Italy Travelers - Be Sure to Update Middle Name!

At our last meeting I demonstrated how to log in to your EF Account and update your middle name, if necessary. If you were not at the meeting, IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT that you do so sometime soon. Otherwise we may face problems with airline tickets.

Here is a message I received today from EF regarding this issue:

In the next few days your travelers will receive an email from EF informing them about some important changes made by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). As part of the TSA’s Secure Flight Program, all airline tickets must reflect the passengers’ names exactly as they appear on their passports, including middle names or initials if applicable. Previously only first and last names were required.All airline tickets will be issued with the name on the traveler’s EF Educational Tours account. We are asking your travelers to log in at eftours.com/login and verify that their names are correct as they appear in the My Profile section. They will be able to enter a middle name or initial if applicable.

Please confirm this information by November 1, 2009, to avoid any issues associated with processing your airline tickets.

If you have any questions regarding this issue, please stop in and see me and I can help you make the change (if needed). Otherwise, I can answer questions via email as well.

Italy Trip Meeting - Oct. 5

Hey, Italy Travelers!

Tomorrow we will meet during lunch (you choose: A or B) to accomplish a couple of things:

1. Collecting any money and orders from our Candle/Food Mixes fundraiser. We can also, if desired, discuss whether to extend the fundraiser for another week. With that long weekend coming up for you folks, maybe you can gather more orders?
2. We will then retreat to a computer lab where I want to help everyone sign-in to his/her online account with EF. I need to make sure all of you have your account numbers and can check this resource - especially since you can use it to add your middle name to your account, if you have not already done so.
3. Finally, I need to make sure all of you are receiving these blog posts. Since I don't see most of you in class, this is the best way for me to get info to you in a timely fashion.

If we have any time remaining, we will discuss candy bar sales options (hopefully we will start that fundraiser by late October, provided we have earned enough through this first sale).

Reminder to Italy Travelers: $300 Payment Due August 31

Note: This message only applies to those travelers on the "Alternative" Payment Plan; those on AutoPay may disregard the message as their monthly payments will continue as usual.

Travelers not on AutoPay are reminded that a $300 payment is due to EF by August 31st. This should be the second payment you have made to EF since registration (since you also paid $150 one month after enrollment). There are three ways that you can make this payment:

1.) Log on to your online account at www.eftours.com and pay via credit/debit card.

2.) Call EF's Customer Service number (1-800-665-5364) to make a payment via credit/debit card.

3.) To make a check payment via mail, use the return envelope and payment stub provided with your latest invoice. If you are not on AutoPay, you should receive a bill for this $300 payment sometime soon (by mid-August). If you do not receive an invoice, but believe you should have, contact EF via the phone number listed above.

Please do not send a check to the high school, as that will delay processing (since I will not be there on a regular basis until the end of the month and would only have to mail it anyway).

Also, please be advised that if you do not make this payment EF will add late fees to your account. And no one wants to pay late fees!!! Make sure your hard-earned money goes to your trip (and not to late fees) by making your payment on time. For mailed payments, EF must receive your payment by August 31, so don't wait until the last minute and hope it gets there on time!

As always, if you have any questions, feel free to email me at wellevk@chipfalls.k12.wi.us .

Important! Amendment to Hotel Information on Final Itinerary

Today I received word from my tour consultant that our Paris hotel information has changed. The address and phone information that was given on any itinerary you printed out (or picked up from me) is no longer correct. It is VERY important that you print out a new version of your itinerary (either by logging in to your EF Account at www.eftours.com/student or by following the appropriate link below) and give this new information to your emergency contact in case someone needs to contact you while on tour.

Also, I discovered today that one of our hotels is NOT listed on EF's Final Itinerary (including those linked below). I only stumbled upon this because our TD mentioned in an email to me that rooming for our hotel in the Ardennes will follow the same configuration as in Caen, and I thought to myself: Hmm... I don't remember seeing that hotel on my list. Further investigation and communication with my tour consultant revealed that a computer glich is preventing that hotel information from posting. They hope to have the issue corrected soon, but in the meantime here is the address for our hotel in the Ardennes, where we will be staying the evening of 6/22:

1ere Classe Ardennes
Route De La Francheville - Zac Du
Moulin Le Blanc
Charleville Mezieres

http://www.premiereclasse.com/en/default.aspx

Please add the above address to the hotel information you print off for your emergency contact. I hope to get a phone number listed here soon, as well.

Here are additional links to the updated itinerary with the new Paris hotel information:
Base Tour Final Itinerary (updated 6/11/09)
Extension Final Itinerary (updated 6/11/09)

Tip: If using the links above, you will be taken to a file-sharing site where you can follow the links to download the htm. documents with the info. When you get to the final screen select "save" to save the files to a folder on your computer (if you select "open" it may just give you a bunch of jibberish). Then access the files through the "my documents" menu.

Hotel Information Posted to EF Accounts

D-Day Travelers:

Your hotel information is now posted to your individual EF account pages. I will not be posting the information here for security reasons (this page is accessible to anyone on the web and I don't want just anyone knowing the addresses of where we're staying on specific dates).

Many of you picked up this information from me today at the Lunch & Learn meeting. For those who did not attend, you may access the info by logging in to your EF Account at www.eftours.com/student. Names, addresses, phone numbers and websites of hotels are all listed for your convenience. Please leave a copy of this information with your Emergency Contact in case someone needs to get in touch with you in case of an emergency at home.

Final Invoices - D-Day Trip

Those of you enrolled on the D-Day Trip likely have received (or will shortly) your final invoice from EF. This would reflect any balance that remains to be paid on your account. For example, several travelers have yet to pay for the optional excursions that were added in April.

If you are signed up for AutoPay, the statement you received is simply a notifcation of your last payment. You do not need to take any action, as the amount will be automatically charged to the credit or debit card you have registered with EF.

If you are not on AutoPay, you'll want to pay the remaining balance ASAP. As usual, you may use the remittance stub included with the invoice to send a check payment, or you may log in to your account and make the final payment via credit card.

We cannot receive our final packet (with airline tickets, hotel information, etc.) until all balances are paid, so please handle any remaining payments at your earliest convenience to expedite the process. As always, please feel free to email me with questions.

London Eye Excursion FYI: Online Account Info

Just so you are not alarmed or confused by the information in your online account, I was informed by EF that a temporary computer glich is preventing our travelers from signing up for the London Eye optional excursion online. It should be corrected shortly.

I have emailed our tour consultant the names of those students/travelers who indicated they wanted to sign up, and this will show up on your account as soon as the error is fixed. Also, if you enrolled in the London Eye excursion online recently (last week), it may not show up on your account yet.

The online enrollment for Versailles is working just fine, and if you signed up for that it should be posting to your account. If you have any problems, of course, be sure to let me know and I'll get it corrected ASAP.