Cruise Ships Clean Up Their Act - And Their Spas

Hot tubs and whirlpool baths aboard cruise ships will have to meet tighter sanitation standards under a recommendation by the federal Centers for Disease Control.

The rules were prompted by outbreaks of Legionnaire’s disease abroad the Celebrity Cruises ship Horizon between April 30 and July 9. One person died, and 50 fell ill. CDC scientists found the cause of the outbreak, the Legionella bacterium, in a contaminated filter through which water was recirculated for the ship’s three spas.

Down south: Bolivia has opened a tourism office in New York, its first U.S. office, in a push to promote travel to the Andean country. In 1993, tourist arrivals in Bolivia totaled 241,000, according to the government, and officials are hoping that figure will grow to 400,000 in five years.

Write to: 97-45 Queens Blvd., Rego Park, NY 11374; phone (800) 265-4842.

Bay city: The fall-winter edition of The San Francisco Book is still available from the San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The 100-page publication includes details on transportation, sightseeing, entertainment, shopping, family activities, restaurants and service businesses.

Also available is a Lodging Guide. To request copies by mail, send $2 to Visitor Information Center, P.O. Box 429097, San Francisco, CA 94142, or call (415) 391-2000.

Ski packages: The Spring Creek Resort at Jackson Hole, Wyo., is offering three special packages for skiers that offer both downhill and cross-country options in an area just an hour from Yellowstone National Park.

A five-day, multi-mountain package includes seven nights’ accommodations, daily breakfasts and five days of skiing at your choice of three mountains for $700 per person, double occupancy.

Rates are good after March 19. Contact: Spring Creek Resort, P.O. Box 3154, Jackson Hole, WY 83001; (800) 443-6139.