UWAA Alumni Tours - General Information

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From the Director’s Desk

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” ~ Mark Twain

Simply put, travel is education in its purest form.

If you thirst for continued learning, hunger for new discoveries, and love the thrill of travel, you’ll find all this and more with UW Alumni Tours.

Where will your next trip take you?

As a way to see the world and continue your lifetime of learning, our journeys take you to unusual, fascinating destinations where you have the opportunity to engage with diverse peoples and cultures around the world.

Professional tour directors—who in addition to being experts also entertain and enlighten you along the way—give you access to special cultural activities you can’t get anywhere else. Imagine visiting a local village in Vietnam or meeting a Japanese master calligrapher. Now envision experiencing this with fellow alumni and friends who share your passion for purple and gold.

Each year, our travel lineup includes a wide variety of destinations. Here are some highlights for 2009.

Our first alumni tour to fascinating Southern India.

Alumni Campus Abroad tours to Bohemia, Norway, Japan, Lucca, and Israel.

Three luxury cruises with Oceania Cruise Lines—transit the Panama Canal, visit the exciting coastline cities of Italy or visit parts of Scandinavia and St. Petersburg.

And many old favorites—Greece, Italy, France, Turkey, and Vietnam.

At UW Alumni Tours, the possibilities for exploration and adventure are endless. So, as you consider your travel for next year, think about taking a journey with us. You’ll be surprised by what you discover.

I look forward to seeing you soon.

Pauline Ranieri
Director, UW Alumni Tours

Our Goal
Our goal is to educate alumni and friends about other peoples and cultures through worldwide travel opportunities, along with providing one of the most enriching avenues for alumni and friends to stay connected to the UW and to each other.

The UW Alumni Group Travel Experience
If you have a sense of adventure, a desire to have fun while you learn and would like to make new friends – you’ll enjoy traveling with us! Traveling in a group lets you sit back and relax while someone else takes care of finding the best places to stay, dine and visit in a new destination. We’ve done all the homework so you won’t have to! Group travel does require that you enjoy traveling with others and that you are also tolerant of the occasional changes, delays or minor mishaps that are part of any kind of travel. While our tour operators will do their best to see to individual needs, their principal concern must be the welfare of the group as a whole.

Our Tour Operators
Our tours are run by professional tour operators that have expertise in specific destinations. When we agree to work with a tour operator, it means that it has met our criteria for financial responsibility, established reputation, professional staff, quality operations, and all-around dependability.

The UWAA Connection
Our travel team is available to provide excellent customer service and to assist you in working with tour operators. Many of our tours are accompanied by either UW hosts or UW faculty lecturers who are there to help you get the most out of your travel experience. When possible, our hosts or lecturers also bring assisted listening devices for the group to use.

Air Arrangements
Group air arrangements are available through the specific tour operator. By choosing the tour operator’s group air, you take advantage of discounted airfares but won’t have the flexibility of choosing the air carrier or the specific air routing. Of course, you may also make your own air arrangements to suit your own travel preferences.

Tour Costs
Itineraries, program details, and costs are given in good faith, based on information available on May 1, 2008, and are subject to revision. Costs are based on the lowest per-person rates, excluding airfare. They are based on double occupancy, current exchange rates and tariffs, and a minimum number of participants. Please note: dates and prices are subject to change.

Single Rooms
A limited number of single spaces (at an additional cost) are available on a first-come, first-served basis and vary from one program to another. You are welcome to let us know if you are a single traveler but would be interested in sharing a room on a tour. If possible, we’ll put you in touch with other single travelers. Note: On Oceania cruises using the MS Regatta, (Panama Canal, Italy and Scandinavia), a traveler desiring a single room pays the double occupancy rate.

Cancellations and Refunds
Tour participants are subject to the cancellation policies governing the particular trip in which they are enrolled. Cancellations policies are outlined on a tour’s brochure. Trip cancellation insurance is available at an additional cost and is highly recommended.

Release of Liability & Waiver Forms
All travelers are required to sign a UWAA release of liability and waiver form. Signing this form indicates that you’ve read all of the tour materials and fully understand the physical requirements of the tour.

Eligibility and Membership
Every UW alumni tour is open to all UW alumni, their families, and friends of the University. Because the travel program is a benefit of membership in the alumni association, it is required that one person per reservation be a member of the alumni association. Current annual membership dues are $50 for individuals under 65 years of age, and $35 for individuals over 65 years of age.

Physical Requirements
All travelers must be in good mental and physical health and be able to keep up with the pace of the group. Participants who require special assistance must be accompanied by someone who can and will provide it. To assist you in choosing the tour that’s right for you, our tours are rated by the following three categories:

Mildly Active: Easy pace, little walking and stair climbing.
Moderately Active: Faster pace. Must be able to stand for extended periods of time and able to walk three to five miles a day over uneven surfaces and be able to climb many stairs.
Active: In addition to being moderately active, the tour is suitable for participants who are extremely mobile and used to a very active lifestyle. Tour may include up to six hours of strenuous, moderate to fast-paced activity per day.

How to Enroll in a 2009 UW Alumni Tour
To enroll in a 2009 tour, you can call our office and provide the necessary information over the phone. Or, you can download an enrollment form and either mail or fax in the completed form with a deposit. Deposits are provisional pending your acceptance of the final brochure terms. A final brochure will be forwarded to you as soon as it’s available.

Enroll by phone - call 206-685-9276 or 1-800-289-2586
Dowload the enrollment form (.pdf file) and mail or fax to UWAA Tours

To Request Brochures
Not all brochures are automatically mailed to everyone. To ensure that you receive a specific brochure, please send us a request by either e-mail or from our Web site. Brochures are generally available seven to nine months in advance of a tour’s departure.

E-mail us your request to uwaatour@u.washington.edu.
You may also request brochures or download brochure PDF’s (not available for all tours) from our Web site.

Web Site and E-Mail Updates
Please visit our Web site for the most up-to-date information on all of our tours. We also publish a quarterly travel e-newsletter announcing new tours and special announcements. You may sign up for the e-newsletter by calling us, sending us an e-mail or by signing up on line at UWalum.com/tours.

How to Contact Us
UW Alumni Tours
University of Washington Alumni Association
1415 N.E. 45th Street
Seattle, WA 98105
Phone: 206-685-9276 or 1-800-289-2586
Fax: 206-616-3863
E-mail address: uwaatour@u.washington.edu
Web site: UWalum.com/tours