By the Caribbean Journal staff

Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas cruise ship has arrived in Miami fresh off a $115 million redesign.

The 3,386-passenger ship, which will be sailing five and nine-night Caribbean itineraries, has added a host of new amenities, from a new poolscape to an onboard blow-dry bar to what it calls the “longest aqua coaster at sea.”

Other additions include an Italian eatery by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver; a laser tag arena; a FlowRider; a Polynesian-style bar called The Bamboo Room and a New England-inspired seafood eatery called Hooked.

“We have really dialed up the adventure and Caribbean vibes in ways that will make Navigator of the Seas the ultimate getaway to take from Miami,” said Michael Bayley, President and CEO, Royal Caribbean International. “Independence and Mariner of the Seas, the first two modernized ships in our Royal Amplified program, have quickly become standout hits, and Navigator builds on this momentum with a combination of new, exciting features and signature Royal Caribbean offerings that will surprise and delight guests cruising with us for the first time and those who have vacationed with us before.”  

Navigator is the latest beneficiary of the fleet modernization program, which will see a total investment of $1 billion, according to the company.

It will extend to 10 different ships over a four-year period.

Navigator will soon call on Royal’s new Perfect Day at CocoCay private destination beginning in May.

The post Royal Caribbean Ship Completes $115 Million Redesign appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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Campaigning in Puerto Rico is fraught with unique political … two: Cruz has advocated for Puerto Rican sovereignty, Rosselló for statehood.
So … status he favors, Castro praised Puerto Ricans “self-determination” and …

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By Guy Britton

“Beware the Lusca,” he said.

“What’s that?” I said.

The dive instructor smiled and slipped under the surface of the deepest blue hole on Andros Island in The Bahamas, the kind of deep, dark place where these half-octopus, half-shark creatures are said to live.

Blue holes are sinkholes or underwater caves, typically circle-shaped, always with dramatically steep walls. And there are more blue holes on Andros than anywhere else on earth, with 175 of them inland and another 50 scattered around the shallow waters offshore.

The island even has its own Andros Blue Hole National Park, home to 40,000 acres and lots of deep, dark places.

It’s these kinds of unique blue holes and underwater caverns, streams and passageways that only add to the mystery of this island, a place filled with folklore and legend and, they, say, luscas.

Much of this place is unexplored — and it was this otherworldly allure that drew Jacques Cousteau to the park in 1971, when he released a dye in a blue hole located miles inland and later recorded the dye offshore in the tongue of the ocean.

The famed oceanographer’s experiment proved that the blue hole caverns and passageways are connected to the ocean. 

Cousteau’s Blue Hole.

Even today, the depth of Cousteau’s blue hole is unknown.

It’s a raw, natural and impossibly exotic landscape — but while Andros and its environment are at the edge of the frontier, they can be explored — and readily welcome the adventurous traveler.

For one, Andros’ Small Hope Bay Lodge offers guided blue hole adventures for exploration above and below the surface, with several close to the lodge. 

The Rainbow Blue Hole.

Rainbow Blue Hole is the closest, accessible via a short hike though a well maintained nature trail.  Two of the blue holes in the park are equipped with a dock for access to water for those how feel the need for swimming — if you feel like exploring further.

Some people are drawn to swimming and diving in a blue hole; it makes others uneasy, overwhelmed by the mystery of them.

For those who are drawn to diving in these underwater cave entrances, Small Hope Bay has experienced dive guides and organized dive trips in the blue holes — but it’s not something one should do without a very experienced guide.

Because you never know what you may find inside a blue hole.

It could be a lusca.

See more in the latest CJ Video.

— CJ

The post This Island in The Bahamas Is the Blue Hole Capital of the World appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By the Caribbean Journal staff

A new luxury couples-only hotel is coming to Mexico’s Caribbean coastline, Caribbean Journal has learned.

Original Group, known for its couples-only, adult-themed hotels, is expanding with a new boutique couples-only hotel on the Riviera Maya.

The company is perhaps best known for its Temptation brand, which has a property in Cancun.

It’s called Desire Mansion, and it will be set within the Desire Riviera Maya Pearl Resort.

The all-suite property, which will debut in the winter of 2020, will be set in a glass and crystal building with three floors and just eight suites.

Six suites will be “Mansion Suites,” all of which will have their own private swim-up pools; and two “Royal Suites” on the second level.

“We are thrilled to announce Desire Mansion as the latest addition to our growing brand and the place where opulence and sensuality will meet for couples seeking to indulge beyond pleasure,” said Rodrigo de la Peña, CEO of Original Group. “Desire Mansion will offer guests a more intimate and elevated setting within our spectacular Desire Riviera Maya Pearl Resort. The premiere resort-within-a-resort concept will provide a fantastic retreat from the ordinary in every way possible.”

Desire Mansion will also give guests access to their own “clothing optional” areas and an exclusive area on Desire Pearl’s private beach.

“Desire presents a couples-only, clothing-optional, adult-centric space where vacationers can explore their fantasies away from home, doing so safely within their own limits, letting all their choices be their own,” Original Group said in a statement.

— CJ

The post A New Couples-Only Hotel Is Coming to Mexico appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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… equipping 89 health facilities across Puerto Rico with 164 FDA-compliant, … and clinics approved by the Puerto Rico Department of Health to … come at the request of Puerto Rico’s Department of Health … Charitable Trust and the Puerto Rican Red Cross.

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