By the Caribbean Journal staff

Trinidad and Tobago’s national culinary team took home the top honors in the latest edition of the Taste of the Caribbean competition in Miami last week.

The team beat out 11 other national culinary teams from around the Caribbean in the annual event run by the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association.

Taking home gold medals were the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands and Turks and Caicos, while silver medalists included Barbados, Belize, Bonaire, Curacao, Jamaica and Saint Lucia.

Suriname won a bronze medal.

The Bahamas’ Jamall Small won the award in the Caribbean Chef competition, while Trinidad and Tobago’s Shana Rajahram won the Caribbean Bartender Competition.

The Bahamas’ Hazen Rolle won the Caribbean Junior Chef Competition, while Turks and Caicos’ Vadivel Raju won the Caribbean Pastry Chef competition.

The post Trinidad and Tobago Wins Caribbean’s Top Culinary Competition appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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All-inclusive resorts in the Caribbean have changed to such a degree that many of them now defy categorization. While the term “all-inclusive” used to have an overarching, unified definition, there is now a dramatically diverse range of offerings in the Caribbean.

That means where you would once simply choose by destination, now you can choose by experience: do you want to stay in a boutique resort or a large one? A wellness-focused property or one for old-school beach vacations?

The point is, travelers have more choices than ever before. That’s why our new look at the top all-inclusive resorts to visit emphasizes this diversity — we’ve included resorts from all over the Caribbean, not just traditional all-inclusive hubs like Punta Cana; we’ve included all-inclusive resorts of all shapes and sizes — and we’ve gathered resorts offering all kinds of experiences, from castaway fantasies to family getaways.

Here are the top all-inclusive resorts to visit right now. The choice is yours.

Palm Island, St Vincent and the Grenadines No all-inclusive matches the sheer fantasy and romance of this private-island outpost in the heart of the Grenadines. It’s boutique, it’s beautiful and it’s a true-bucket list destination. It’s the ultimate all-inclusive experience in the Caribbean — bar none.

The post The Top 25 All-Inclusive Resorts to Visit Right Now appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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… Puerto Rican families staying under the TSA program in 30 states and Puerto Rico … flow of Puerto Ricans to the mainland. Up to 75,000 Puerto Ricans arrived … is Puerto Rican, said it hurts when she hears residents criticize Puerto Ricans, saying …

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By the Caribbean Journal staff

JetBlue is expanding to Cuba — again.

The New York City-based carrier has announced plans to launch new flights from Boston to Havana, along with an increase in flights to Havana from Fort Lauderdale.

The new flights mean JetBlue will fly from more American cities to Cuba than any other airline.

“As the first airline to operate commercial service between the U.S. and Cuba, we are proud to celebrate another first as the only carrier to serve Havana from Boston while also growing our successful service in Fort Lauderdale,” said John Checketts, vice president network planning, JetBlue. “JetBlue will operate more than 50 weekly flights between the U.S. and Cuba from every one of our east coast focus cities.”

JetBlue said it would be launching weekly Saturday service from Boston to Havana beginning Nov. 10.

The company said it had been seeking a nonstop route from Boston to Havana since it first applied for commercial flights to Cuba in 2016.

The expanded Fort Lauderdale service will see the launch of an additional flight operating Sunday through Friday, meaning up to three daily flights from Fort Lauderdale to Havana.

The new flight will be a new afternoon departure from Fort Lauderdale and a new evening flight from Havana.

The post JetBlue Is Expanding Its Nonstop Flights to Cuba appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By the Caribbean Journal staff

Vacation Express is adding more flights to Jamaica, the company announced this week.

The new flights will operate nonstop from Detroit Metropolitan Airport to Montego Bay from January 21, 2019 through April 22.

That will mean flights on Mondays for four and seven-night getaways, and flights on Fridays for three and seven-night getaways.

“We are excited about adding more flights from Detroit; we know Jamaica will become a popular destination for us this winter,” said Kevin Hernandez, VP Marketing and Sales at Vacation Express.

Vacation Express also announced it would be expanding its Detroit-Punta Cana flights in January, with Saturday and Sunday departures from Jan. 19-April 21.

“We are excited to see new options to the hottest destinations in the Caribbean during Detroit’s cold winter,” said Joe Cambron, Wayne County Airport Authority Director of Air Service Development. “Vacation Express is a great way for our passengers to fully experience the sandy beaches of Montego Bay or Punta Cana in one easy package.”

The post Vacation Express Adding More Montego Bay Flights appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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