Travel news from the sources

Celebrity's four Solstice ships to sail Caribbean

News from Celebrity Cruises:

Celebrity's four Solstice-class ships will sail in Europe in the summer of 2011, then head for the Caribbean for the winter of 2011-2012.

The Solstice ships will join four other Celebrity ships, offering itineraries ranging in length from 4 to 14 nights out of five homeports.
 
The new Celebrity Silhouette, launching in 2011, will sail from Cape Liberty (Bayonne), New Jersey, from November 2011 to April 2012, alternating Southern and Eastern Caribbean voyages of 12 nights.

Cruising solo, single cabins on Norwegian Epic

News from Norwegian Cruise Lines

Norwegian Cruise Lines is first among the major cruise companies to offer cabins dedicated to the single traveler when on the new Norwegian Epic.

With a capacity of 4,100 passengers, the Epic, largest ship in the NCL fleet, devotes 128 cabins over two decks to single travelers.

The studio cabins were originally going to be offered as small, affordable rooms for two, but they are being priced for solo travelers. Some cabins are connected so that friends or groups traveling together can enjoy their own accommodations. See David Molyneaux's article on NCL's new studio cabins on TheTravelMavens.com

Costa sails two cruise ships out of Dubai

Costa Deliziosa debuts in February, joins Costa Luminosa

News from Costa Cruises:

Costa Luminosa, inaugurated in June, set sail on seven-night cruises from Dubai December 12. Her sister ship, Costa Deliziosa, will sail similar routes starting in February. Both ships are 92,600 tons and carry 2,260 passengers.

The inaugural season of the Costa Luminosa from Dubai will feature Saturday departures with two overnights in Dubai and visits to Muscat, Fujairah, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain. Her season will run through April 10.

The Costa Deliziosa departs from Savona, Italy, on February 5. The ship will call on Dubai for her inaugural festivities from February 23-26. Guests sailing on the February 5th departure will be able to attend the naming ceremony. The ship’s regular route from Dubai on Sundays will feature the same seven-night routes as her sister ship, the Costa Luminosa. These cruises will begin on March 14 and extend through May 9. 

Cotton Tree is cottage hotel in Caymans

News from the Cayman Islands:

A new luxury hideaway, Cotton Tree, is a boutique property on the northernmost point of Grand Cayman, 10 minutes from the famed Seven Mile Beach. The hotel has four pastel-hued, plantation-style beach cottages just steps from the Caribbean Sea and lush garden setting of tropical flowers and avocado, guava, mango, and cotton trees for which the hotel was named.

 Owner Heather Lockington, a global traveler who was born in the Cayman Islands, has built her dream property in West Bay.

 “My inspiration for Cotton Tree,” says Lockington, “was the day when I was stopped on the beach by a family who asked for any places in Cayman other than traditional hotels where they can feel at home. I want people to understand the islands’ architecture, art, cuisine — basically, to learn about the essence of the Cayman Islands and its people.”

Cotton Tree consists of just four two-bedroom, beachfront cottages, ensuring privacy and intimacy. They measure 1,600 square feet and resemble fully equipped houses.

Sugar Ridge resort opens in Antigua

News from Sugar Ridge, a 60-room boutique resort on the southwest coast of Antigua:

Sugar Ridge opened December 1 (2009). The resort features Antigua’s first Aveda spa and views of the Caribbean from a natural hillside bordered with sugar cane.

Guests will be able to see the neighboring islads of Redonda, St. Kitts and Nevis. The resort’s elevation provides vistas to the north of rolling landscape. To the east lies forests and Antigua’s dramatic coastal highlands.

Seven godmothers at Oasis of the Seas naming

News from Royal Caribbean International:

Oasis of the Seas was named officially on Dec. 1, in a ceremony of seven celebrity godmothers.

Gloria Estefan, Daisy Fuentes, Shawn Johnson, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Michelle Kwan, Jane Seymour and Dara Torres each represented a neighborhood on Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ship.

The celebration took place throughout the seven signature neighborhoods onboard Oasis of the Seas, culminating with the traditional Champagne bottle breaking ceremony followed by a fireworks display in the waters beyond the stage of the AquaTheater, the ship’s oceanfront theater.  Video of the event is available on the ship’s web site, www.OasisOfTheSeas.com.

Flying beach chair to Roatan's Mahogany Beach

Photos from Mahogany Bay

A new elevated chair lift will transport guests between the new Mahogany Bay Cruise Center in Roatan and Mahogany Beach. 

This Magical Flying Beach Chair debuts with the opening of a new cruise ship center that opens Nov. 20. That's when the $62-million Mahogany Bay Cruise Center welcomes its first ship, Carnival Cruise Lines’ 2,124-passenger Carnival Legend.  

The center, with 20 acres of waterfront and a two-berth cruise terminal, is a joint project of Carnival Corp. & plc and Roatan businessman Jerry Hynds.

The chair lift -- with a fee of $5 per person for the day -- will offer views of the bay and countryside. EDITOR NOTE: Starting May 1, 2010, the price goes to $10.

It will take cruise passengers to Mahogany Beach, a 10-acre private island with lounge chairs, cabanas for rent, floats, a beach volleyball court and watersports. The sand beach is 825 feet long.

Carnival Dream offers high-energy laser show

Carnival Cruise Lines’ new 130,000-ton Carnival Dream will introduce the line’s first outdoor laser shows that will combine the latest in laser technology with rock music to provide guests a unique and exciting nighttime entertainment option.

Carnival Dream’s laser shows will be the first ever for a North America–based cruise ship.

The 15-minute nighttime laser shows will feature choreographed lasers projecting brilliant aerial patterns of blue, red and green set to music by popular artists such as Styx, Rush, Van Halen, Boston and Pink Floyd. 

Smoke machines will be used to enhance the laser light effects in the starry, moonlit sky, creating an ideal setting for guests to relax on Carnival Dream’s expansive open deck.

Caribbean's five special restaurant tables

Summer brings bargains off-season to hotels in the Caribbean and the Bahamas. Here are five special tables for eating well this summer, as recommended by Andria Mitsakos, a travel expert, president & CEO of AMPR, a public relations firm that represents clients in the Caribbean and the Bahamas.

 
Simmer Down
The Marley Resort, Nassau, The Bahamas
www.marleyresort.com
If you’re lucky, Mama Lur, the Marley’s family cook (yes, the one that cooked for Bob himself), will make her Sautéed Vegetable Roast Fish with Candied Sweet Potatoes and Mint Asparagus. Local seafood, organic produce and Marley family favorites (Rita’s choice is the lamb) round out the menu. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. 
 
Daphne’s
Adjacent to The House, Barbados
www.daphnesbarbados.com
Princess Diana frequented its London counterpart, and now this beachfront location next to The House hotel has foodies flocking. Chef Marco Festini Cromer’s modern Italian food is perfectly matched to current trends. Try the Iced Plum Tomato Soup and gorgeous Marinated Fish Carpaccio of the Day. Lunch and dinner.
 

New Carnival Dream adds new cruise shows

The new 130,000-ton Carnival Dream will debut Sept. 21 

The massive scale of Carnival’s newest and largest “Fun Ship,” combined with recent

technological advancements and the incredible imagination of the line’s entertainment

team, have created the most spectacular shows at sea that raise the bar on shipboard 

entertainment. 

In addition to three production revues that will feature elaborate

sets and costumes, state-of-the-art video technology and sophisticated 

special effects, Carnival Dream will offer a multitude of entertainment choices, 

everything from solo singers, comedians, and live bands to “Fun Force,” the 

line’s high-energy acrobatic team, which will perform in different areas 

throughout the ship.