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Castle Program · Student Handbook

Castle Travel

Also called My Travel Story (MTS) — where you register your weekend plans so the Castle knows where you'll be, every week you're in residence.

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Every weekend needs a plan by Wednesday, 10:00 AM Castle time (Amsterdam, Netherlands — that's 4:00 AM Boston/EDT or 3:00 AM Boston/EST). You'll get a reminder Tuesday morning, and an urgent one 30 minutes before the cutoff. After 10:00 AM, meal sign-ups lock — changing your plan still works, but you'll need to give a reason, and the office is notified.

1 Sign in

Go to the Castle Travel site and select Sign in with Emerson. You'll be sent through Emerson's normal Duo login — there's no separate password for this app.

Show screenshot Castle Travel sign-in screen with a single Sign in with Emerson button

2 Register your weekend

Every student registers one plan per weekend: staying in or heading out.

  1. Choose Sleep At Castle or Overnight Trip

    Staying in is only for the current week — you can't pre-register a future SAC weekend.

    Show screenshot New Travel form with Sleep At Castle selected, showing start and end date fields

  2. Set your times

    SAC needs start/end dates. An overnight trip needs your estimated time of leaving and returning — this also decides which meals you'll be asked about next.

  3. Sign up for meals

    Breakfast, lunch, and dinner from Friday through Sunday brunch — only the meals you'd actually be around for are shown. Add food notes if you need to.

    Show screenshot New Travel form with Overnight Trip selected, showing leave/return times and the meal sign-up grid

  4. Add your destination(s)

    Traveling overnight also asks for: country, city, where you're staying (name, address, phone), who you're traveling with, and a checkbox confirming you looked at the State Department's travel advisory for that country. Add more than one stop if your trip has them.

    Show screenshot Destination form filled in with a Paris trip, hostel details, travel mates, and the advisory checkbox

  5. Submit

    Your plan is saved right away — no separate approval step. You can still edit it later.

3 When you're back

If you registered an overnight trip, check in from your Travel Detail page once you're back at the Castle — log your actual return time and any notes. This closes out the trip.

Changing a plan

Edit anytime from your Travel Detail page. After the Wednesday 10 AM cutoff, you'll be asked for a reason — meal sign-ups themselves stay locked, so email the office directly if a meal needs to change.

Your emergency contact

Kept on your profile, separate from your travel plans. Check it's current whenever you edit a plan — it's what the office calls if they can't reach you.

Show screenshot Edit Student screen showing the Emergency Contact Phone field

4 Your weekly status

Your Home screen shows a small colored badge next to your name that updates automatically throughout the week.

BadgeMeaning
OC — On CampusYou have a plan for this weekend and you're marked as on-campus (SAC plan, or you've already checked back in from an overnight trip).
OT — On TravelingYou have an overnight or daytrip plan and your estimated return time hasn't passed yet.
NB — Not BackYour estimated return time has passed but you haven't checked back in yet. Do this from your Travel Detail page as soon as you're back at the Castle.
NR — Not RegisteredNo plan on record for this weekend. Register your plan before the Wednesday deadline.

? Where things live

ScreenWhat it's for
HomeYour dashboard — this week's plan, upcoming plans, your weekly status badge, and any overdue check-ins.
Show screenshot Home dashboard showing a warning that this Saturday's travel plan is missing
Travel PlanCreate or edit a weekend's SAC / Overnight choice, times, and meals.
DestinationAdd, edit, or remove a stop on an overnight trip.
Check-InLog your actual return after an overnight trip.
Edit ProfileUpdate your emergency contact phone number.