26 NOV 2018: In case you missed it, and even if you didn’t, here’s a quick look at some of last week’s need-to-know travel news:
AIR
A new and improved Sunwing Café menu is being served up on Sunwing flights thanks to the airline’s renewed partnership with acclaimed chef Lynne Crawford. Available on all flights, the updated menu features two new dishes inspired by Chef Lynn including the Tex Mex Grilled Chicken Wrap and Mac & Cheese. To celebrate the arrangement, passengers an also enter a contest through Dec. 16 to win a trip for two to the Royalton Riviera Cancun Resort & Spa, where they will meet and cook with Chef Lynn.
Still on the subject of food:
With the holidays season simultaneously being one of the busiest travel, and gastronomically gluttonous, times of the year, the Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center has rated 11 major North American airlines on the healthiness of their snack and on-board food offerings. Alaska Airlines tops the “health rating” survey, but Canadian travellers will be pleased to know that Air Canada fared well, placing fourth, following Delta in second and JetBlue in third. AC scored 3.45 stars (out of five) with an average calorie count of 346 per serving. In its “best bets” category for the airline, the survey recommends Greek yogurt, the Avocado Smash Box, chicken soup, and almonds.
Unhealthiest airline? Frontier, scoring only .85 out of five. (Note: No other Canadian airlines were rated).
As of February, Transat will introduce additional frequency between Montreal and Cayo Coco, as well as between Toronto and Santa Clara resulting in five times a week service on both routes respectively. In addition, a fifth weekly flight between Montreal with Fort Lauderdale, will start in late December.
There’s nothing rocky about the road to Dublin as WestJet gears up to launch daily non-stop seasonal service to the Irish city from Halifax starting April 29, continuing through Oct. 25, 2019.
TOURS
From becoming a gladiator, to making pizza with a pizzaiolo in Rome, or just wandering the open spaces of a cattle ranch, cowboy style, Trafalgar is offering nine immersive itineraries in 52 cities in its 2019 Family Experiences program. The program is designed to be a “perfect mix of fun, hands-on and educational activities that children of all ages will love,” as well as appealing to multi-generational families. A new tour for next year is the 10-day “Shamrocks and Leprechauns” in Ireland.
Goway Travel has teamed up with Australian Pacific Touring to launch the latter’s new Downunder brochure for 2019/20 in Canada. The 84-page guide offers a wide range of Premier and Value-Plus touring options, including new Small Group Journeys in New Zealand and Australia. Several early booking bonuses are also available: Passengers booking before March 2019 will save 5% on their deposit, or up to 10% off a trip fully paid at time of booking. Also, agents booking with Goway will receive a discount of $300 on 2018/19 departures of APT’s NZ Wonderland trip.
Air Canada Vacations has unveiled its 2019 Europe Collection with vacations in Switzerland now amongst the 153 packages available in 13 countries. The 2019 Europe Collection also features newly added routes to Vienna and Bordeaux, and focuses on vacation packages to Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Ireland, Great Britain, France, Iceland, Croatia, Prague, Budapest and Switzerland. Trafalgar Guided Vacations, Contiki Guided Trips and newly added Insight Guided Vacations are offered in combination with flights to bring customers more guided tour package options throughout Europe. There are also 500 cruises available to be booked.
DEALS & DISCOUNTS
Avalon Waterways is offering $1,500 off per person on a host of its Active Discovery Cruises for 2019 when booked by Dec. 18. The offer applies to almost 60 departures of the cruises along the Rhône, Rhine and Danube rivers. On an Active Discovery cruise, passengers have the choice each day of three types of free shore excursions: a Classic (usually a walking tour with local guide), a Discovery (a taste of cultural immersion such as sampling cheese and beer at an ancient abbey, or an insider’s tour of Vienna), or an Active (such as a guided hike, jog or bike tour).
Myrtle Beach area restaurants and attractions are offering money saving coupon options for the holidays. Check them out HERE.
HOTELS
Designed for clients who “eat, sleep and breathe music,” Reverb by Hard Rock is the newest brand from Hard Rock International. The new collection of music-centric hotels will be designed as contemporary hubs where modern music lovers can connect and create. With innovative technology woven throughout its core DNA, the brand is determined to “prove that tech makes everything easier.” In February 2020, Reverb debuts in Atlanta with its first property adjacent to the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. A unique feature of the hotel will be a “Roadie Room,” with six queen bunk beds and plenty of space for everyone to “crash and chill.”
After recently launching its two new boutique brands, Best Western Hotels & Resorts has announced its first Aiden Hotel and Sadie Hotel locations. The first-ever Aiden Hotel opened last month in Seoul, South Korea, and the next is set to open in December near Paris, France. The first three Sadie Hotel properties are coming to Tampa, Florida; Fredericksburg, Texas; and New York, New York in 2020.
Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City has announced plans for a US$56-million guest room and suite renovation in its Coastal Tower, featuring 507 finely-appointed guest-rooms & suites, to be completed in its entirety by summer 2019.
RESORTS
Sandals Resorts International (SRI) has added 50 luxury suites at Sandals Royal Barbados (photo), their newest property on the island, which opened in December 2017. With the addition of these new suites, Sandals Resorts International now offers a total of 552 luxury rooms and suites across two resorts in Barbados.
The newly opened Riu Palace Boavista is the resort chain’s fifth hotel in Cape Verde and its third on the island of Boa Vista, following a total investment of €70 million. The five-star hotel is located by Praia das Dunas and it offers the exclusive all-inclusive 24-hour service of RIU together with the sophistication of the elegant Riu Palace range. The hotel, which has 505 rooms, three pools and a broad range of cuisine on offer, opens 10 years after the launch of Riu Karamboa, the chain’s first hotel on the island off the African coast.
An agreement between Apple Leisure Group and one of Spain’s largest hotel groups will see Apple brand AMResorts take over operation of four Grupo Inversor Hesperia (GIHSA) properties after the latter terminated a management agreement with NH Hotels. Starting in 2019, AMResorts will operate two of the resorts under the adults-only Secrets Resorts & Spas brand, and the other two under the family-friendly brands Dreams Resorts & Spas and Amigo Resorts. Secrets Mallorca Villamil Resort & Spa will open in March 2019, followed by Secrets Lanzarote Resort & Spa and Amigo Fuerteventura Resort in May 2019. And in November 2019, Dreams Lanzarote Resort & Spa will debut as a five-star property (formerly a four-star hotel). GIHSA will spend more than 20 million euros to bring the properties up to AMResorts standards.
CRUISE
Celebrity Cruises’ latest wonder ship, the Celebrity Edge, officially arrived at its new home Port Everglades’ Terminal 25 (photo) in Hollywood, Florida, following the ship’s inaugural 15-day transatlantic crossing. The Edge begins Caribbean itineraries for the winter starting Dec. 9.
A traditional steel-cutting ceremony held at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Turku, Finland, signified the official start of construction of the largest Carnival cruise ship ever constructed, to be delivered in 2020. At the ceremony, the company also revealed a dramatic new red, white and blue hull design for 345-metre-long ship, 180,000-ton yet-to-be named vessel, which is due to be delivered in 2020.
The first sailing date for Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours discovery yacht the Scenic Eclipse, has been amended to April 13, 2019. Guests booked before that date can receive a refund (including “reasonable associated costs”) and will receive a 25 percent credit towards the cost of a rebooked cruise. info@scenic.ca
Eight ships offering 11 cruise-only itineraries, plus 25 cruisetour itineraries, will highlight Princess Cruises’ 2020 Alaska season, which runs from May to September. New for 2020 is a 17-night Ultimate Cruisetour, with 10 nights on land that includes two nights at each Princess wilderness lodge. Sales are open now.
THEME PARKS
Universal Orlando Resort is in full Christmas mode with a full slate of holiday events lined up between now and New Years, ranging from Grinchmas to concerts by holiday favourites Mannheim Steamroller, and the Macy’s holiday parade. Another highlight is The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which has been transformed into a wizarding wonderland with themed decorations, garlands and lights throughout the streets of Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley, holiday-themed musical performances, and seasonal food and beverages – including hot Butterbeer. And at night, a dazzling projection of holiday spirit comes to life on Hogwarts castle for “The Magic of Christmas at Hogwarts Castle.”
Disney has unveiled the latest details about its much-anticipated Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge attraction, due to open at Disneyland Resort next summer and at Walt Disney World Resort in fall 2019. Guests will be able take the controls in one of three unique and critical roles aboard Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, while on Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, guests can join an epic battle between the First Order and the Resistance – including a face-off with Kylo Ren. It was also revealed that Academy Award-winning composer John Williams is creating original Star Wars themes exclusively for these lands.
PEOPLE
Barbara Scrocco is the second monthly winner in TravelBrands’ four-month Loyalty Rewards point contest. The Brantford, Ont. travel agent was chosen at random and wins 100,000 points. In effect through December, the contest will also award one million points (equivalent to $10,000) to one lucky grand prize winner who makes an online booking through Access.
G Adventures founder Bruce Poon Tip has been named one of Canada’s Most Admired CEOs for 2018 by Waterstone Human Capital, a leading Canadian cultural talent management firm. The national program recognizes best-in-class Canadian organizations and CEOs for fostering corporate cultures that enhance performance and help sustain a competitive advantage. Poon Tip is the winner in the new Social Entrepreneurship category, which recognizes a leader who has made an outstanding contribution to social impact, as well as corporate culture, over the course of their career.
AGENT TRAINING
Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) has announced two new online courses, as well as three updated courses, to its professional development program available to travel professionals. The former includes Building Client Loyalty and Power Selling Techniques, while the latter are: Cruising 201, World Geography- Western Hemisphere, and World Geography- Eastern Hemisphere. CLIA’s online courses are available to Individual Agent Members at the discounted member rate of US$29/course and non-member travel professionals at $59/course.
DESTINATIONS
Cuba’s first ever Gastro Show, will take place in Jan. 8-10, 2019 in Havana. To be held at the Iberostar Grand Packer and Parque Central hotels, the government-organized event will bring together Cuban and international chefs to share their culinary masterpieces and will feature such activities as a cooking show, wine and cheese and rum and cigar pairings, and concerts by local musicians. Iberostar Grand Packard and Iberostar Parque Central are offering packages for the event including four nights accommodation with breakfast.
National Geographic has joined forces with the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) to promote the latter’s 10th annual “Great Outdoors” campaign, featuring 13 of the city’s great landscapes. The campaign will include a guidebook, “Your Guide to Hiking & Cycling in Hong Kong,” photo gallery as well as collaborative content with insights from National Geographic photographers and trail experts. Read the full story HERE.
New York’s famed experiential toy store FAO Schwarz is back, three years after closing its flagship store on Fifth Avenue. Under new ownership, the beloved store – featured in the 1988 movie “Big” with Tom Hanks playing on a walk-on piano – opened at 30 Rockefeller Plaza with 6,100 sq. m. over 2.5 levels and a new signature 8-metre rocket ship.
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