Jetsettersblog

Alamo Rent A Car is holding a travel sweepstakes with a $5,000 grand prize on Facebook.

Alamo Facebook fans can click on the “Make Your Escape” tab and create their Ultimate Escape to be entered to win $5,000 toward their dream vacation.

Launched July 15, the Alamo sweepstakes follows a recently released 2011 Summer Travel Intentions Survey that found that while 86 percent of survey respondents plan to take a vacation this summer, 70 percent said they have not yet booked a vacation.

To enter the sweepstakes, Facebook users need to click the “like” button on the Alamo Facebook page, then click on the “Make Your Escape” tab in the left column.

For more information, visit www.facebook.com/AlamoRentACar

American Safari Cruises is offering a $200-per-person travel credit for new bookings made between July 20 and Sept. 30 on the line’s Sea of Cortés cruises in Baja, Mexico.

The 22-guest Safari Quest sails on weeklong adventure cruises from La Paz, Baja California Sur, from November through April.

On 13 select departures, each guest will receive a $200 travel credit.

The 13 select departures available with the $200-per-person travel credit include Nov. 26; Dec. 24 and 31; Jan. 14 and 28; Feb. 4, 11 and 18; March 3, 17, 24 and 31; and April 7. For families, a $400 travel credit is available for teens ages 12 to 19 on the Dec. 24 and Dec. 31 departures. All-inclusive cruise fares start at $3,995 per person, double.

For more information, call 888-862-8881, email sales@americansafaricruises.com  or visit www.americansafaraicruises.com

MSC Cruises is offering “Baseball Greats” theme cruises in the Caribbean aboard the MSC Poesia, featuring former Major League Baseball stars, from $549 plus government fees and taxes. The host and emcee for all of the onboard activities on each cruise is former New York Yankees pitcher Stan Bahnsen.

The cruises offer free guest/player activities, including a player-hosted trivia game, a question-and-answer session, a guest pitching contest, a story-telling session and a free autograph session, as well as hitting, fielding, base running and defense strategy clinics hosted by baseball players.

All of these cruises are roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and include

a seven-night Western Caribbean cruise departing Nov. 19;

a 10-night Western Caribbean cruise departing Dec. 6;

a seven-night Western Caribbean cruise departing Jan. 14;

a seven-night Eastern Caribbean cruise departing Feb. 18;

and a seven-night Eastern Caribbean cruise departing March 3.

For more information, call 877-665-4655 or visit

www.msccruisesusa.com

Abercrombie & Kent is the latest and one of the most high-profile tour operators to take advantage of loosened restrictions on travel to Cuba to offer a program for travel there.

The luxury operator’s inaugural program will depart in September, followed by five more departures this year. A&K calls its program “Cuba: The Forbidden Isle Revealed,” and subtitles it “a landmark opportunity to discover our enigmatic neighbor.” Other operators who have unveiled new programs in recent months include American Tours International, Ya’lla Tours and Insight Cuba (not to be confused with Insight Vacations, a Travel Corporation company).

A&K is working with a registered not-for-profit group, the Foundation for Caribbean Studies, which is licensed as a people-to-people non-profit organization. A&K has five years of experience operating in Cuba through its UK office.

“We have created an itinerary that reveals the heart and soul of this island nation,” said A&K in a promotional statement. “Walk the cobblestone streets of Old Havana, savor the unspoiled beauty of Trinidad, meet families in culture-rich Matanzas and experience Hemingway’s Cuba with a visit to Finca Vigia, his seaside home. Don’t miss this chance to visit one of the world’s most alluring – and misunderstood – destinations with a company that knows it inside and out.”

The itinerary will also include the Teatro Sauto in Matanzas and lunch al fresco to the tune of a live local band at the DuPont House.

“We’ve built upon our experience in Cuba, as well as the rest of the world, to ensure our guests will discover Cuba at its most intimate, authentic and in complete comfort,” said Abercrombie & Kent USA President Scott Wiseman.

“We have arranged an expedited immigration process on arrival, exclusive accommodations at Cuba’s best hotels and a carefully-planned itinerary that includes private access to Hemingway’s home, Finca Vigia for an informative discussion with the curator and local staff involved in restoring the home and its lush surroundings.”

A&K’s itinerary takes Americans beyond Havana to Trinidad in central Cuba, a Spanish colonial settlement and UNESCO World Heritage Site, and to the rural countryside.

The itinerary provides time to explore Cuba’s cultural and historical wonders, while meeting local people to talk about daily life in Cuba and to enjoy mojitos, salsa dancing and intimate dinners at paladars (privately-owned restaurants) for a first-hand introduction to Cuba’s growing private business sector.

It will also provide opportunities to learn about Cuba’s tobacco, rum and coffee industries: the “triangle” of the Cuban economy, as well as to try crafting a Cuban cigar during a hands-on rolling workshop at a cigar factory, followed by a tour of a working tobacco plantation.

Also included is a visit to the Rum Museum, located inside a seventeenth-century colonial residence, and a visit to a coffee plantation to discover cortaditos (espresso topped with steamed milk).

The tour will visit room 511 in the Hotel Ambos Mundos, Ernest Hemingway’s hideout, where he is said to have written “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” as well as a visit to his seaside home, Finca Vigia, before it opens to the public. \

\It also includes a walking tour of Cojimar, the inspiration for “The Old Man and the Sea,” with a chance to meet a local fisherman who brings local folklore to life. Clients will have lunch at Las Terrazas, one of Hemingway’s favorite haunts.

Also included are visits the Valley of the Sugar Mills, the most important sugar production region during colonial times; a tour of Old Havana with a local architect, who shares his insights into the city’s restoration projects; a walk through Matanzas, one of Cuba’s most authentic cities and the birthplace of rumba; and the Farmacia Museum.

Participants will meet with Cuban artists, including Cuban community iconic painter and ceramicist Jose Fuster at his art studio, and Salvador Gonzales in Callejon de Hamel, a tiny alley he turned into an Afro-Cuban art and music center.

The tour also includes Guanabacoa, known for its strong Santeria influence, and nearby Regla, with a visit to the Afro-Cuban Museum and the Shrine of the Black Virgin; and Las Terrazas, a pioneering eco-village turned UNESCO Biosphere Reserve; a ride in a vintage America car to the historic Santa Isabel Hotel for dinner on the rooftop terrace.

Hotels include the five star Iberostar Gran Hotel Trinidad, a restored boutique hotel in the center of Trinidad (A&K says it is the only U.S. tour operator that offers lodging there); Havana’s historic Hotel Nacional. Abercrombie & Kent’s inaugural departure of Cuba:

The Forbidden Isle is Sept. 30-Oct. 10, followed by Oct. 14-24 and 17-27, Nov. 23-Dec. 2, Dec 12-22 and Dec. 21-30. The price begins at $4,325 per person, plus charter international air ($449), visa ($55) and a non-profit partner fee ($200). Abercrombie & Kent (A&K) is a luxury travel company that began as a safari outfitter in Kenya in 1962. The company now has a network of more than 60 local destination management offices around the world.

For information, call 800-554-7094.

Island Routes Caribbean Adventure Tours is offering a new Soufriere Adventure Cruise, an expedition across St. Lucia’s rugged west coast, sailing through waters once swarming with pirates.

The itinerary includes is an opportunity to enjoy therapeutic mud, a natural beauty treatment, at Sulphur Springs Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Romantics will also want to visit the “Pool of Love,” an 88.3 degrees Fahrenheit hot springs pool visitors use to refresh and relax.

The excursion also includes a walk through St. Lucia’s Diamond Falls and Botanical Gardens.

For more information, call 877-768-8370 or visit www.islandroutestours.com

The Eldorado Hotel and Spa in Santa Fe, N.M., is offering outdoor experiences and 15 percent off of one night’s stay for guests who book an outdoor activity.

Discounts are based on the best available rate.

Those booking two activities receive another 15 percent off for their second night.

The more outdoor activities booked, the more guests save on their accommodations.

Among the outdoor activities are guided hiking, with hotel nightly room rates starting at $323, double, including the 15 discount for two people; a guided off-road tour from $353; guided fly fishing from $637; and a round of golf from $285.

For more information, call 800-955-4455 or visit www.eldoradohotel.com

Southwest Airlines has put select destinations across the U.S. on sale, with some fares starting as low as $59.

The fares may be purchased through Aug. 1 and are available for travel Aug. 23 through Dec. 14. Sample fares include $59 one way between Philadelphia and Raleigh-Durham, $89 one way between Los Angeles and Salt Lake City and $99 one way between Albuquerque and Dallas.

For more information, visit www.southwest.com

Rocky Mountaineer is offering its guests more time to explore British Columbia and Vancouver, B.C, as a part of its Western Canadian rail vacation.

Guests who book a qualifying vacation package of four nights or more by Aug. 31 will receive an additional free hotel night in Vancouver.

One package option eligible for this offer is the Canadian Rockies Adventure, a seven-night/eight-day vacation package that departs Vancouver for Banff, Alberta, and includes a two-day, all daylight rail journey onboard Rocky Mountaineer.

The package also includes several sightseeing tours in Banff National Park, such as a Glacier Helicopter tour, Summit Helicopter Flightseeing as well as a Columbia Icefield Excursion.

To qualify for the free night’s stay in Vancouver, B.C., visitors must book a Rocky Mountaineer rail package of four nights or more.

The offer must be requested at the time of booking and is valid through Aug. 31 on new bookings only for travel between July and October.

Further restrictions may apply.

For more information, call 800-665-7245 or visit www.rockymountaineer.com

Chase Card Services and United Airlines, have introduced the new United MileagePlus Explorer Card. MileagePlus Explorer Cardmembers receive special privileges when traveling on United including first checked bag free, priority boarding, passes to United airport club lounges and the ability to redeem MileagePlus miles for any seat, any time, on any United flight, with no restrictions and no blackout dates.

If seats are available for sale, they can be redeemed by Cardmembers at the Standard Award level.

In addition, miles earned in the MileagePlus program by Explorer Cardmembers will not expire as long as program members are MileagePlus Explorer Cardmembers.

The MileagePlus Explorer Card also offers access to The Luxury Hotel and Resorts Collection from Chase, which offers special Cardmember-only amenities at over 700 properties in the U.S. and around the world.

It also offers travel and purchase protection coverage and a suite of benefits aimed at the affluent. This includes a dedicated concierge service available 24/7 to help with such things as simple gift ideas to restaurant and local entertainment recommendations anywhere in the world.

In addition, Explorer Cardmembers will have the opportunity to attend private, once-in-a-lifetime experiences through a new benefit called Inside Access from Chase.

Cardmembers will enjoy exclusive access to the best in concerts, Broadway performances and culinary events; the opportunity to meet and mingle with industry notables; and even get rare, behind-the-scenes views into the world of professional sports and high fashion.

For more information, visit www.insideaccess.com  or www.united.com

Norwegian Cruise Line has partnered with USA Today to launch a naming contest for the two new ships scheduled for delivery in April 2013 and April 2014. The contest runs through Aug. 14. The winners, who will be announced in mid-September, will receive a trip for two to the first ship’s inaugural festivities.

To enter, visit www.cruisingfornames.usatoday.com, fill out the entry form and submit a name that starts with Norwegian. There is no maximum amount of entries per person. The winners will receive a trip for two to the christening ceremony (date and location yet to be determined).

The trip includes roundtrip coach airfare for two, ground transportation, balcony stateroom accommodations and government taxes and fees.

The Project Breakaway ships will measure 144,017 gross tons each and accommodate 4,000 passengers. For more information, visit www.ncl.com/breakaway