Published for the Travel Agents of Suffolk County
The July 14th TASC meeting has been cancelled due to
lack of a presenter.

lemonade_lemons.jpg
Enjoy the summer and see you in September!

july-fourth-sparkler.jpg
The 2021 TASC Trade Show will be held on Thursday, October 28, 2021.
We have a new venue for our show.
It will be at the recently re-branded
Holiday Inn Islip Airport East (formally the Radisson) located at the LIE-Exit 63 & North Ocean Avenue in Holtsville.
Plan to come out and support our Suppliers!!
Trade show hours: 5:30pm - 7:00pm
There will be raffle prizes.
Suppliers may contact our Trade show chairperson Jeaneane De Cicco at [email protected]
for further details.
beach_chairs_umbrella.jpg
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE
Dear Members,

I hope all our members enjoyed their 4th of July Holiday.

I was originally writing that I was hopeful that the worst is behind us. Most people have received their vaccines, cruises have now begun cautiously sailing, Europe and other destinations are slowly opening up to US visitors, our country and others are loosening the Covid restrictions for vaccinated travelers and infection rates are at an all time low.

But unfortunately, due to lack of a presenter for July, the board decided to cancel the live dinner meeting and being that we feel everyone is sick and tired of Zoom meetings, we are just going to give everyone the summer off and double our efforts to line up programs for the Fall months. I'm disappointed as I'm sure several members are also, but hopefully we'll be back stronger in the Fall.

ATTENTION SUPPLIERS! We need to fill our Fall dates and beyond. You may email our Programs director Fran Raupp at [email protected] for information. If any suppliers would like to share a meeting, she can put it together for you.

Enjoy your summer, stay well and see you in September!

Respectfully,
Susan Bonesso

To know the road ahead, ask those coming back.
           -- Chinese Proverb
 
july4th_words_fireworks.jpg
UPCOMING TASC MEETING/EVENT SCHEDULE
JULY 14 - CANCELLED - NO MEETING
AUGUST - NO MEETING
SEPT 8 - AVAILABLE
OCT 13 - AVAILABLE
OCT 28 - TASC TRADE SHOW
NOV 10 - AVAILABLE
DEC 8 - HOLIDAY PARTY

Attention suppliers, you may contact our Programs Director, Fran Raupp at [email protected]
to book your program.

For our Trade show you may contact Jeaneane DeCicco at [email protected]
beach-porch-banner.jpg
Current Industry Affairs (CIA)
The CDC has now approved eight ships to do restricted cruises. Approved ships include the Carnival Breeze, Carnival Horizon, Carnival Vista, Majestic Princess, Nieuw Amsterdam and Freedom of the Seas to operate revenue cruises. The Celebrity Edge and Equinox had already been approved. With the exception of the Freedom of the Seas, all of the ships have been approved without test sailings and will maintain vaccination levels of 95%.

Royal Caribbean has established restrictions for unvaccinated guests on all Freedom of the Seas sailings departing from Miami. Unvaccinated passengers must have travel insurance to cover the possibility of contracting Covid-19, and when they board the ship, several venues will be off-limits.
The restricted bars and restaurants are Chef's Table, Izumi, Deck 3 of the main dining room, R Bar, Schooner Bar, the Pub, and Viking Crown Nightclub. There will be select times they can use the Viking Crown Lounge. They will also not be allowed to use the Solarium Pool and Solarium Bar or the casino and casino bar. They will not be allowed to attend the 70s Party in Studio B, the Quest gameshow, art auctions and the Red Party. They can only attend Royal Theatre shows on Deck 4 and will be given dedicated times to attend ice skating shows in Studio B. In addition they may not use the Vitality Spa, but the fitness center will have dedicated times for them.

Las Vegas entertainment news; "Michael Jackson One" will reopen at Mandalay Bay on Aug. 19 ,and "The Beatles Love" is slated to return to the Mirage on Aug. 26, joining two other Cirque du Soleil shows "Mystere" and "O" are back in production as of July 1. Cirque affiliate show "Blue Man Group" also resumed at Luxor on June 24. That leaves "Ka" at the MGM Grand as the only Cirque show still to set a reopening date. The company previously announced that "Zumanity," which had an almost 17-year run at New York-New York, would not return.

Mexico's state of Yucatan has recently been lowered to alert Level 1 by the U.S. State Department. This means that visitors can "Exercise normal precautions" when visiting the state.
The alert level indicates that Covid-19 risk in the state of Yucatan is low, but it does not mean that tourism facilities are changing their protocols. Masks are still required in public spaces, and hotels, restaurants, tours, markets, etc., will still run at reduced capacity with social distancing and sanitization measures in place.

More bang for your clients' bucks in Europe this summer.
U.S. destinations are overpriced, oversold and understaffed.
Instead, look across the pond. People are paying five to 10 times the price of a vacation in the U.S. for a compromised experience. For those wishing to explore Yellowstone or Yosemite, this is not the year to do it. So many Americans are still afraid of traveling outside the country, creating ridiculous market compression in North America. Some suggestions for European substitutions this summer: Iceland instead of Yellowstone, the Amalfi Coast instead of the California Coast, Forte dei Marmi in Tuscany instead of the Hamptons, the French Riviera instead of Miami, Marrakech instead of Arizona and Santorini instead of Big Sur.

For current travel openings and restrictions for the Caribbean, go to: https://www.travelweekly.com/Caribbean-Travel/Caribbean-readies-for-a-wave-of-reopenings

sunrise_over_ocean.jpg
MEMBERS CORNER:
TASC sends congratulations to Past Presidents Marie Foley and Honey Pressgrove on the recent birth of their new Great grandson/grandson; Milo.
Your TASC board has a new email address: [email protected]
If you have any member news that you would like to see posted in this newsletter please send an email with the information to: [email protected]
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.
beach_stuff.jpg
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/Travel Impressions
Richelle Nicoletta, [email protected]

Blue Diamond Resorts
Layra Liriano-Garcia, [email protected]

Carnival Cruises
Grace Ambrosia, [email protected]

Celtic Tours
Rose Christopher, [email protected]

Collette Vacations
Tracy O'Neill, [email protected]

Holland America

Norwegian Cruise Lines
Lucy Rivera, [email protected]

Oceania Cruises
Thierry Vuolo is the local rep for many agencies on LI, her email remains [email protected]
Maggie De La Cruz, [email protected] covers less active accounts from her Florida location

Regent Seven Seas
Amelie Dubois, [email protected]

Royal Caribbean
Molly Paolini, [email protected]

Sandals/UVI
Kimberly Daino, [email protected]

Seabourn Cruises

Executive Board
President
Susan Bonesso
Vice President
Fran Raupp
Secretary
Liz Henn
Treasurer
Ginny DeFeo
Director Owner
Will Porrier
Director Affiliate
Gavin Simmons
Director Agent
Jeffrey Austin
Past President
Garrett Simulcik


Rogers Travel


Bay Travel & Tours


LBAC Travel


Empress Travel


Ginger Peachy Travel


Sandals


Vacation Wiser


Cruise Planners



631-289-5252


631-447-6440


631-648-8032


631-698-7767


631-563-2001


631-526-3301


631-499-4483


631-274-5490



Committee Chairpersons