By Alexander Britell

While the Dominican Republic’s position as the most popular travel destination in the Caribbean by visitor volume has no particularly close challenge, the country isn’t resting on its laurels.

Yes, the country has publicly set a rather intimidating goal: 10 million annual tourists by the year 2023.

And while it remains to be seen if the destination can actually attain that level of visitor volume, one thing is clear: the Dominican Republic is certainly giving it a good shot.

The country’s tourism sector is surging again so far in 2018, with a 6.14 percent increase in stayover tourist arrivals in the first half of 2018, according to the latest numbers released by the Dominican Republic’s central bank, confirmed by a spokesperson for the country’s Ministry of Tourism.

That represented a total of 3,440,505 passengers in the first half of 2018, the most in the Caribbean by far, with Cuba in second with around 2.5 million stayover visitors.

Of course, the vast majority of visitors continue to converge on Punta Cana, meaning if the country is to reach that goal it will have to spread the visitor volume to new poles, from Puerto Plata to Santo Domingo.

The Casa Colonial boutique hotel in Puerto Plata.

The latter seems to be an area of focus, as new hotels pop up and others get reinvigorated (most notably the historic El Embajador).

It’s something the aviation sector is also noticing: indeed, in May, JetBlue launched new daily flights to Santo Domingo out of Newark, while, two months later, low-cost competitor Spirit announced plans to launch daily nonstop flights on the same Newark-Santo Domingo route beginning in November.

Santo Domingo

The challenge will be positioning destinations like Santo Domingo as unique sub-destinations in the country — something that has inarguably worked for Punta Cana.

That has worked in large part due to the brilliance of Grupo Puntacana, which, perhaps unsurprisingly, is behind another major tourism pole project: Puntarena, a $1.5 billion development in the southern region of the Dominican Republic that covers 15.5 million square meters and whose first phase could mean more than 4,000 hotel rooms.

The newly-launched beach club at Puntarena.

Will the Dominican Republic get to 10 million? It’s hard to bet against the proposition.

But it won’t be easy, either.

— CJ

The post The Caribbean’s Most Popular Destination Continues to Climb appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By Alexander Britell

There is a particular passion in the production of rhum agricole in Martinique.

There is a thought, a contemplation, a level of sophistication that seems to transcend what you find in much of the rest of the rum world.

They do things differently in Martinique, and it shows.

It’s the kind of thing you can do when your rum has terroir, when you grow the sugarcane on your own estate, when your rum tastes different every year just because of the harvest, when you can set aside a small corner of your plantation to experiment with one variety of sugarcane, or release tiny bottlings that might never make commercial sense at a larger company.

The Habitation La Favorite distillery, just on the outskirts of Fort de France in Martinique, has been at it since 1842.

In recent decades, it’s gained international renown (and high demand among collectors) with La Flibuste, a 30-year vintage bottled and sealed with wax, a sought-after collector’s item that can typically only be bought on-island in Martinique. (And then the Privilege de La Favorite, a 30-year blend).

Of course, that’s just one example of what has become an impressive portfolio for the company, from its Cuvee Andrey Dormoy to the more recent Riviere Bel Air, a white rum made from a corner of the cane field using exclusively “red” sugarcane. There’s always something new, some new experiment.

Everything from this distillery is unique, everything quintessentially Martinique, and everything artisanal.

There’s no puffery, just legendary rum.

And one of its most recent expressions is no different.

On a recent journey to the island, we obtained a newly-released bottle of La Favorite’s Reserve du Chateau 2002.

The 2002 Reserve du Chateau is a small-production rhum blend of 12 and 14-year vintages aged in both former cognac and bourbon barrels, with just 10,000 bottles per vintage, with every bottle wax-sealed by hand. It’s bottled at 43 degrees.

So what is it like?

The aroma is marked by notes of chocolate syrup, pepper, orange peel, tropical fruit and spice.

The flavor profile is dominated by milk chocolate, orange peel, spice and even a hint of champagne truffle.

It’s got a wonderfully luxurious, velvety texture true of many of the best agricoles, while the finish is a wonder: there’s a feeling of spicy descent, peppery and bold but also grand.

You can taste whispers of the Flibuste, hints of rums yet to come, hidden away in the oak. And some of the more quintessential La Favorite notes: the licorice, the cacao.

For lovers of La Favorite, it can be explained a bit more simply: it’s got the sweet, luxurious qualities of La Flibuste, but with a bold, spicy personality. It’s an uncanny, remarkable combination, the sort of marriage of flavors and multi-layered finishes you only find in rhum agricole.

It’s just another reminder of how unbelievably good — and how different — the rum from this island really is.

Martinique’s rhums don’t need to be taken elsewhere and bottled or aged in other places. There’s no need for “aftermarket” rum.

They’re grown here, made here, bottled here and drunk here.

And they’re spectacular.

La Favorite Reserve du Chateau 2002

Rum Journal Review: 95 Points

Where to Find It: La Reserve du Chateau can be purchased at many stores on Martinique, including at the Aime Cesaire International Airport. We recommend going straight to the terrific boutique at the Distillery. 

— CJ

The post Rum Journal: Martinique’s La Favorite Reserve du Chateau 2002 appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By the Caribbean Journal staff

Norwegian Cruise Line has completed the refurbishments of three of its cruise ships, the company announced this week.

The company has completed bow-to-stern enhancements on Norwegian Sun, Norwegian Star and Norwegian Breakaway.

The upgrades are part of the company’s Norwegian Edge renovation program that includes new designs and venues, from the Los Lobos Cantina Mexican restaurant to the adults-only Spice H20 and Syd Norman’s Pour House.

“What a year this has been for us at Norwegian Cruise Line,” said Andy Stuart, the brand’s president and chief executive officer. “Not only did we introduce our latest and record-breaking ship, Norwegian Bliss, and announce the redeployment of her sister ship Norwegian Joy, but we are now unveiling our newly revitalized ships, Norwegian Breakaway, Sun and Star. This is a testament to how invested we are in our guests’ experience. Although we are one of the youngest fleets in the industry, we are very committed to The Norwegian Edge program which allows us to remain consistent, relevant and exciting.”

Norwegian Star and Sun, which were both built in 2001, underwent three-week dry docks in Barcelona that added three new venues: Sky High Bar, Bliss Ultra Lounge and Spice H20.

Norwegian Breakaway, which was built in 2013, added the aforementioned Syd Norman’s Pour House, along with smaller upgrades like a new carpet in all 2,014 staterooms and suites and a full transformation of the gift shop, among other changes.

The post Norwegian Completes Transformations of Three Cruise Ships appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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