliminates testing for vaccinated
Effective March 1, St. Maarten will eliminate the requirement for proof of a negative test result for entry for vaccinated travelers as well as for those who have recovered from Covid in the past nine months.
Unvaccinated travelers must still provide a negative PCR test result taken 48 hours prior to arrival or an antigen test taken 24 hours before arrival. The health authorization form will still be required for all travelers within 72 hours of arrival.
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• Scenic is canceling its entire slate of 2022 river cruises in Russia.
• Norwegian Cruise Line is cutting St. Petersburg from itineraries for the entirety of 2022.
• Atlas Ocean Voyages is tweaking the itineraries of two late-summer Baltic cruises to drop St. Petersburg, Russia.
• Windstar Cruises has canceled all sailings in the Black Sea region and will alter Baltic itineraries to swap out calls in St. Petersburg with a non-Russian port.
• Carnival Corp. said its brands would modify itineraries, replacing St. Petersburg calls in the coming weeks once it can secure alternative ports.
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Transport Canada, the nation's transportation agency, said more announcements will be coming soon.
Canada's guidelines create a higher standard for cruising than the CDC. Last week, the CDC said it was grading ships based on their vaccination rates. The CDC will label ships with at least 95% of passengers and crew with two initial doses as "highly vaccinated" and ships with 95% of passengers and crew with two doses plus a booster shot as "standard of excellence" ships. Those that don't meet these criteria are labeled "not highly vaccinated."
Cruise ships were banned from Canada in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. Because foreign-flagged ships are required to stop at an international port for cruises departing from the United States, U.S. lawmakers passed a law to temporarily allow ships to skip the perfunctory stop in Canada on Alaska cruises. Without the waiver, cruise lines would not have been able to salvage the 2021 Alaska cruise season. Alaska lawmakers are working on new legislation that would allow cruise ships to continue to sail past Canada without the required stop.
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For current travel restrictions for Europe:
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The TASC Executive Board sends get well wishes to current Board member Will Porrier who is home convalescing with a fractured arm.
Cards may be sent to him at: 16 Baymens Court, Sayville, NY 11782
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TASC would also like to send out get well wishes to long time member Fern Spies who is recovering from recent surgery.
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The current TASC board of directors time in office will be ending this July. I am looking for someone to volunteer for the position of Nominating Chairperson who will contact the candidates and read the slate of nominees at the April/May/June meetings. Please see Susan at the March meeting if interested.
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TASC ANNUAL DUES
Your annual TASC membership renewals are now past due. They are still only $40 per year.
A Membership form is available at our website or from the sign in table at the TASC dinner.
Anyone who joins now will be paid up
for the 2022-2023 term
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Your TASC board has a new email address: TASCEMAIL@OPTIMUM.NET
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If you have any member news that you would like posted in this newsletter please send an email with information to: tascemail@optimum.net
In addition to the get wells and condolences, we can also list job postings
or pertinent industry news.
If we don't know about it, we can't post it!
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WWW.LI-TASC.COM
This is our website. Visit us !!!
Also visit our TASC Facebook page and “like us”.
Only TASC members will be able to post on the Facebook page.
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POSITION AVAILABLE IMMEDIATELY
VacationWiser is looking for an Administrative Assistant/Customer Service person. Start immediately.
- Full-time, In-person position in our Woodbury office
- Assist VacationWiser with operations and customer service
- Update various spreadsheets on daily, weekly, monthly basis
- Customer service duties, such as responding to customer inquiries, managing airline schedule changes, communicate travel information to customers
- Prepare and send itineraries
- Assist with accounting work
- Answer phones and direct callers
- Maintain customer files/folders
- Must be proficient in Microsoft Office, especially Excel
- Able to learn various computer software
- Travel background not required but is a plus
- Salary plus benefits (medical, dental, vision, 401k)
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Contact Kathryn Meehan -- kmeehan@luthersales.com or 631-863-6771
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Supplier Rep Updates
We would like to welcome several new supplier reps that have recently been assigned to the Suffolk County area.
Apple Leisure Group
Brian Ehlers, behlers@algvacations.com
Carnival Cruises
Grace Ambrosia, gambrosia@carnival.com
Celtic Tours
Kathy Writer, kathyc@celtictours.com
Collette Vacations
Tracy O'Neill, toneill@collette.com
Holland America
Ann Hall, ahall@hollandamerica.com
Norwegian Cruise Lines
Lori Innamorata, linnamorata@ncl.com
Oceania Cruises
Thierry Vuolo is still the local rep for many agencies on LI, her email remains tvuolo@oceaniacruises.com
Maggie De La Cruz, mdelacruz@oceaniacruises.com covers less active accounts from her Florida location
Playa Resorts
Pedro Spignolio, pedro.spignolio@playaresorts.com
Regent Seven Seas
Janelle Valentino, jvalentino@rssc.com
Royal Caribbean
Molly Paolini, mollypsupport@rccl.com
Sandals/UVI
Kimberly Daino, kdaino@uvi.sandals.com
Seabourn Cruises
Ann Hall, ahall@seabourn.com
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President
Susan Bonesso
(email) susanbtravel@optonline.net
Vice President
Fran Raupp
(email) franr@baytravelandtours.com
Secretary
Liz Henn
(email) lizLbac@gmail.com
Treasurer
Ginny DeFeo
(email) gindef@hotmail.com
Director Owner
Will Porrier
(email) willjohn39@aol.com
Director Affiliate
Gavin Simmons
(email) gsimmons@uvi.sandals.com
Director Agent
Jeffrey Austin
(email) jaustin@vacationwiser.com
Past President
Garrett Simulcik
(email) gsimulcik@cruiseplanners.com
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Rogers Travel
Bay Travel & Tours
LBAC Travel
Empress Travel
Ginger Peachy Travel
Sandals
Vacation Wiser
Cruise Planners
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631-289-5252
631-447-6440
631-648-8032
631-698-7767
631-563-2001
631-526-3301
631-499-4483
631-274-5490
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ACCOUNTING
Richard Chester
AUDIT
Jeaneane De Cicco
AUTOMATION
Lou Fenech
BUDGET
Marie Foley
BY-LAWS
Barbara Chicollo
CURRENT INDUSTRY AFFAIRS
Susan Bonesso
HISTORIAN
Mary Rose Dobbs
HOSPITALITY
Kathy Collins
LEGISLATION
Bill De Cicco
MEMBER BENEFITS
Jeffrey Austin
MEMBERSHIP
Honey Pressgrove
NEWSLETTER
Susan Bonesso
PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURES
Robert's Rules of Order
PAST PRESIDENTS
Garrett Simulcik
PROGRAMS
Fran Raupp
PUBLIC RELATIONS
RAFFLES
Kathy Collins
SUNSHINE
Honey Pressgrove
TRADE SHOW
Jeaneane De Cicco
& Past Presidents Committee
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631-585-7070
631-289-5252
631-563-3440
631-363-9522
631-981-0700
631-289-5252
631-879-1500
631-225-7569
631-289-5252
631-499-4483
631-363-9522
631-289-5252
631-274-5490
631-447-6440
631-225-7569
631-363-9522
631-289-5252
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Every statement made at TASC meetings or published in TASC News is a personal opinion of the speaker, editor or contributor to this newsletter. No comment spoken at the meeting or printed in the newsletter is an endorsement or to suggest that they are the opinions of TASC, its Board of Directors, or members.
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TASC | PO Box 49, Bohemia, NY 11716 | www.li-tasc.com
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