Apple Vacations has added new flights to its Exclusive Vacation Flight charter program out of Lansing, Michigan.

The company will operate nonstop flights from Lansing to Cancun, Punta Cana and Jamaica starting Dec. 23.

The Cancun flights will operate on Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays; Punta Cana flights will operate Wednesdays and Saturdays and Montego Bay, Jamaica flights will operate on Mondays.

Apple Vacations will be operating the flights on Swift Air through April 5, 2018.

The new non-stop Exclusive Vacation Flights include complimentary non-alcoholic beverage services and snacks, one carry-on bag and one checked bag free of charge with AV-OK. Premium Class seating and Preferred Perks Plus upgrades are available from $29 and $39, respectively, according to the company.

— Caribbean Journal staff

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Barbados boasts some of the best golf options in the Caribbean, and now one resort on the island is looking to create the perfect golf getaway.

Elegant Hotels Group’s Turtle Beach Barbados all inclusive will be offering complimentary rounds of golf beginning Oct. 1, 2017.

Guests will have daily access to the Barbados Golf Club facilities, part of the company’s “Elegant Inclusions.”

The 6,805-yeard, par 72 championship course is located on Barbados’ southern coast in the parish of Christ Church, just minutes away from Turtle Beach.

The all-inclusive, all-suite hotel is set on one of Barbados’ most beautiful beaches.

The beach at Turtle Beach.

The golf inclusion features complimentary club rental, one round of golf per day and complimentary transfers between the resort and the course.

Rooms at Turtle Beach start from $301 per night on an all-inclusive basis. Click here for more information.

— CJ

The post How to Golf for Free in Barbados appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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There’s a new music festival to visit in the Caribbean this summer: Roots and Soul.

The artist is dedicated to musicians “setting new trends” in genres including reggae, conscious hip-hop, Afro-punk and R&B, with concerts accompanied by master classes and encounters with artists.

The festival, part of St. Lucia’s new “Soleil” music series this summer, will be headlined by Grammy-winning reggae legends Morgan Heritage.

The two-day event takes place June 17-18 at the Pigeon Island National Landmark.

The June 17 lineup will feature artists including Chrycee ft Dynamics Band, Kayo, Fourth World and Christopher Marin.

The Sunday lineup will include Diana Philip, Rob Zii Taylor and Phyness, Musiq Soulchild, Etana and Morgan Heritage.

The post Morgan Heritage to Headline Roots and Soul Music Festival in St. Lucia appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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The Dream Hotel Group is coming to the Caribbean.

The hotel brand has announced plans to open two Dominican Republic hotels in the coming years, including The Time Dominican Republic and Unscripted Dominican Republic.

The Time, which will be the company’s first Caribbean location, will be an “upper upscale” resort hotel with beachfront guestrooms and suites, multiple dining and nightlife venues and a spa.

Unscripted will feature “spaces,” guest rooms and suites, along with multiple food and beverage outlets.

The 30-year-old company operates hotels around the world under the Dream, Time, Chatwal and Unscripted brands.

Both hotels are slated to debut in 2019.

“We signed more new hotel deals in the last six months than any other year in the company’s history,” said Dream Hotel Group chairman Sant Singh Chatwal. “After significant investment and repositioning from ownership to hotel brand and management, Dream Hotel Group now boasts its strongest portfolio ever, and we look forward to continuing to build on our success and expand our brands at a rapid rate.”

— CJ Staff

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The U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism has named St. Croix chef Ralph Motta as its newest Culinary Ambassador.

The department announced that the executive chef of Motta Cuisine will represent the U.S. Virgin Islands at various in-market activations and events during the year to promote the territory’s culinary offerings.

This week, Motta appeared on camera preparing a dish for “SoFloTaste” on ABC in Miami, in advance of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association’s Caribbean305 culinary celebration, which will take place on Miami’s Jungle Island on June 3.

During the segment, Motta, who appeared with Commissioner of Tourism Beverly Nicholson-Doty, offered host Hunter Franqui a taste of a modern twist on boiled fish.

He prepared the dish with poached mahi mahi in a butter sauce with a cilantro-lime yucca purée, passionfruit glaze, sauteed broccoli and microgreens.

“We’re honored to have Chef Motta as a Culinary Ambassador,” Nicholson-Doty said. “His incredible dishes speak for themselves, and he embodies what makes St. Croix’s culinary scene so special – fresh farm-to-table and sea-to-plate cuisine, on par with and excelling beyond well-established culinary hot spots around the world.”

The self-trained chef, who earned a BFA in Painting from New York’s Pratt Institute, brings an artistic flair to his cooking, often experimenting with a palette of new culinary techniques, serving up a fusion of American, Caribbean and French cuisines.

He founded Motta Cuisine, a boutique catering company, in 2014.

— Dana Niland, CJ Contributor

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