By the Caribbean Journal staff

One of the Caribbean’s most innovative destinations is continuing to raise the bar with the launch of new free Wi-Fi zones across the island.

Aruba has unveiled five new zones “in order to enhance our visitors’ experience,” the Aruba Tourism Authority said in a release.

The free Wi-Fi zones include Eagle Beach; Plaza Turismo; Arikok National Park; Mangel Halto and the Casibari Rock Formation.

The map of Aruba’s free Wi-Fi spots.

“Snap a picture of the perfect sunset when you are at Eagle Beach or Mangel Halto beach and post these right away for your friends and family. Sshhtt… they don’t know you are trying to make them jealous,” the ATA said.

Here’s hoping more Caribbean destinations follow suit.

The post Aruba’s New Free Wi-Fi Zones appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By the Caribbean Journal staff

In 1967, Princess Cruises became the first cruise line to bring passengers through the Panama Canal.

Now, in another major milestone, Princess’ Caribbean Princess ship has become the first megaship to pass through the canal’s expanded Neo-Panamax locks.

“Marking our 50th anniversary taking guests to the Panama Canal in 2017 is a huge milestone so it’s equally thrilling that we will also observed the occasion by being the first cruise line to sail a mega-ship through the newly expanded locks,” said Jan Swartz, Princess Cruises and Carnival Australia group president. “The widely anticipated expansion of the Panama Canal allows us to showcase this engineering spectacle to more guests than ever on our larger ships.”

Caribbean Princess recently sailed through the canal locks with 3,200 guests, the first of 13 scheduled crossings over the course of the 2017-2018 cruise season.

Princess is the only cruise line that offers a full season of Panama Canal cruises, from 10-day to 15-day sailings.

The ship recently underwent a multimillion-dollar renovation that added seven new food concepts and a new youth center.

The new locks opened in June of last year as part of the $5.4 billion Neo-Panamax expansion project.

The post 50 Years Later, Princess Cruises Makes History Again in Panama appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By the Caribbean Journal staff

The government of the Bahamas is looking to chart a new course for the future of Grand Bahama as a technology hub.

“A new day is on the horizon for Grand Bahama,” Bahamas Prime Minister Hubert Minnis told attendees at last week’s first-ever Grand Bahama Tech Summit.

The summit, held at the Grand Lucayan Resort, aimed to launch the foundation for establishing the island as a tech hub, with a list of speakers from tech companies like Google, Microsoft, Hewlett Packard and others.

“Through this first ever Grand Bahama Technology Summit, we are starting on the path to realize this goal,” Minnis said.

Minnis said Grand Bahama was “uniquely suited” to being a center for science, technology and innovation, given its proximity to the United States (it’s just 68 miles from Florida) and modern infrastructure.

That’s without mentioning that the Bahamas has no income tax, corporate tax, capital gains tax, or wealth tax, certainly an incentive that would help draw large tech firms to the island.

“Grand Bahama is already becoming a manufacturing center for cutting-edge technology, as exemplified in the recent soft opening of Carnival Corporation’s Ocean Medallion Project.  Grand Bahama will now be the place where industry meets technology. In many ways, it is a new beginning,” he said.

The post Grand Bahama, Tech Hub? appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By the Caribbean Journal staff

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has officially launched a new direct service between Amsterdam and San Jose, Costa Rica.

KLM is operating the flights twice weekly throughout the winter season, with a third weekly service to be added from the end of January to the end of March.

It’s a major return for KLM, which last operated direct flights to Costa Rica in 1998.

“Our primary aim is to offer our passengers access to unique experiences,” said Boet Kreiken, EVP for customer experience at KLM. “We are therefore very proud to be able to operate flights to this wonderful destination once more.”

KLM said it was introducing the service “responding to growing passenger demand.”

The San Jose flights will be operated on Boeing 787-900 aircraft with 294 seats.

“Costa Rica is renowned for its breathtaking nature and attracts many tourists every year. For our business passengers, Costa Rica is interesting as market full of possibilities,” Kreiken said.

The post KLM Launches Costa Rica Flights appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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It’s most famous as the home of the Sandals LaSource Grenada resort, but the lovely Pink Gin Beach in Grenada deserves acclaim all on its own.

It’s a spectacular stretch of sand, with sweeping cliffs, lush greenery and sparkingly clear water that’s particularly good for snorkeling.

This is what it’s like to walk on the beach. Enjoy this moment of Grenada.

— CJ

The post VIDEO: A Walk on Pink Gin Beach, Grenada appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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