The official newsletter of Departures Travel 6740 E. University Drive #105 Mesa, AZ 85205 8/14

Hello fellow travelers,

It has been 3 months since our last newsletter and as usual, we have many exciting things to tell you about.

First of all, we would like to congratulate Cheryl Jones on her promotion to the position of office manager. Cheryl has been with Departures 11 years and will be taking over the daily duties of managing the travel agency.

ESCORTED RIVER CRUISE - “CAPITALS OF CENTRAL EUROPE” 2015Departures has held group space aboard Avalon's beautiful “Panorama” for a 10 day Capitals of Central Europe river cruise/tour in Sept. 2015. Come join Owen on a fantastic cruise/tour that starts with two exciting days in Prague, Czech Republic. On day 3, embark from Passau, Germany aboard the” Panorama” for a week long cruise down the Danube, ending in Budapest, Hungary. You can then head home or choose to add a couple of days in Budapest. You can also elect to start your vacation with the cruise only in Passau. Space is limited so call today for best selection.

Please check our web page for a downloadable flyer. www.departuresaz.com

THINGS TO WATCH FOR.Happy Birthday to us! Did you know that Departures Travel will be 30 years old this year? That's right, Departures has been in business in east Mesa for 30 years! Help us CELEBRATE during the 3rd week of November. We will be hosting an open house at the office with featured specials, giveaways, snacks and trivia contests. (Maybe there will be questions from our newsletters/web page? hint hint)

CLIA’s CRUISE WEEK IS COMING!

Help us celebrate CLIA’s National Cruise Week Oct. 6th – 13th, 2014. Departures Travel will be hosting a cruise night during that week on Monday Oct. 6th, from 3 to 7 pm. We are still working on the location. We will have various reps. from several cruise lines conducting presentations and answering questions. Look for special pricing, upgrades and reduced deposits during this special week. If a cruise is in your future, you do not want to miss this presentation.

PLEASE RSVP to Departures Travel

IN OFFICE PRESENTATIONSAs many of you know, Departures Travel hosts various in office presentations throughout the winter and spring months. Last season most of our presentations were filled to capacity and we were not able to accommodate everybody that wished to attend. These presentations may feature a specific travel destination, such as Alaska or Hawaii, a specific travel partner such as Princess or Royal Caribbean or a popular mode of travel such as river cruising combined with a land tour. We are currently in the process of planning this year's presentations which will include experts from Viking and Avalon River Cruises, All About Hawaii and Fiji, which will include some scuba diving packages and reps. from the various ocean cruise lines. Please check our web page for the schedule once it is finalized.

THE HOLIDAYS ARE JUST AROUND THE

CORNER. Have you thought about your holiday travel plans? Now is the time to book if you would like to do something special for the holidays. Maybe a Halloween, Christmas or New Years cruise? How about just relaxing on a sandy beach to get away from it all? Maybe you just want to take the kids or grandkids on the Grand Canyon Railway for Halloween or Christmas? Ama Waterways just announced a sale on some holiday river cruises for this year. Cabins are very limited and are selling out fast. Call Departures today!

OUR Continuing EDUCATIONTravel, like technology is always evolving. In order to best serve their clients, travel agents have to keep up with the ever changing world of travel. That is why Departure agents are often attending seminars, meetings, trade shows and taking part in agent familiarization trips. In July, we all attended ASTA’s annual Fiesta in the Desert show here in Phoenix. This was a day long training that included 85 travel vendors that were set up to educate us on the latest travel trends and showcase their products. This was an incredible training seminar with so much new information available in one location.

(Attending the training seminar) (Speaking to the vendors)

Since our last newsletter in April, we have attended seminars on Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, Thailand, Peru and Fiji.

In Sept. Cheryl will be heading to Orlando to get familiar with the latest additions to Disney World and Universal Studios. In Nov., Cheryl will be escorting a group from La Hacienda R.V. Park aboard Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas, for a 7 day Western Caribbean cruise.

In Sept., Pat will be attending the ASTA global conference aboard the Norwegian Breakaway, which will be heading to Bermuda, out of New York. This is a 7 day cruise that will be filled with numerous classes on various travel related topics. We look forward to sharing some thoughts and photos from their trips in our next newsletter.

DEPARTURES IS LOOKING TO HIREDepartures Travel is seeking an experienced Leisure Travel Consultant with exceptional customer service and sales experience to join our team. We are looking for somebody with a minimum of 2 years of leisure travel agency experience, for a full time position. We are seeking somebody with knowledge of travel technologies, including Amadeus and Client Base and be familiar with domestic and international geography. If you are interested or know somebody that is, please contact Departures Travel.

Our summer hours are Monday – Friday from 9:00 am till 5:30 pm. Saturday and other hours are by appointment only.

Don’t forget, Departures is on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/DeparturesazTravel?ref=hl

www.departuresaz.com 480-830-8822