From Chicago it's $570, from Los Angeles or San Francisco $729. All these prices are good through March 31, 2002.
From April 1 through the end of May, the costs go up to $599 from the East Coast, $669 from Chicago, and $699 from Los Angeles or San Francisco. If you want to upgrade to an automatic shift car, it's just $36 per person. You can upgrade to a private bath in any of an additional 1,700 "Town & Country" B&Bs for only $42 per person. All prices are based on two persons in a room. Some blackout dates apply, and there are surcharges on weekend and Dublin stays. For the April trips, you need a 60 day advance purchase, and 90 days in advance for trips from May through October. Departure taxes and service are extra, approximately $62. Add-on gateways run, for example, from $110 out of Albany, $200 out of Denver or $240 out of Houston, but many more are available.
Another Sceptre program is aimed at making you feel like a lord or lady, they say. Their "Treasures Tour," in which you stay in a quaint guesthouse, a manor home, a first-class and a superior hotel, and end up in a luxury five-star castle, start at just $1,199 out of New York (and Baltimore, Boston and Washington), $1,279 from Chicago and $1,399 from Los Angeles. You get seven nights' lodging, luxury escorted bus with driver/guide, sightseeing, five dinners (including a gala Farewell Dinner), sales tax, VAT and Sceptre's office services in Ireland. 60- or 90-day advance booking required, depending on departure date. Prices mentioned abvoe are for month of March. Weekly departures from March through mid-November. Prices rise to as high as $1,699 for summer departures ($1,789 ex Chicago, $1,899 out of West Coast).
For more information, go to www.sceptreireland.com or phone 800/221-0924.
