By the Caribbean Journal staff

Port Canaveral is the new homeport for a pair of Royal Caribbean ships, following their first sailings from the Florida port this week.

Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas and Mariner of the Seas are now homeporting at Port Canaveral.

“We are excited to welcome these two magnificent cruise ships to Port Canaveral and proud of our partnership with Royal Caribbean International.” Port Canaveral CEO Captain John Murray said. “With record numbers of cruise guests visiting our Port year after year, the arrival of Harmony and Mariner shows that Port Canaveral has ensured the confidence of RCI to accommodate two of the largest and most sophisticated cruise ships in the industry.”

Harmony of the Seas is the second-largest cruise ship in the world, and the largest ship to ever homeport at Port Canaveral.

The 226,963-gross-ton ship has capacity for 6,700 guests.

Mariner of the Seas has capacity for 4,000 guests; it recently underwent a $100 million upgrade.

— CJ

The post Royal Caribbean Adds Two Ships in Port Canaveral appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

Powered by WPeMatico

… the chart and said Puerto Ricans should be ‘grateful … had Texas, they had Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico got $91billion. I understand … when Hurricane Maria decimated Puerto Rico in 2017. 
Congress has … $11billion in aid to Puerto Rico. 
The $50billion in future …

Powered by WPeMatico

By the Caribbean Journal staff

One of the British Virgin Islands’ top private-island resorts has named a new executive chef.

The luxe Scrub Island Resort, Spa and Marina has tapped Chloe St-Cyr as its new lead chef.

“We’re so pleased to welcome Chef Chloe to Scrub Island Resort, Spa & Marina, where she will draw on her years of experience and award-winning creativity to lead the resort’s talented culinary team as executive chef,” said Scott McArdle, general manager of Scrub Island. “Chef Chloe is the perfect choice to oversee our evolving food and beverage offerings, including the newly rebranded Cardamom & Co. and Donovan’s Reef.”

St-Cyr comes to the resort after having served most recently as executive chef at the Sandy Lane Yacht Club on Canouan in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

She’s also held posts at Sandals Negril in Jamaica, the Hilton Dubai Jumeirah and Kandolhu in the Maldives, among others.

For more, visit Scrub Island.

— CJ

The post This BVI Resort Has a New Executive Chef appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

Powered by WPeMatico

By the Caribbean Journal staff

American Airlines is ramping up its flight service to the Caribbean’s most popular destination.

The carrier will soon be launching a pair of new nonstop routes to the Dominican Republic, with service from both Charlotte and Dallas-Fort Worth to Santo Domingo.

The new routes will both begin operating on June 8, with service running every week on Saturdays.

Santo Domingo is seeing a significant jump in airlift.

It’s no coincidence that American is the latest carrier to expand its service to the Dominican Republic’s capital, which the country’s officials are heavily promoting as its next big tourism pole.

Indeed, in the last year, a slew of carriers have launched new routes to Santo Domingo, including JetBlue, which now operates daily flights from Newark; and rapidly expanding low-cost carrier Spirit, which now runs flights from Orlando to the capital.

The planned launch comes as American Airlines also expanded its service from Miami to Santo Domingo at the end of last year.

Inside a room at the Billini hotel.

So what makes Santo Domingo a hot destination right now?

It’s a bustling, energetic capital, with perhaps the most beautiful historic quarter on the region, the Colonial Zone, along with large portfolio of hotels, an impressive cultural and arts offering and a deepening shopping scene to boot.

The Colonial Zone of Santo Domingo.

It’s even home to the first-ever cable car system in the Caribbean.

WHERE TO STAY

While its flagship hotel is almost certainly the spectacular JW Marriott, if you’re looking for a culture-filled weekend getaway, you can’t go wrong in one of the charming boutique hotels in the Colonial Zone, led by the Casas del XVI and the Billini.

For a more traditional, but equally historic experience, try the Hodelpa Nicolas de Ovando, set on the Caribbean’s oldest street.

— CJ

The post American Airlines Launching Two New Dominican Republic Routes appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

Powered by WPeMatico

By the Caribbean Journal staff

One of the Caribbean’s greatest luxury hotels has debuted a major new spa: the first-ever Natura Bisse-branded spa in the world.

The Dominican Republic’s Eden Roc Cap Cana has unveiled the new $2 million, 30,000-square-foot spa called the Solaya Spa and Wellness Center.

It’s home to 12 treatment rooms with indoor and outdoor cabins, a 1,200-square-foot anti-gravity yoga area, an indoor and outdoor aqua garden and a freshwater pool.

That’s along with a 3,000-square-foot gym with an in-house personal trainer and even a wellness bar with tropical fruit juices and smoothies.

It’s led by spa director Pedro Castillo, whose resume includes stops at international spas across Europe, the United States, South America and the Caribbean with brands like Dreams and Secrets.

“The Solaya Spa Fitness & Wellness has been designed to ensure every need of our guests is met so they can unwind and recharge in the most luxurious and relaxing facilities in the Caribbean,” Castillo said in a statement. “We are dedicated to offering exceptional experiences for each guest with close attention to detail, from champagne upon arrival to customized treatments. We know each face and each body is unique so our goal is to surpass all expectations for unparalleled results. Guests will leave our brand-new state-of-the-art facilities feeling relaxed, uplifted and rejuvenated.”

The post The Dominican Republic Has a Serious New Spa appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

Powered by WPeMatico