Update! The Italy trip is full, but if you would like to be on the waiting list email Laurie Turman.

The 2009 Spring Break tour to Italy is open to all students enrolled in high school for the 2008-2009 school year. Younger students are welcome but must be accompanied by a parent/guardian on the trip.

For more information, please visit www.myexplorica.com and log in to the Tour Center with code Turman-3629 to read all about this exciting opportunity. Thank you.

1/31/2008

Thank you to all who attended the Italy tour meeting last night. There are approximately 100 on the sign–up sheet and this is very exciting.

There will be a FAQ section at the end of this post. Please email all your ideas, questions and suggestions to lturman@tkgorman.net. Thank you and God bless.

Italy Tour FAQ

March 6-15 2009

Questions not answered? Call customer service at Explorica, Inc. 888-310-7121 and give your tour code (Turman-3629). They are there to answer your questions. ‘Traveler's lounge' in our tour center can answer most questions also.

• How do the room arrangements work?
• Family twin or family triple. They cannot have three adults in one room, so this is the way it would work
• 2 adults and 1 child
• 1 adult 2 children (this requires a double room upgrade for both children since they would be in a double room with 2 beds)
• If a child wants to sleep in a double room he/she has to pay the double room upgrade because this is considered a double and not a triple or quad room.
• Contract Details: The Explorica contract states that there cannot be an adult with three other participants. All adults will be in a double. Please go to our tour center in the upper right hand corner and click on the print price quote. Adults over 23 pay up charges for rooms as riginal prices are student priced. *You have to remember that this is an educational school trip so all arrangements were designed for students/teacher chaperones.
• Room Information: Every room has a private bathroom
• Bus Information: Our tour bus in Italy holds 49-52. We will have 2 busses if more than 60 go and 2 tour directors.
• We probably will not all be on the same plane. The flight is not non-stop. We will have a layover, approx. 45 minutes in London or Frankfurt. The sooner we get signed up, the better plane reservations we get.
• Trip Length: If you want to stay longer, you must do that when registering.
• Weather: Found some info on weather in March in Italy - average high is 60 F, average low is 41 F; and about 3 inches of rain (it can be very windy and blustery). Rome and Florence are about the same weather-wise.
• Which Hotel: Hotels are booked 45 days in advance so we don't know exactly in which ones we will be staying. It will be posted in our tour center when they are confirmed. Keep checking the ‘travelers lounge'.
• Can Insurance be purchased at a later date? You can add on Comprehensive Insurance at anytime, but Comprehensive Plus must be purchased upon registration.
• What is the difference between comprehensive and comprehensive plus? The short answer is that Comprehensive Plus covers you for cancellation before the trip even happens and while on tour. Comprehensive only covers you while on tour. More information can be found below .

Explorica Comprehensive Travel Protection Details

The easy, affordable way to protect your vacation investment is with the Explorica Comprehensive Travel Protection Plan. It gives you peace of mind while traveling! This plan, offered and administered by Trip Mate, is available with all Explorica travel arrangements. This high-quality plan covers your vacation investment, your belongings, and most importantly, you. Purchasing this optional plan entitles you to the following benefits:

Post-departure trip interruption. If you have to interrupt your trip after departure due to a covered injury, sickness, or death (your own or that of a traveling companion or an immediate family member) or for other covered events such as: cancellation of arrangements by an airline due to strike or bad weather; a documented theft of passports or visas; or a terrorist act which occurs in your departure city or in a city which is a scheduled destination of your trip provided the terrorist act occurs within 30 days of the scheduled departure date and your premium is received within 14 days of the initial deposit/payment for your trip, as defined, you will be reimbursed up to the trip cost for the unused, non-refundable land or water arrangements and the additional transport charges paid to return home or to rejoin your trip (limited to economy one-way airfare, or first class if your original tickets were first class).

Travel delay. Provides up to $100 per day to a (maximum of $500) for reasonable accommodation and traveling expenses until travel becomes possible if you are delayed for more than 12 hours due to a covered reason such as air carrier delay; injury, sickness, or death of you or your traveling companion; quarantine; loss of passport, travel documents, or money; or natural disaster.

Medical expense/emergency assistance. Provides reimbursement up to $25,000 for reasonable and customary medical expenses incurred within 365 days of a covered sickness which occurs while on your trip; emergency dental treatment received during your trip; the costs for emergency transport to home or an appropriate hospital, including escort expense (both, if deemed necessary by the attending physician), for a covered injury or sickness which occurs while on your trip; or the cost of homeward carriage if deceased.

Baggage & personal effects. Coverage up to $ 2,000 for direct physical loss or damage to your baggage, passports, or visas while on your trip. A $500 maximum limit applies to jewelry, gems, watches, cameras and camera equipment, and furs; a $250 per article limit applies to all other items. If, while on your trip, your baggage is delayed for 24 hours or more, we will reimburse you up to $100 for the purchase of necessary additional clothing and personal articles.

Pre-Existing Conditions Waiver. The Plan Exclusion for Pre-Existing Conditions is waived if you purchase the plan within 14 days of your initial deposit/payment for your trip and you are not disabled from travel at the time your plan payment is received.

The cost for this plan is $10 per day of your tour, maximum $150. This plan can be purchased up to the day of your departure. Once purchased, this plan cannot be cancelled or refunded.

A "Certificate of Coverage" which provides complete details of the plan, including conditions, exclusions, and limitations, is available to you through Trip Mate.The Explorica Comprehensive Plan benefits are administered by:Trip Mate (In CA, dba Trip Mate Insurance Agency), 9225 Ward Parkway, Suite 200, Kansas City, Missouri 64114; tel. 1.800.888.7292.

The Explorica Comprehensive Plan is underwritten by Stonebridge Casualty Insurance Company, Columbus, Ohio.

Explorica Comprehensive Plus, With Peace of Mid Coverage

You may also purchase our Optional Explorica Comprehensive PLUS, which adds a Pre-Departure Trip Cancellation Benefit to the Explorica Comprehensive Travel Protection described above. This benefit allows you to cancel your trip for covered reasons such as a covered sickness, injury or death (your own or that of a traveling companion or an immediate family member), or other covered events as defined and be reimbursed up to the trip cost for cancellation charges imposed by Explorica. This benefit is also underwritten by Stonebridge Casualty Insurance Company and administered by Trip Mate.

Bonus! When you purchase the Optional Explorica Comprehensive PLUS plan at the time of enrollment, you also receive the Explorica Peace of Mind Protection that allows you to cancel your Explorica arrangements before your scheduled departure for ANY REASON NOT COVERED by the Optional Explorica Comprehensive PLUS provisions. If your cancellation is received 65 days or more before departure, you will receive a cash reimbursement of all fees, excluding 5% of the Tour Fee, the non-refundable Membership Fee, any applicable late fees, and the cost of the Comprehensive PLUS plan. Remember, the Peace of Mind protection provides a benefit only if your cancellation is not otherwise covered by the Comprehensive PLUS plan provisions.

The Peace of Mind Protection is provided by Explorica and is not an insurance benefit.

The cost for the Explorica Comprehensive PLUS plan is $15 per day of your tour, maximum $225. This plan must be purchased at time of enrollment. Once purchased, this plan cannot be cancelled or refunded.