Jetsettersblog

Windstar Cruises this fall and winter will operate in the Caribbean with the 312-passenger Wind Surf and the 148-passenger Wind Spirit. The Wind Spirit sails roundtrip from St. Thomas on seven-day sailings to St. John, St. Martin, St. Barts, Tortola, Jost Van Dyke and Virgin Gorda.

Cruise rates begin at $1,949 per person, based on double occupancy. The Wind Surf offers seven-day sailings roundtrip from Bridgetown, Barbados, on northbound and southbound itineraries. The northbound itinerary includes St. Kitts, Nevis, St. Martin, St. Barts, Basse-Terre, Iles des Saintes and St. Lucia. The southbound itinerary includes Bequia, Dominica, St. Lucia, Mayreau, Grenada and Tobago. Cruise rates begin at $1,799 per person, double occupancy.

Windstar offers holiday sailings on Wind Spirit and Wind Surf. Wind Spirit’s seven-day holiday cruise departs St. Thomas on Dec. 20 and is priced from $2,249 per person, double occupancy. Wind Surf’s seven-day holiday voyage departs Bridgetown Dec. 21 and visits Martinique, Guadeloupe, St. Martin, Dominica and St. Lucia. Cruise rates start at $2,149. Wind Surf’s seven-day New Year’s cruise departs Bridgetown on Dec. 28 and visits Tobago, Trinidad, Grenada, Martinique and St. Vincent. A New Year’s Eve party will feature party favors, live music, official countdown by the captain and champagne toast. Cruise rates start at $2,149.

Clients will save up to 35 percent when they book a 2009 winter getaway with Spirit Vacations to a Couples Resort in Jamaica. Clients enjoy free value-added inclusions such as off-site excursions, scuba diving, glass-bottom boat tours and more. Sample deals to the all-inclusive Couples Resorts with Spirit Vacations include Couples Tower Isle, where guests receive 35 percent off all-inclusive rates in a deluxe garden room on Monday departures, March 16 through 30. A three-night stay is priced at $991 from Fort Lauderdale; $1,009 from Orlando or Tampa; and $1,048 from Atlanta, Atlantic City, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Myrtle Beach, New York/LaGuardia or Washington, D.C./Reagan National.

Couples Negril guests will get 25 percent off in a deluxe garden room on Monday departures, Jan. 5 through Feb. 9 and Feb 23 through March 30, on three-night stays of $1,016 from Ft. Lauderdale; $1,034 from Orlando or Tampa; $1,073 from Atlanta, Atlantic City, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Myrtle Beach, New York/LaGuardia or Washington, D.C./Reagan National.

At Couples Sans Souci, guests will receive 25 percent off an ocean suite on Monday departures, Jan. 5 through Feb. 9 and Feb. 23 through March 30, on three-night stays: $1,046 from Ft. Lauderdale; $1,064 from Orlando or Tampa; $1,099 from Atlanta, Atlantic City, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Myrtle Beach, New York/LaGuardia or Washington, D.C./Reagan National. At Couples Swept Away, guests will receive 20 percent off a garden suite on Monday departures, Jan. 5 through Feb. 9 and Feb. 23 through March 30, on three-night stays: $1,098 from Ft. Lauderdale; $1,116 from Orlando or Tampa; $1,155 from Atlanta, Atlantic City, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Myrtle Beach, New York/LaGuardia or Washington, D.C./Reagan National.

Spirit Vacations offers complete vacation packages to destinations throughout the Caribbean, Latin America, Central and South America, Mexico and the United States.

Costa is letting kids sail for free when traveling with their parents in the Caribbean this winter.

This offer is available on 12 sailings — including Christmas and New Year’s — aboard the Costa Fortuna, which departs from Fort Lauderdale on alternating Eastern and Western Caribbean routes each Sunday.

 Fares for parents begin at $669 per person. Costa features a children’s program, or “Squok Club,” structured to accommodate younger guests from a variety of backgrounds.

Squok is the plush mascot of the club, a mix of dolphin and shark.

The 105,000-ton Costa Fortuna has a double-occupancy capacity of 2,720, 11 bars, four restaurants, a theater extending over three floors, three swimming pools, a casino, disco, ballroom and a gym.

Divi Village Golf & Beach Resort is offering a 40 percent Thanksgiving discount with rates starting at $195.60 for a studio unit (European plan). This rate is for single or double occupancy and includes tax and service charge. The promotion is available now for booking with travel up to Dec. 20. Divi Village Golf & Beach Resort has also launched an all-inclusive special where kids stay and eat free and adults get unlimited golf. This all-inclusive offer is available throughout 2009, and includes high-season, Christmas and New Year’s.

The all-inclusive package includes access to 11 restaurants and 12 bars that feature nightly live entertainment (unlimited food and drinks, surcharges may apply); unlimited golf after 3 p.m., including a golf cart; kids 12 and under can stay and eat free from the children’s menu when accompanied by at least one paying adult (limit is two children per room); an oceanfront fitness center with a rock-climbing wall, state-of-the-art fitness equipment and exercise classes; and six swimming pools equipped with a waterslide for the kids and scuba demos and water aerobics for the adults.

All-inclusive guests also have full access to non-motorized water sports including windsurfing, kayaking, and scuba and snorkeling. Plus, there is no shortage of good old fashioned fun, including board games, billiards, volleyball (both in pool and on the beach), tennis, bike riding, flag football, beach soccer, shuffle board and Bocce ball. Divi Village also includes movies on the beach, arts and crafts instruction, bike and snorkel tours and a shopping tour for the ladies.

All-inclusive rates start at $261 and go up to $351 per person, per night, based on double occupancy. Rates do not include airfare. Taxes and service charges are included. A minimum seven-night stay is required for this promotion to apply for one coupon for the Windows on Aruba. Please note that there is a three-night minimum stay from Jan. 2 through Dec. 23, 2009, and a five-night minimum stay from Dec. 24, 2008, through Jan. 1, 2009.

For more information, visit www.diviresorts.com

The Holiday Inn Resort Aruba expanded its KidSpree Vacation Club with the addition of Kids Disco Night. Held every Tuesday and Saturday from 7 to 9 pm at the Pali Coco Lounge, Kids Disco Night offers kids and their parents the chance to dance, play games and have fun in nightclub settings normally reserved for adults.

Kids Disco Night is free for all Holiday Inn Resort Aruba guests. Children 12 and under must be accompanied by an adult, and free non-alcoholic beverages are provided for guests opting for the all-inclusive package.

The property’s exclusive KidSpree Vacation Club offers a full menu of supervised daily activities for kids age six months to 17 years old. Children enrolled in the KidSpree Vacation Club are divided into four age groups to enjoy age-appropriate activities, including tennis, volleyball, beach and pool games, and more. Babysitting services are also available, with all nannies required to carry CPR and first-aid certification, providing parents with peace of mind.

 For reservations and more information, call 800-HOLIDAY or visit www.caribbeanhi.com/aruba

Breezes Curacao & Breezes Puerto Plata, and Starfish Trelawny
Breezes Cura�ao, Breezes Puerto Plata & Starfish Trelawny are pleased to announce our Single Parent Promotion.
In addition to our Kids Stay, Play & Eat Free! promotion, if one adult and one child are traveling together the child will stay FREE and the parent pays the standard per night rate based on double occupancy with no single supplement charge (each normally charged the standard double rate) at Starfish Trelawny, Breezes Curacao & Breezes Puerto Plata

The Single Parent Promotion is available for travel to December 22, 2008

*Extra children with one adult will be charged at the child rate. Qualifying children aged 2 - 13. Children 14 years and older are considered an adult for rate purposes and do not qualify for this promotion. Promotion is not applicable to two parent families staying in the same room. Other restrictions and blackout dates may apply.

Orient Lines has revamped its rate structure in response to the current financial crisis. The line’s owner, entrepreneur Wayne Heller, has launched a new Leadership Pricing initiative, with 11-day Europe cruises priced from $1,799 per person, based on double occupancy. “The economy is still in a very, very precarious place,” Heller said.

“This is the time for Orient Lines to take a leadership position in the industry and truly do something that helps consumers. Our new Leadership Pricing translates to savings of up to $5,000 per cabin off brochure rates.” Heller purchased the assets of Orient Lines and is resurrecting the destination specialty line. Under the new rate structure, two 11-day Mediterranean cruises are priced from $1,799 per person, double, reduced from $2,999. Two 16-day Baltic cruise-tours, which include an overnight hotel stay and sightseeing in Berlin, are priced from $2,999 per person, double, reduced from $4,649.

The 11-day Aegean Odyssey departs Port Said, Egypt, on April 29, and visits Cyprus, Rhodes, Antalya, Didim and Kusadasi and Istanbul.

Overnights are scheduled for Cairo and Istanbul. Black Sea Explorer is an 11-day roundtrip from Istanbul departing May 9. Ports of call include Trabzon, Turkey; Batumi, Georgia; Sochi, Russia; Yalta, Sevastopol and Odessa, Ukraine; and Nessebar, Bulgaria.

The round-trip Istanbul voyage includes an overnight aboard ship before departure. The line’s 16-day Great Baltics I and II cruise-tours operate between Dover (London) and Szcezin, Poland, and include a one-night hotel stay and city tour in Berlin. The highlight of the cruise is three full days in St. Petersburg, Russia. Ports of call include Amsterdam; Travemunde (Lubeck), Germany; Copenhagen; Stockholm; Helsinki; Tallinn, Estonia; and Riga, Latvia.

Savings are also offered on fall voyages. The Passage to Rio, departing Nov. 8, 2009, is a 20-day cruise from Barcelona to Rio de Janeiro, priced from $1,799 per person, double. Ports include Malaga and Cadiz (Seville) in Spain; Casablanca and Agadir, Morocco; Lanzarote, Canary Islands; Sao Vicente, Cape Verde Islands; and Salvador de Bahia, Brazil. An overnight is scheduled aboard ship in Rio de Janeiro.

As part of Orient’s Leadership Pricing initiative, the number of air gateways has doubled to 40 in North America. Round-trip economy class air add-on fares to Europe are priced from $695 from the East Coast, $795 from the Midwest and $895 from the West Coast. The maiden voyage of the Marco Polo II is set for April 15. The classic 650-guest Marco Polo II features four open-seating dining venues, six bars, a show lounge, cinema, casino, library and Internet center, card room, fitness center, spa with indoor pool and outdoor swimming pool. Experts from the fields of academia, politics, science and the diplomatic corps will be featured on every voyage.

On longer voyages, gentleman hosts will be along to dance and dine with unescorted female travelers. For more information, call 800-333-7300 or visit www.orientlines.com

The CTO UK Chapter has now released its 56-page 2009 Guide to the Caribbean. The team’s UK Chapter will, in the coming weeks, be launching the full colour, glossy, A4 publication, circulating it to 50,000 consumers and members of the travel trade.

The CTO’s main fulfilment piece for the UK and Ireland, the guide will be sent out in response to all enquiries made to the CTO London office. The CTO UK team will also distribute the guide at all the trade and consumer shows they attend in order to communicate the latest news and factual information on the region’s 32 destinations, helping and encouraging agents and consumers to plan travel to the Caribbean with increased knowledge and insight.

To guarantee penetration of the UK and Irish travel trades the guide has also been distributed within BMI’s Selling Long Haul publication, thereby reaching travel agencies, home workers, online agencies and tour operator reservation, contracting and marketing departments.

The guide will be used throughout the year for a range of further purposes, from training to sales packs, direct mailings and other promotions.

In addition to the printed publication an exact downloadable electronic copy will exist online which can be viewed on www.caribbean.co.uk

The contents of the guide including chapters on island hopping, regional news, beaches, nature the green side of the Caribbean, diving, exploring, family holidays and business facilities, as well as a detailed factfile on each of the 32 destinations.

Julia Hendry, the CTO’s director of marketing for the UK and Europe, said, “Our guide is the definitive manual to the entire Caribbean region and we’re delighted that the CTO UK Chapter will have so many opportunities and channels to distribute the 2009 edition.

“We’re particularly pleased that next year’s guide is going to be available electronically as we’re acutely aware of the importance to both the trade and consumers of online access to travel information and news.

“The CTO UK Chapter looks forward to using the guide for training and marketing throughout the year and continuing in our endeavours to continually raise awareness of the countless faces of the Caribbean and its colourful charisma which we are confident will keep drawing visitors despite the current economic difficulties.”

SeaDream Yacht Club has published an update of 2009 Caribbean winter and European summer itineraries. “Bookings for 2008 continue to sell briskly at good yields, and 2009 shows a strength that belies the economic headlines,” said Larry Pimentel, president, CEO and co-owner of SeaDream. “As in previous years, 2009 will find our small, sleek, 50-couple yachts sailing in the Caribbean in the winter months and European waters in the summer. They will call not only at vibrant port cities (for pre- and post-voyage visits), but at small and exclusive seaside towns and villages where the big passenger ships can’t go. Calling at small yachting ports is a specialty of ours.”

In the Caribbean from January through April, the two SeaDream mega-yachts will sail in the British Virgin Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico’s Virgin Islands, French West Indies, Netherlands Antilles and the Windward and Leeward Islands. Embarkation and debarkation ports include San Juan, St. Thomas, Antigua, St. Maarten and Miami on a westbound transatlantic crossing. In Europe from May through October, SeaDream I and II will sail in the Mediterranean, the Adriatic Sea, the Aegean Sea, up into Croatia and down to Tunisia. Embarkation ports include Barcelona, Seville, Tenerife, Lisbon, Nice, Monte Carlo, Rome, Venice, Athens and Dubrovnik. SeaDream will also call on the ports of Miami, Palm Beach and Key West in 2009.

New ports in 2009 are Dewey, Culebra in Puerto Rico’s Virgin Islands; Honeymoon Beach and Water Island, USVI; Cooper Island, BVI; Coconut Grove, Nevis; Samana, Dominican Republic; and Deshaies, Guadeloupe.

Many Caribbean port calls include overnights, such as St. Bart’s. SeaDream is also offering more active land options. Examples are bone-fishing off Anegada and rainforest hikes on Nevis, in addition to kayaking, biking, deep-water fishing, small catamaran racing, beach horseback riding, golf (at Anguilla’s new upscale golf course) and swimming in a bioluminescent bay in Puerto Rico’s Virgin Islands.

New ports for 2009 for SeaDream’s European sailings are Formentera, Spain; Lipari, St. Margherita and Trieste, Italy; Le Lavandou, Antibes, Port Vendres, Sete, Bandol and Menton, France; Piran, Slovenia; Vis, Croatia; La Goulette and Tunis, Tunisia; Katakolon, Elafonisos, Aigina, Chania and Crete, Greece; and Ponta Delgada, the Azores. The European schedule includes more calls at what has been termed the new Mykonos — Naousa village on the Greek island of Paros.

 Guests can also combine the Greek Islands with Croatia on voyages between Venice and Athens.

For more information, visit www.seadream.com

22-day Panama Canal Cruise from only $4,995!

Applicable Cruises

8328 + 8329 Round-trip Miami 12/01 22 Days
Normal Combo Fares Special Combo Fares Combo Savings
Category C: $6,745 $4,995 $1,750
Category B: $7,980 $5,995 $1,985
Category A: $8,605 $6,395 $2,210
Category AA: $9,350 $6,995 $2,355
Embark on a round-trip Miami 22-day combo cruise and enjoy fares from just $4,995. Relish a truly incredible Caribbean vacation, from the verdant shores of Tortola and Aruba to the quaint Creole-style villages of St. Barts.

In Turks and Caicos, snorkel and dive at one of the world’s largest network of coral reefs. Plus, enjoy two remarkable days transiting the magical Panama Canal.

On board, enhance your experience with our Mind, Body & Spirit Theme Cruise on voyage 8329, featuring comprehensive instruction in yoga, Pilates and Tai Chi and expert guest lectures including a wellness seminar from the Cleveland Clinic.

Sail to the Caribbean on a marvelous 22-day cruise with the World’s Best and discover why the difference is Crystal clear.