Travel With Chardoul

Time is Fleeting for Rhineland discount

Here is the new process for holding mail from the U.S. Postal Service


USPS.com home. The profile of an eagle's head adjoining the words United States Postal Service are the two elements that are combined to form the corporate signature.
Changes to USPS Hold Mail Service

Dear USPS® Customer,

You are receiving this notice because our records indicate that you have previously placed your mail on hold with USPS.

To provide you with greater security, USPS has made several changes to the online USPS Hold Mail™ process. These improvements require additional action from you before you submit your next online Hold Mail request.

What has changed?

To place an online Hold Mail request, you are now required to:

Create or sign in to your USPS.com® account
Verify your identity online through mobile phone passcode verification
-OR-
Request an identity verification passcode to be mailed to your address
Once you have completed the above steps for your current address, you will not have to complete them again and can place your mail on hold by logging into your account.

How should I plan for my next Hold Mail request?

A request to hold your mail can be made up to 30 days in advance. If you are completing the above steps for the first time, USPS recommends scheduling your online Hold Mail request at least a week prior to placing your mail on hold to avoid any issues due to these changes.

You will be able to verify your identity within the online USPS Hold Mail site. If you are unable to complete identity verification, you can still put your mail on hold by visiting your local Post Office™ location. For other options and more details, please visit our USPS Hold Mail FAQs.

To begin an online Hold Mail request, please visit USPS Hold Mail.

Can I verify my identity in advance of a Hold Mail request?

Yes. Customers subscribed to the USPS Informed Delivery® feature have satisfied the identity verification requirement, and no additional identity verification action is required. If you are not subscribed to Informed Delivery, you can sign up for the free USPS Informed Delivery feature*** - the only other USPS feature that currently offers identity verification.

Once your identity has been verified you will not have to complete this step again for your current address and you will be able to place your mail on hold. As an Informed Delivery subscriber, you will also be able to digitally monitor your mail while it is on hold. To learn more and sign up, go to the Informed Delivery Homepage. See more details in the Informed Delivery FAQs.

***Please Note: Subscribing to the Informed Delivery feature is not a requirement to hold your mail. Customers who are already enrolled in the Informed Delivery feature have satisfied the identity verification requirement, and no additional identity verification action is required for these customers. Customers whose address is not eligible for the Informed Delivery feature can still place their mail on hold online, provided the address is eligible for the Hold Mail service and they successfully pass identity verification.

What if I already scheduled a USPS Hold Mail request?

If you placed a USPS Hold Mail request before these changes were implemented your request will not be affected.

If you have other questions related to these changes, please reference our USPS Hold Mail FAQs or Contact Us for more information.

Thank you for being a valued USPS customer.

Sincerely,
Your United States Postal Service

I have completed the journal for our Greece 2019 trip and have published it on www.travelwithchardoul.com. If you have a mobile device, you might have to go to "Menu", then scroll down to "Following the Path of St Paul" or you might see "Following the Path of St Paul" directly. I think that everything works as well as all links.

Travel With Chardoul Get your guided tour of the world.

Stand by for a complete Greece trip travel journal (within two weeks) at www.travelwithchardoul.com

Missing a departure.
When I was on active duty in the Navy, if anyone was late and arrived at where he thought the ship was --- and it was gone --- it was called "missing movement" and it was punishable. For civilians, it can be tragic. Take a look at this 6-minute video: https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-news/couple-misses-cruise-what-to-do

This Couple Missed Their Cruise by Seconds — Here’s What to Do If It Happens to You If you miss your cruise there are a few steps you should take immediately.

On 3 September, those who sign up for my group trip to Greece, will be leaving the United States for an opportunity to walk in the footsteps of St. Paul.
Below is the map of our itinerary:

We will spend 2 nights in Athens viewing some of the fantastic archeological sites as well as getting a feel for Greek culture. We then board a ship in Piraeus for a three-night Aegean Sea adventure, visiting Mykonos, Ephesus, Patmos, Herakleion on Crete to see Knossos, and finally Santorini. We then travel to northern Greece for two nights in Thessaloniki where we visit Kavala and Philippi. Then one night at Meteora and one night in fabled Delphi. We then return to Athens via Corinth for a final night.

I have designed a four-night optional extension to the Ionian island of Corfu. This most interesting island because of the many cultures that conquered it is something that cannot be missed.

For further information or questions and an e-brochure on the trip, contact Paul Chardoul at [email protected] and go to www.travelwitchardoul.com. I hope you can join us!

I am organizing a group trip to Greece, following the footsteps of St. Paul. This will precede a four-night optional extension to the Ionian island of Corfu. Keep watching for details.

Seattle, August 2018

New TSA requirements are being implemented.

Based on information that I have received, it appears that there will be some changes in the TSA checks prior to departures on inbound flights to the United States.

As a result, you will be strongly encouraged to arrive at the airport earlier than you are used to to comply with the new directives. These might include short interviews at the gate, filling out additional forms and restricting certain kind of baggage and check-in services.

These are part of a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) initiative begun in June 2017 that led to the end of the ban on cary-on laptops and tablet devices on U.S.- bound flights from 10 airports.

This will affect 2100 flights per day from around the world and will apply to all passengers flying into the U.S. from an international airport.

The U.S. Travel Association is attempting to make this as relevant as possible and should be under constant review.

As traveler safety cannot be totally anticipated, this action, in the words of an airline spokesman, “throws a butterfly net over everything. There has to be a balance between generalized inconvenience and use of techniques that may divulge sources and methods of intelligence.”

From July 2017, both Delta and United were telling passengers to arrive at airports at least three hours prior to flights and extra time to through security.

Just a bit more than two weeks before our group trip to Sicily and the Amalfi Coast!

Great news! My website: travelwithchardoul.com is up and running! Check it out.

Dolphin watching at San Carlos. Thanks Bob!

On the rim of one of the seven canyons that constitute Copper Canyon in Mexico. Spectacular!

I sent out some amplifying information to my clients on my upcoming group trip to southern France. If you would like to see what I shared with them, let me know; and I will send you the same information.

Although the trip to southern France (including a one-week cruise down the Rhône River) is all arranged, I am developing a group trip to Sicily beginning in mid-September 2017. Besides the 10 days in Sicily, we will hit the Italian mainland for an additional five days, concentrating on the Sorrento Coast area. Email me if you are interested and I can send more information.

Auckland, the "City of Sails"

The wonderful trip to New Zealand is now over. Everyone who traveled with Connie and me should have their local time zone clock re-wired into his and her brain. Now we have lots of pictures and memories to share with our loved ones.
I will be writing the journal for that trip very soon. But I am also working on the next group trip: a cruise and land trip to southern France that begins in Chalons-sur-Saône on October 1, 2016. The itinerary is all set and I have decided to leave the United States a day early so that we won't "miss the boat" and also to give us a full day in the charming little city of Chalons.
Then the next group trip to Sicily is still in the planning stage. All I can say so far (1 April -- and this is not a joke!) is that it will be early fall 2017. More on this later...

On 30 July 2015, I sent off a "save the date" for the next group trip, this one to southern France. I have elected to do a cruise on the Saône and Rhone rivers, working with Avalon Waterways. We will be boarding Poetry II, a ship built in 2014 in Chalons-sur-Saône on 1 October 2016 and ride it south on those two rivers for a week, debarking on 8 October. I am developing an optional land stay for a few days after that to explore some places that I think that you will enjoy. Please contact me at [email protected] if you are interested in joining my happy crew.

Check your Message box for how to access detailed information on the New Zealand trip.

Here is the detailed itinerary for the New Zealand trip:
26 Feb 16: Arrive in Auckland on North Island. Hotel: Hilton
27 Feb 16: City tour of Auckland then cruise Waitomata Harbor. Hotel: Hilton
28 Feb 16: Leave Auckland for Waitomo Glowworm Caves, then visit Hobbiton movie set before settle in to Rotorua. Hotel: Novotel Rotorua Lakeside.
29 Feb 16: City tour of Rotorua, then geothermal wonderland. Hotel: Novotel Rotorua Lakeside.
1 Mar 16: Fly to Wellington, NZ's capital. Hotel: Mercure Wellington.
2 Mar 16: City tour of Wellington including Botanical Gardens, beaches, Parliament. Free time, go to Te Papa which is national museum. Hotel: Mercure Wellington.
3 Mar 16: Fly to Christchurch on South Island. Hotel: Rydges Latimer Christchurch.
4 Mar 16: Excursion to Akaroa with its colonial architecture. Nature Cruise on Akaroa Harbor. Hotel: Rydges Latimer Christchurch.
5 Mar 16: Motor via Canterbury Plains to Lake Tekapo to see Southern Alps. Then to Mount Cook National Park. Hotel: Hermitage.
6 Mar 16: Wander in park in morning, then drive past Lake Pukaki and Mackenzie Basin to Queenstown (the "Adventure Capital of the World.") Hotel: Novotel Queenstown Lakeside.
7 Mar 16: Go to Fiordland National Park and cruise on the beautiful and pristine Doubtful Sound. Hotel: Novotel Queenstown Lakeside.
8 Mar 16: Day of leisure in Queenstown and maybe visit a winery or see where "Lord of the Rings" trilogy was filmed. Hotel: Novotel Queenstown Lakeside.
9 Mar 16: Return to United States.

Here is the itinerary for the February-March 2016 group trip to New Zealand. As you can see, we will be visiting both North and South Islands. It is a very comprehensive trip, compressed into less than two weeks Down Under.

I now have the information for the 2016 group trip to New Zealand! I am working with Dolphin Vacations (as I have for the past few trips) and we have determined that our start date in Auckland will be 25 February 2016. That means that we will be leaving the U.S. on 23 February (we cross the International Date Line and also transit time). We will be in Auckland for two nights, Rotorua for one night, Wellington for two nights, Christchurch for two nights, Mount Cook for one night, and Queenstown for three nights. Contact me at [email protected] for trip costs, specific itinerary details, and air arrangements that we can assist you with.