Jetsettersblog

Rosewood Little Dix Bay in Virgin Gorda, B.V.I. is offering travelers seven-night “Wreck Week 2011” package to coincide Wreck Week, a week-long diving celebration from May 28 to June 4, organized by local dive operator Dive BVI.

The seven-night package includes five days of diving including 14 dives visiting 13 wrecks.

The packages feature accommodations in a garden view guestroom; daily breakfast for two; six lunches, including two onboard the dive boat and four on the island; three dinner parties; roundtrip transportation to dives and dinner; complimentary gear cleaning and secure storage; a gift bag and Wreck Week T-shirt; discounts on retail items in Dive BVI stores and equipment add-ons.

Package rates start at $5,439 double occupancy.

For more information, call 284-495-5555 or visit www.littledixbay.com

Royal Caribbean International has entered an agreement with entrepreneur Philip Levine and his newly formed company, Royal Media Partners LLC (RMP), to transform its onboard port shopping services.

Beginning Oct. 1, Levine will provide port shopping services, publishing, in-stateroom television programming and onboard media initiatives on the cruise line’s ships sailing in the Caribbean, Bahamas, Bermuda, New England, Mexico and Alaska.

“Royal Media Partners will take the port shopping revenue model to the next level by providing Royal Caribbean with its own exclusive port shopping program focusing on creative strategic partnerships, web-based marketing, mobile applications and other innovations,” said Lisa Bauer, senior vice president-hotel operations.

“Philip has over 20 years experience in the onboard revenue business, having founded and grown a $400 million company, and we strongly feel he, and his team, have the experience and vision necessary to reinvent our port shopping program.”

The new port shopping program will feature destination TV programming to staterooms.

Guests can access pre-cruise web-based port shopping and concierge information, as well as live shopping talks on demand once onboard.

By creating mobile applications for Royal Caribbean, guests may retrieve real-time port shopping information and up-to-date values and specials from their smart phones or other mobile devices.

In addition, a customized Royal Caribbean International Magazine will feature lifestyle content and photography.

Seeing a rise in solo travelers on its trips, Lion World Tours is offering special deals for passengers staying in single rooms. After taking a look at the number of single passenger bookings that were being made, Lion World Tours wanted to better serve those clients.

Lucille Sive, president of Lion World Tours, said, “Passengers traveling on their own should not be penalized. Single passengers make up a fair amount of the leisure travel to Africa, and they tend to be the forgotten demographic. We want to change that by offering some of our well-known spectacular deals to the single traveler market.”

Lion World Tours launched an area on its website that is dedicated to the traveler looking for a single room.

“These packages will have either no single supplement fee at all, or a significantly reduced single supplement fee. These deals are not just for the person traveling by themselves, they are also for the third or fifth traveler in a group who does not have someone to share a room with. To launch this new program, Lion World Tours is initially offering three itineraries that have no single supplement fee at all during specified departure periods.

The three initial itineraries included in this program are:

Kenya On Sale is priced $2,299, with no single supplement on departures during April, May 1 to 15 and Nov. 1 to 21.

This package includes one night of accommodation at Serena Mountain Lodge, two nights of accommodation at Sarova Shaba Lodge, one night of accommodation at Sarova Lion Hill Lodge, and two nights of accommodation at Sarova Mara Lodge.

Also included are six breakfasts, six lunches and six dinners.

South Africa on Sale is priced $2,499, with no single supplement on departures during April 1 to Sept. 30.

This package includes four nights of accommodation at The Commodore Hotel in Cape Town and two nights of accommodation at either Bakubung Bush Lodge or Kwa Maritane Bush Lodge.

Also included are six breakfasts and three dinners, a full-day Cape Peninsula Tour, a half-day Winelands Tour and a tour of Table Mountain by cable car.

South Africa in Style is priced $2,699, with no single supplement on departures during May 1 to 16 and Aug. 11 to Sept. 30.

This package includes four nights of accommodation at The Commodore Hotel in Cape Town and two nights of accommodation at Royal Legend. Also included are six breakfasts, two lunches and three dinners, and half-day Winelands tour.

All three of the above itineraries also include roundtrip, economy-class international airfare from the U.S.; regional flights within Africa; fuel surcharges; game drives as specified in itinerary; park entry fees; Lion World Tours representative meet and greet upon arrival; and transfers in luxury air-conditioned vehicles.

Lion World Tours specializes in group and individual tours to Southern and East Africa, and is a member of The Travel Corporation, which also includes Trafalgar Tours, Contiki, Brendan Vacations, Insight Vacations, Red Carnation Hotel and Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection.

In its fifth decade, clients continue to benefit from Lion World Tours’ destination knowledge, expertise, and emphasis on customer service.

With their safari specialists all having first-hand knowledge of Africa, Lion World Tours can confidently assist clients in creating an African adventure that fits their specific interests as well as their budget.

For information, call 800-387-2706 from the U.S. or 800-668-9968 from Canada, or visit www.lionworldtours.com

Nevis’ Nisbet Plantation Beach Club is offering travelers “March Madness” packages featuring one free night on a seven-night stay in a plantation cottage-style accommodation, daily breakfast served poolside at Coconuts restaurant, daily afternoon tea on the Great House patio, nightly three-course gourmet dinner at the Great House, and airport transfers from St. Kitts or Nevis.

The packages are available from March 1 to 31, 2011.

Rates begin at $3,936 for a superior room for two.

For more information, call 800-742-6008 or visit www.NisbetPlantation.com

Clearwater Lodge at the Pit River, a historic, full-service fly fishing property in northeastern California, has announced its 2010 fly fishing school packages.

The Mastering the Art of Fly Fishing program is an in-depth, five-day introduction to the sport.

Classes start on Wednesdays, and are priced at $1,395 per person, including all meals, accommodations, instruction and use of key tackle.

There’s also a Mastering the Art of Fly Fishing for Women course for the same price, taught on the same days of the week. New this season is an Intermediate Fly Fishing school for anglers who have completed the Mastering course.

The Intermediate school includes review of the basics and adds new techniques to the angler’s skill set in a five-day program for $1,395 per person.

For more experienced anglers, the lodge offers three schools that focus on more in-depth trout techniques and tactics.

The Advanced Nymphing and Advanced Dry Fly schools run Sunday through Wednesday, and each cost $995 per person for two or more anglers.

The expert-level school, Master Angler, hones casting and presentation skills under a variety of conditions.

The five-day class starts on Wednesdays and costs $1,495 per person. For a full schedule, visit www.clearwaterlodge.com/schedule.aspx

For more information, call 888-600-5451 or visit www.clearwaterlodge.com

African Travel introduced two air-inclusive packages to Kenya or Botswana for travel Feb. 1 to May 15.

Both packages must be booked by Feb. 28 and are designed with no large numbers, no crowds, just intimate camps and lodges.

Kenya, A Grand Adventure (11 days): Enjoy all the dramatic beauty that Kenya has to offer.

Fly to your first game-viewing experience in the shadow of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Amboseli National Park.

Against the backdrop of the snow-covered massif of Mt. Kenya and with the magnificent Northern Frontier District stretching out to the North, you’ll discover everything Lewa has to offer — spectacular scenery, superb day and night game viewing, bush walks and other exciting activities for the discerning traveler. Enjoy three days and nights in Masai Mara Game Reserve, the heart of Big Five territory, with daily wildlife excursions.

On the banks of the Mara River, you will experience the richest game viewing section of Kenya’s legendary Masai Mara Ecosystem.

It includes Nairobi, Amboseli National Park, Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, and the Masa Mara Game Reserve.

The program is priced from $7,995 with business class air, based on double occupancy.

The Great Botswana Getaway (11 days): Discover one of Africa’s last true wilderness areas and experience Africa as did its early explorers — from the ground — with walking opportunities in the Kalahari and the Okavango Delta. Game viewing is in specially outfitted 4×4 vehicles with experienced game rangers. Safari thrills are maximized with small bush plane transfers between camps, with a chance to view wildlife from above. Guests will also view the largest curtain of water in the world, Victoria Falls, one of the world’s natural wonds.

This includes Johannesburg, Central Kalahari, Okavango Delta and Livingstone. The program is priced from $7,495 with business class air, based on double occupancy.

Economy class pricing is also available for both packages. The offer ends Feb. 28. African Travel has 34 years experience as a luxury travel operator, specializing in custom wildlife tours and adventures to South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia including Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Tanzania including Zanzibar, Rwanda and Uganda including gorilla trekking, Mozambique, Seychelles, Mauritius, Egypt and Dubai.

African Travel is part of The Travel Corporation, which also includes Trafalgar, Contiki, Brendan Vacations, Insight Vacations, Red Carnation Hotel Collection, and Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection.

For more information, call 800-421-8907 or visit www.africantravelinc.com

Tourism Australia and Canada’s Bay of Fundy Tourism have joined forces in the race to ensure the natural wonders of both nations make the final cut in the New7Wonders of Nature campaign.

Australia has two finalists in the final round of voting of the global campaign, with The Great Barrier Reef and Uluru, whilst Canada has the Bay of Fundy as its sole competing finalist.

Speaking about the partnership, Tourism Australia Managing Director, Andrew McEvoy said, “We are delighted to team up with our Canadian friends and partner with the Bay of Fundy in the New7Wonders of Nature campaign.

“If Australians and Canadians work together, we will be a world-beating team and generate enough votes to see all three of our nominated sites on the final New7Wonders of Nature list.

“This is also a great opportunity for us to use our collective strength to encourage tourists from around the world to experience these incredible sites for themselves,” Mr McEvoy said.

Terri McCulloch, Executive Director, Bay of Fundy Tourism said, “Australia and Canada have come together to support each other as we move forward in these final months of this historic campaign.

The on-line voting system for the New7Wonders of Nature campaign requires the public to vote for seven different finalists.

By partnering, we are encouraging Canadians and Australians to include each other in their choice of seven.”

There are many similarities observed between the Australian and Canadian finalists. The Great Barrier Reef is world’s longest coral reef and Bay of Fundy is home to the world’s highest tides. Both world-renowned ecosystems play important ecological roles by providing unique and productive habitats that sustain high biodiversity.

Both the Great Barrier Reef and Bay of Fundy are home to an astounding variety of marine life and provide a critical habitat for many of the world’s whales, including endangered Southern Right whales in Australia and the Northern Right whales in Bay of Fundy.

Through their websites and social media activities, Tourism Australia and Bay of Fundy Tourism will continue to encourage public votes for each other until the campaign’s conclusion on 11 November 2011.

The New7Wonders of Nature campaign was initiated by the Swiss-based New7Wonders Foundation.

After various campaign phases, an original roster of 440 entries from 220 countries was narrowed by popular vote to 28 global finalists. The New7Wonders of Nature will be announced on 11 November 2011.

To cast your vote for Uluru, The Great Barrier Reef and Bay of Fundy visit www.n7w.com

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – TMZ, the leading entertainment news brand, and Starline Tours, Los Angeles’ oldest and largest sightseeing tour company, with more than 75 years in the tour business, have joined together to launch “The TMZ Hollywood Tour – Secrets and Celebrity Hot Spots,” a new experience that’s more than a tour – it’s a show on wheels and the first of its kind.

TMZ, the first multi-platform, three-screen success for any media company, is now extending the brand to a fourth platform to allow audiences an additional way to interact with the franchise. Launched in 2005, TMZ’s meteoric rise is based on its consistent ability to be first in breaking celebrity news. TMZ stands out as the most cited entertainment news source in the world. Now, TMZ has created a unique, immersive experience giving viewers, fans and tourists inside access to the celebrity world.

Beginning May 1, 2011 TMZ and Starline Tours will offer a tour of celebrity hot spots in and around Hollywood, on a special custom-designed bus, that captures the fun, the edge and the secrets of TMZ. “The TMZ Hollywood Tour – Secrets and Celebrity Hot Spots,” will feature the places that Hollywood stars can’t live without and that put TMZ on the map — where TMZ first discovered an unknown club-goer named Kim Kardashian, to where Michael Richards went on his infamous rant, to the department store that made Winona Ryder the most famous shopper in 90210. This one-of-a-kind journey will offer passengers shocking and never before seen video from the TMZ library that will bring the Thirty Mile Zone to life!

Members of the “TMZ TV” staff who are featured on the daily top-rated show will appear in video vignettes, offering up an inside look at Hollywood’s most well-kept secrets and biggest stories.

The tour guides, armed with cameras, could at any time turn the experience into the ultimate “TMZ” moment when they encounter celebrities and use state of the art technology to send the footage directly back to the TMZ newsroom for constant updates to the website and TV show. Tour guests may even see the material on TMZ.com before they finish the tour!

Tickets will be available, March 28, 2011 at www.starlinetours.com  and www.tmz.com .

About TMZ

TMZ is the first multi-platform, three screen success for any media company and stands out as the most cited entertainment news source in the world.

Launched in 2005, TMZ’s meteoric rise is based on TMZ’s consistent ability to be first to break celebrity news.

TMZ attributes its growth to multi-platform coverage and original reporting on key entertainment events.

TMZ remains the number two Entertainment News web site for 36 consecutive months (comScore).

The TMZ television program continues to build on and supplement the worldwide success of TMZ.com and is the #1 syndicated magazine among adults ages 18-34 (Nielsen). TMZ on TV is cleared in more than 75% of the country including Fox O& Os through 2014 and also airs in several international markets. TMZ.com’s Mobile Web Site has been ranked number one for over eighteen consecutive months (Nielsen) with exclusive on-the-go access via iPhone and Android applications and on all mobile-enabled handsets.

About Starline Tours

Starline Tours is the oldest and largest sightseeing tour company in Los Angeles, having pioneered the famous Movie Stars’ Homes Tour in 1935 – making this Starline Tours’ 76th operating year. The company offers a full range of sightseeing tours of Los Angeles including a multi-lingual City Tour, a city-wide Hop-on Hop-off Double-Decker tour and tours to Theme Parks, Movie Studios, San Diego and Tijuana and pick-up from more than 250 hotels in the Los Angeles area.

Starline Tours has locations throughout Hollywood, with its main terminal at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre at 6925 Hollywood Blvd. The company also has a sales office on Santa Monica Pier, starting point of the Malibu Stars’ Homes Tour. The company is privately owned and operated in conjunction with TourCoach – the company’s Bus Charter division.

For reservations please call (800) 959 3131 or visit www.starlinetours.com

St. Maarten, — Adding to the “Serious Fun” part of the annual St. Maarten Heineken Regatta is the usual star-studded line up of international and local bands.

As this years’ event coincides with Carnival on the French Side of the dual- nation island this year, the entire St. Maarten Heineken Regatta Saturday night party in Marigot will be in the spirit of Carnival.

Headlining this “Carnival Frenzy” Heineken Regatta party is the ever popular Sir Oungku and Red Hot, Antigua’s #1 Soca- band and Roadmarch winner of 2009.

With more than 25 Studio albums under his belt and 17 roadmarch title’s, Soca music icon Clarence Oungku Edwards is one of the most awarded figures in Caribbean music history. In 2010, he set another milestone in his career by marking his 25th anniversary as a band leader, first with the Legendary BURNING FLAMES (1985-2005), and currently with the incredible RED HOT.

After a very successful career as a writer and leader with the Burning Flames, Clarence Oungku Edwards decided to do his own thing. With his rhythm in his left hand and his music in his right, lyrics in his head and endless fire from the fans, the band Red Hot Flames was born. They are now known as simply “Red Hot.”

He rehired everyone from The Burning Flames Band {except the bass man} in order to retain the authentic “Burning Flame” sound. Edwards was granted the prestigious award by his native country Antigua: the Grand Cross.

Earl “Churchie” York who coordinates sound and light for the entire 4-day event says “Oungkou is gonna rip up the crowd on Saturday night. This could be one of the BEST Marigot shows ever!!”

Opening for RED HOT will be Explosion Band and St. Maarten’s own Cut Creator DJ Outkast.

So make sure come out with your soca rags and be ready to jump up as Sir Oungku will be driving the crowd into a Soca Frenzy, befitting the legendary parties of the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta.

For more information on any of the concerts listed below please go to www.earshot.org

Tuesday, March 1
Tula’s Nightclub and Restaurant, 7:30pm
Gerald Clayton Trio

At 26, pianist Gerald Clayton, son of LA bassist John Clayton, is one of the most talented of jazz up-and-comers. He is winning renown for his seamless embrace of everything from stride piano to 21st-century neo-soul. Partial funding for this performance is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Western Jazz Presenters Network.

Thursday, March 3
Cornish College/PONCHO Concert Hall, 8pm
John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble

Brilliant drummer and composer John Hollenbeck comes to Cornish in a rare appearance with his large ensemble, featuring vocalist Theo Bleckmann and pianist Gary Versace and many of New York’s finest. Presented by Cornish College of the Arts.

Sunday, March 6
The Triple Door, 7pm
Kenny Werner All-Stars

w/ Special Guest David Sanchez, Randy Brecker, Scott Colley & Antonio Sanchez

Alone, any one of these artists would warrant getting out of the house and down to the comfortable surroundings of the Triple Door. All five of these superlative musicians in one band is an absolute must-see.

Wednesday, March 9
Chapel Performance Space at Good Shepherd Center, 8pm
AGOGIC / Andy Clausen

AGOGIC, the fierce new quartet from Cuong Vu and Andrew D’Angelo with Luke Bergman on bass and Evan Woodle on drums celebrates their new record release. Andy Clausen’s Wishbone Ensemble opens.

Tuesday, March 15
The Triple Door, 7pm

Marc Ribot solo with Charlie Chaplin’s The Kid
Ribot performs his new solo-guitar score for one of the classics of early film, Charlie Chaplin’s The Kid.

Sunday, March 20
Tula’s Nightclub and Restaurant, 7pm
Chuck Deardorf Quintet
& Golden Ear Awards Presentation

Deardorf’s quintet warms up the Tula’s stage at 7pm, ahead of the presentation of awards at 8pm, followed by more music at 9:30pm.

Tuesday, April 12
Seattle Art Museum, 8pm
Instant Composers Pool (ICP) Orchestra

The ICP Orchestra, one of the world’s most startling and ear-stretching jazz ensembles — also one of the most amusing and diverting — makes a return visit to these shores, with a lineup of ten stellar musicians, each at the peak of improvising artists.