Jetsettersblog

Affordably Luxurious Romantic Getaways

From Bailey Robinson

BAILEY ROBINSON (www.baileyrobinson.com  Tel 01488 689 700) the operator specialising in affordable luxury, has selected seven destinations - Fiji, South Africa, Mauritius, Malaysia, Antigua, Canada and India - ideal for weddings, honeymoons or romantic getaways.

WEDDING & HONEYMOON IDEAS & OFFERS:

INDIA - 12-night wedding & honeymoon packages from £5,000 per person

ANTIGUA - book 10 nights and receive a free wedding package from £1,565

FIJI - Royal Davui Island Resort - seven nights for the price of six from £3,880

MAURITIUS - Le Prince Maurice - bride stays free, seven nights from £2,740 per couple

ROMANTIC GETAWAYS:

SOUTH AFRICA - Garonga - five nights for the price of four from £1,230

CANADA - eight nights from £4,900 per couple in British Columbia

MALAYSIA - Pangkor Laut - seven nights for the price of six from £1,230 per couple

INDIA - This proposed wedding itinerary starts from Shimla at the foot of the Himalayas featuring the Wildflower Hall’s ornate glass-domed gazebo as the wedding location. This former Lord Kitchener residence, built in the grand colonial style, is now an Oberoi hotel.

Next up, Agra, 16th and 17th century capital of India and home to the world’s greatest monument built for love - the Taj Mahal - with accommodation in another Oberoi property, Amarvilas.

The itinerary concludes in Rajhasthan with stays in both Jaipur and Udaipur.

WEDDING PACKAGE PRICE: 12-nights from £5,000 per person which includes international flights, the wedding ceremony and city tours.

ANTIGUA - WEDDING OFFER: book 10 nights at Blue Waters and receive a free wedding package which includes room upgrade, registration, fees, bouquet, button hole, decorated gazebo, champagne, wedding cake and wedding breakfast with champagne.

Alternatively, for a 10-night honeymoon, silver or gold wedding anniversary receive a guaranteed room upgrade with a free champagne breakfast.

PRICE: 10 nights for the price of nine from £1,565 per person including accommodation on a bed and breakfast basis and international flights.

FIJI - Voted “The Most Romantic Island Hideaway in the South Pacific, Caribbean and Atlantic” by Condé Nast Traveller two years running, the Royal Davui Island Resort is the perfect wedding/ honeymoon location.

Various wedding options are available including a traditional Fijian ceremony.

HONEYMOON OFFER: seven- nights for the price of six from £3,880 per person on an all-inclusive basis and including international flights.

MAURITIUS - According to Condé Nast Traveller, there are few hotels in the world to rival the sheer physical beauty of Le Prince Maurice which stretches back from a private, reef-protected lagoon fringed by four white beaches.

Facilities include a magnificent infinity pool surrounded by sixty acres of glorious gardens. HONEYMOON OFFER: The bride stays free with prices starting from £2,740 per couple, including accommodation on a half board basis with international flights.

SOUTH AFRICA - Nestling in the Makalali Conservancy, west of Kruger National Park, Garonga is an exclusive secluded, incredibly romantic safari camp offers nature lovers an intimate, holistic, unhurried wildlife experience.

PRICE: five nights for the price of four from £1,320 per person on an all-inclusive basis including international flights.

CANADA - This suggested eight-night self-drive itinerary through British Columbia features beautiful Victoria, Clayoquot Sound, renowned for its bears, whales, sea lions, orca, porpoise, puffins and bald eagles, and Sonora Resort, the ultimate in scenic luxury, relaxation and gourmet dining.

PRICE: eight nights from £7,800 per couple, including international flights; two nights at Abigail’s Hotel including breakfast; three nights at Wickaninnish Inn; three nights at Sonora Resort including all meals, drink and a privately guided salmon fishing trip; car rental and a bear viewing tour.

MALAYSIA - Pangkor Laut, a stunning 300-acre private paradise island, boasts villas which are situated over water, on the beach and in the hills.

PRICE: Seven nights for the price of six from £1,230 per couple with accommodation on a room only and international flights and transfers.

IN ADDITION:

MALAYSIAN AIRLINES is offering free upgrades from business to first class on Asia and Australasia flights. Offer valid until 31st December 2009, must be booked by 30th September 2009.

Bailey Robinson (www.baileyrobinson.com Tel 01488 689 700) specialises in affordable luxury, designing individually tailor made journeys.

From its portfolio of fabulous handpicked hotels and resorts in over 65 destinations worldwide, Bailey Robinson can create the perfect itinerary. Whatever a traveller’s interests, dreams and aspirations - a romantic break for two, an action-packed family adventure or a life enhancing journey to the farthest reaches of the globe - Bailey Robinson has the solution.

TORONTO — Golf Town - Canada’s largest golf retailer with unequaled selection and competitive prices at 47 locations coast to coast - announces it has partnered with the Royal Canadian Golf Association to become an official vendor of tickets for the 2009 RBC Canadian Open.

In celebration of the 100th Canadian Open, and as part of the season-long GT-10 campaign commemorating its own 10th anniversary, Golf Town is currently selling tickets to the event at 12 Toronto-area locations. Hosted by Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, ON, the PGA Tour’s second-oldest tournament will take place July 20-26, and ticket options include weekly badges for $110 or “Anyday Passes” for $55.

“As the centre of the Canadian golf community, Golf Town continues to help players of all ages develop a lifelong connection to the game,” says Stephen Bebis, President and CEO.

“The RBC Canadian Open is the country’s premier golfing event, and we’re proud to offer our customers a great opportunity for front-row seats to the game’s top performers.”
Available while supplies last, tickets can be purchased at the following Toronto- area Golf Town locations:

• Aurora
• Downtown Toronto
• Etobicoke
• Hamilton
• Markham
• Markham East
• Kitchener
• Mississauga Heartland
• Mississauga
• Scarborough
• Whitby
• Woodbridge

Part of the FedExCup, the 2009 RBC Canadian Open offers a purse of $5.1 million. Contenders will include defending champion Chez Reavie, along with marquee players like Stephen Ames, Mark Calcavecchia, Fred Couples, Luke Donald, Trevor Immelman, Anthony Kim, Camillo Villegas and Mike Weir, among others.

Golf Town offers an unbeatable selection of clubs, bags, balls, apparel, footwear, accessories, gifts, logo merchandise, promotional services and more.

This includes the world’s leading golf brands, such as Adams, Ashworth, Bridgestone, Callaway Golf, Cleveland Golf, Cobra, Dunning, ECCO, FootJoy, Founders Club, Gordon Cooper, Greg Norman, Honma, Hugo Boss, LaCoste, Liz Claiborne, LIJA, Mizuno, Never Compromise, Nike Golf, Odyssey, Ogio, Paradise, Ping, Srixon, Sun Mountain, TaylorMade adidas Golf, Titleist and Wilson.

For more information, please visit www.golftown.com

About Golf Town

Canada’s largest golf retailer, Golf Town was founded in 1999 and has grown from one location in Scarborough, ON, to 47 superstores coast to coast.

At an average size of nearly 18,000 square feet, these retail centres feature all the major name-brand products at the best price, ensuring customers find what they want, when they want it.

A centre of the Canadian golf community for individuals and organizations, Golf Town locations serve as sanctuaries where players of all ages and abilities try, buy, learn about and improve their games.

The largest employer of CPGA professionals, Golf Town offers on-site lessons tailored to an individual’s needs through its In-Store Academy.

The retailer has also established Canada’s leading customer advantage initiative via its Leaderboard Membership Privileges Program. Benefits of this free membership include the chance to win a $500 gift card in a national monthly drawing; timely e-newsletters; members-only special offers on equipment, accessories, golf lessons, in-store events; and more.

Golf Town was acquired by OMERS Private Equity, the entity responsible for private equity investments of the OMERS pension fund, in September 2007.

For more information: www.omerscapital.com

Already a leader in logo products for golf events and other programs, Golf Town purchased Accolade Reaction Promotion Group, Inc., in May 2008 and has created a one-stop-shop for the promotional needs of businesses, meeting planners, sales and marketing executives, and human resource professionals.

Named a 2008 Top 40 Distributor by the Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI), ARPG is the first Canadian corporate merchandise services firm to achieve ASI Top 40 Status.

For more information: www.arpg.ca

Air Canada has begun daily non-stop flights between Montréal and Rome. During this summer’s peak travel season, this service will link on a daily basis the Italian capital with Air Canada’s extensive Québec and Atlantic Canada network, as well as major cities on the Eastern U.S. seaboard. Starting Oct. 27, Air Canada will offer year-round Montréal-Rome flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, with same-plane service continuing on to/from Toronto.

For greater convenience and travel choice, this service is timed to offer connecting flights to popular destinations in Italy, including Bari, Lamezia, Milan, Palermo and Venice. As well, Air Canada’s Star Alliance partners Lufthansa and Swiss International Air Lines offer service from Montréal to Munich and Zurich respectively, further increasing connections and travel options.

With downtown Vancouver hotels nearly completely booked for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, Newwest Special Projects LP, an entrepreneurial travel company, chartered Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Star for the duration of the games.

The ship will be docked in North Vancouver from Feb. 10 through March 2, adding 10 percent capacity (1,119 rooms and suites) to the city’s downtown hotel inventory of 12,000 rooms.

The Norwegian Star will arrive in Vancouver after a four-day sailing from Los Angeles. On March 2, the ship will head south, arriving back in Los Angeles on March 6. A variety of packages are available in either three- or four-night durations during the games.

Nightly stateroom rates start at $350 per person, double, and include meals, airport transfers, daily transfers between the ship and North Vancouver’s Sea Bus Terminal, and a city tour of Vancouver.

Since the ship is a private charter, custom packages can be arranged that could include private coach transfers, multilingual guides, private meals and onboard functions for up to 1,000 guests.

For more information, call 800-661-7281

or visit www.vancouver2010cruiseship.com

Air China Limited announced that it is extending its toll-free telephone customer service throughout Canada from its North American regional headquarters in Los Angeles. Services provided by the North American call center include booking, ticketing, frequent flyer program, flight status inquiries and customer relations.

The center serves bilingually in English and Chinese. The toll-free number is 800-882-8122.

Water may well be the essence of Canada. We’ve got it, in oodles. Here’s a list of top water fun around the country this summer.

Alberta

As soon as you pull away from these marinas, you won’t see a latte shop, just wild shorelines, stuck together by forests of pine and spires of rock that twist upward of 2,438 m (8,000 ft).

Take a pleasure cruise on Maligne Lake in Jasper National Park, around the historic waters of Minnewanka in Banff National Park or down to the US border on Waterton Lake. You’ll spot more glacier-scoured valleys, Rocky Mountain sheep and bears than people.

British Columbia

Take a province with more than 27,000 km (16,777 mi) of coastline and a few hundred thousand snowboarders itching for summer, and you get BC’s surf scene. Tofino, a sleepy town of 1,655 on Vancouver Island’s Pacific side, explodes into a mini-metropolis every summer as surfers descend, hungry for beginner and intermediate breaks.

Manitoba

Snorkel, canoe or kayak—there are umpteen ways to get nose to nose with a beluga whale near the northern town of Churchill. Besides gaining ground with wildlife, get closer to your inner self with a Northern Soul Yoga Canoe Weekend.

New Brunswick

Let Road to Sea Guided Tours show you all the Bay of Fundy area has to offer, including Hopewell Rocks and Cape Enrage. Here you’ll find the world’s highest tidal shifts, so best bone up on your charts in advance.

Newfoundland and Labrador

When the Vikings bumped into Newfoundland 1,000 years ago, they had no idea their arrival would spark so many firsts. It was here that Marconi received the first transatlantic radio signal; that Lindbergh began his solo flight to Paris.

Make your own “first” on a Viking Trail bike tour with Pedal and Sea Adventures. Or, dodge mountains of ice on a boat tour up Iceberg Alley or on an eco-tour along the “Minke Way.”

Nova Scotia

Riddled with dead-end coves of higgledy-piggledy fishing shacks, there’s no better way to see Nova Scotia than by boat. Learn to sail with Discovery Sailing and a week later you’ll know the difference between a bowline and a reef knot, as well as the location of every crab shack along this puckered coastline.

Ontario

The very magnitude of five million cubic feet of water tumbling over its rocky lip, every minute of the day, is mind blowing.

And deafening. Glide under the roar of Niagara Falls on the Maid of the Mist, where you’ll learn more staggering facts from the skipper.

Other germane gems can be gathered on a houseboat float down the lazy Trent-Severn Waterway National Historic Site, a 386-km (240-mi) manmade lift-lock system that connects Georgian Bay with Lake Ontario.

Prince Edward Island

Nestled on the Northumberland Strait, the West Point Lighthouse has winked its maritime codes out to seadogs since 1876. Now you can bunk down in this renovated lighthouse-inn and spend lazy days cycling or clamming and beachcombing amongst the dunes.

Quebec

Have time to experience only a sliver of Quebec’s four historic maritime regions? Consider a cycling-and-cruise combo with CTMA Group, a pokey meander along the St. Lawrence River, through the Îles de la Madeleine archipelago, the Gaspésie Peninsula and Percé Rock, ending in enchanting, 400-year-old Québec City.

Saskatchewan

Grey Owl may have been an imposter, but he was no wimp.

There isn’t a single road to Grey Owl’s cabin, but there is a whopping lake, Kingsmere, to cross and a spindly portage to hike—key ingredients for a do-it-yourself canoe trip.

Visit the transplanted Englishman’s spartan cabin that was built on water; see how his beloved beavers were able to dip under the frame and swim up inside, right next to his bunk bed. A journal lies open on his desk, the water laps the bed frame, a loon wobbles his trilly sound somewhere far off—I thought it worth every stroke to get here.

Yukon

Feel the collective free-spiritedness of the Yukon in the hurly burly bars of Dawson City, then flee “civilization” for a fly-fishing holiday on Tincup LakeTincup Wilderness Lodge. The prize here is Arctic grayling, and even novice anglers can catch (and release) a half dozen of these acrobatic fish in an hour.

The cedar cabins at , not to mention the gourmet grub and wood-heated sauna, were good enough for Martha Stewart, who visited in 2000.

Collette Vacations’ Smithsonian Journeys Travel Adventures brand offers cultural adventure travel to Egypt, Vietnam, Cambodia, Japan, Turkey, Iceland, Newfoundland and Yucatan, with packages grounded in education, history and cultural immersion.

Guest speakers on the tours, ranging from Egyptologists to naturalists and art historians, enhance the experience by sharing their expertise and passion on their subjects.

These local speakers really make the difference between clients simply seeing, and truly understanding the destination. 

Any air-inclusive Smithsonian Journeys Travel Adventures tour  starts from home with the new Door to Door Service — an advantage that no other major U.S. tour operator can offer.

This free round trip sedan service transfer — including gratuities — from home to the airport is included and available in many U.S. cities within a 50-mile radius of more than 75 gateways.

In addition to these agent and client advantages, there are numerous “wow” moments on all Smithsonian Journeys Travel Adventures tours.

“We are the only tour operator offering a Newfoundland-only program,” said Dan Sullivan, Collette president and CEO. “Our clients are able to spend two nights in Gros Morne National Park; travel along the scenic Viking Trail;

visit a winery and sample local cuisine like caribou.

These experiences leave them with a good understanding of the culture of this Canadian province.

Classical Turkey, one of the newest destinations offered through Smithsonian Journeys Travel Adventures, is a 12-day tour through Turkey’s mix of ancient and new. Experts along the way, including historians, a food history scholar, and an archeologist, offer their knowledge to enhance the understanding of Turkey’s unique position as a crossroad of cultures.

From Istanbul’s famous Topkapi Palace to Cappadocia’s “fairy chimneys,” Turkey is sure to delight all its guests.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Adventures is a brand created by the partnership of Collette Vacations, the oldest major tour operator in the U.S. with tours to all seven continents, and Smithsonian Journeys, the Smithsonian Institution’s Travel Program, to provide travelers with the high standards that are synonymous with these brands.

These diverse tours offer the best value-priced learning vacations worldwide and are created for adventurous travelers who seek the thrill of discovery and learning, combined with flexibility and economical rates.

To learn more about Smithsonian Journeys Travel Adventures worldwide destinations, as well as the details of Door to Door roundtrip sedan service, visit www.collettevacations.com

American Canadian Caribbean Line, Inc. (ACCL) announced a 15 to 20 percent savings on select itineraries departing Chicago; Portland, Maine; and Warren, R.I., from July 1 through Nov. 7.

The line is offering the savings on various itineraries featuring coastal exploration of the waterways between Eastern Canada, Lake Michigan and Florida, including the Hudson River, Lake Champlain, the Erie Canal, the Saguenay River, the Intracoastal Waterway and coastal Atlantic Ocean.

ACCL is offering a 20 percent savings on the following 2009 itineraries: Great American Waterways (July 1 aboard the Grande Mariner, 15 nights); Lake Michigan Getaway (July 1 and July 9 aboard the Niagara Prince, six nights);

Hudson River/Lake Champlain (Aug. 30, Sept. 10, Sept. 24 and Oct. 5 aboard the Niagara Prince, 11 nights); Coast of Maine (July 31, Aug. 16 and Aug. 24 aboard the Grande Caribe, seven nights); Erie Canal/Saguenay River (Sept. 15 aboard the Grande Caribe, Sept. 18 aboard the Grande Mariner, 12 nights); and Atlantic Coastal Waterways (Nov. 7 aboard the Grande Caribe, 14 nights).

A 15 percent savings is available on ACCL’s Erie Canal/Fall Foliage sailings (Sept. 30 and Oct. 12 aboard the Grande Caribe and Oct. 3 and Oct. 15 aboard the Grande Mariner; 12 nights).

The select discounted cruises are regularly priced from $1,725 per person, double (not including port charges, optional tours, gratuities and fuel supplement), and are now priced from $1,380.

In addition, ACCL is extending its Bring Friends program, allowing extra savings of $500 per cabin if a passenger books two cabins at the same time, and at least one cabin’s guests are new to the cruise line.

This offer is for non-discounted cruises only. ACCL also is waiving the single supplement on select cabins.

In addition, ACCL has introduced a new program called Sea Lodge Adventures for the Aug. 16 and Aug. 24 Coast of Maine sailings that will offer soft adventure for all skill levels.

The line has partnered with H2Outfitters of Orr’s Island, Maine, to offer a seven-day kayak package ($429 in addition to the cruise fare). These sailings will also include complimentary workshops for all guests onboard.

Workshops will focus on cuisine, photography, history and wine tasting, among other topics.

For more information, call 800-556-7450

or visit www.accl-smallships.com

Princess Cruises unveiled its 2010 Canada and New England schedule aboard the Caribbean Princess and the Crown Princess.

In total, the two ships will offer 15 departures on three different itineraries. The Caribbean Princess will sail on seven-day, roundtrip voyages from New York.

These sailings will call at Newport, Boston, Bar Harbor (for Acadia National Park), Saint John (for the Bay of Fundy) and Halifax.

The ship will depart on 11 sailings from Aug. 7 through Oct. 16. The Crown Princess departs on 10-day sailings between New York City and Québec City.

These sailings will include calls at Newport, Boston, Bar Harbor (for Acadia National Park), Saint John (for the Bay of Fundy), Halifax, Sydney (Nova Scotia) and Ville Saguenay (Québec), plus an overnight stay in Québec City. The ship sails on three cruises on this route between Sept. 17 and Oct. 7.

For a tour of the entire coastline, the Crown Princess will also sail on a 13-day Canada and Colonial America journey along the full length of the Atlantic coast.

This sailing, which departs Oct. 17, cruises from Québec City to Ft. Lauderdale and includes an overnight in Québec City, plus port calls at Ville Saguenay, Halifax, Bar Harbor (for Acadia National Park), Boston, Newport, New York (Brooklyn), Norfolk (for Williamsburg and Jamestown), and Charleston.

Princess also offers escorted pre- and post-cruise land tours in conjunction with these sailings. Launch fares for seven-day Canada and New England sailings start at $945 per person, double.

Air Canada has begun year-round non-stop service between Montreal and Geneva (first flight departs Geneva June 2, 2009), with same-plane service continuing on to/from Toronto.

The carrier’s Star Alliance partner, Swiss International Air Lines, will offer seats on a code-share basis on the new route.

“The introduction of the only non-stop service between Montreal and Geneva is great news for customers traveling on business, including international organizations, as well as for leisure travelers providing easy access to major tourist locations in Switzerland and France,” said Ben Smith, Air Canada’s executive vice president and chief commercial officer.

“Air Canada’s new non-stop Geneva service, offered in cooperation with our Star Alliance partner, Swiss, will provide more choice for convenient international travel via our Montreal hub.”