Travel

Miami-based Carnival Cruise Lines has launched its first-ever gift card program just in time for the holiday season, the cruise line announced recently.

The prepaid card can be loaded with money from $10 to $1,000, and used as payment toward a cruise vacation or a variety of onboard purchases such as spa treatments and specialty restaurants, Carnival said.

Prepaid gift card, Carnival Cruise Lines/COURTESY

The card can be bought at goccl.com, at 866-270-1064 or aboard ships and are ideal gifts for special occasions such as weddings and birthdays, Carnival officials said.

Cruise reviews and news website Cruise Critic revealed its 2012 Editors’ Picks Awards earlier this week, which recognizes  the best in the cruise industry.

Among the winners were several Miami-based cruise operators and some of their ships that sail from PortMiami and Port Everglades.

Here’s a list of the winners and the reasons why they were chosen, according to Cruise Critic:

Best New Ship: Carnival Breeze : Carnival Breeze embodies a new breed of Carnival’s Fun Ship concept with a toned-down tropical feel and new-to-Carnival restaurants and entertainment, while also remaining true to its casual cruising roots.  Best for First-Timers: Norwegian Cruise Line - Norwegian Epic, Norwegian’s newest ship, and the line’s Jewel-class series of vessels offer the industry’s largest selection of restaurants, a massive spa and fitness complex, and a much-improved kids program. 

Best Value for Money: Carnival Cruise Lines - Carnival consistently offers solid prices and hard-to-beat value. As part of its fleetwide Fun Ship 2.0 overhaul, the line is adding burger, BBQ and taco dining venues to a number of ships, surcharge-free.  Best Shore Excursions: Disney Cruise Line - Disney invests an enormous amount of time and money in creating unique “port adventures,” with tours created specifically for both adults and families.

Best New River Ship: Viking Cruise Line’s Longships  – The first six of Viking’s revolutionary Longships debuted this year, offering an airy ambience with plenty of big-ship amenities. And the ships are state-of-the-art when it comes to engineering, with hybrid engines and solar panels.

Best River Cruise Line: Uniworld River Cruises -  In addition to its excellent service, what really sets Uniworld apart from other river lines is its lavish décor, superb cuisine, interesting assortment of themed tours in addition to the usual, and innovative ship designs.

Best U.S. Port: San Francisco - San Francisco has long been a contender as one of the country’s best ports, but new efforts to redevelop its waterfront and build a state-of-the-art cruise terminal, combined with fantastic sightseeing and easy-to-access air service, put it over the top.

“Each year, our Editors’ Picks Awards reflect the cruise lines and ships that we feel best exemplify excellence in categories we consider the most important to people when choosing a cruise,” said Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor-in-chief of Cruise Critic. “In the cruise industry, many lines go above and beyond, but our awards narrow down the list to those that stand out as the best of the best.” 

Other winners were:

Best for Luxury: Regent Seven Seas Cruises

Best for Families: Royal Caribbean International

Best Itineraries: Azamara Club Cruises

Best for Adventure: Lindblad Expeditions

Best Dining: Oceania Cruises

Best Entertainment: Royal Caribbean International

Best Suites: Oceania Cruises

Best Inside Cabins: Disney Cruise Line – Disney Dream & Disney Fantasy

Best Standard Cabins: Holland America Line

Best for Honeymoons: Windstar Cruises

Best Cruise Ship Bar: Carnival Cruise Line’s Alchemy Bar

To read more about the awards and winners, click here.

Carnival Breeze rendering, Courtesy of Carnival Cruise Lines

Courtesy of Red Roof Inn Miami Airport

It’s the holiday season, and travel businesses are offering gifts to travelers who give to others.

Red Roof hotels: Donate a canned food item or any non-perishable food item upon check at Red Roof hotels in December, and you get 15 percent off your stay. All collected goods will be distributed to area food banks. The discount cannot be combined with other promotions.

JetBlue: JetBlue Airways is offering its frequent flyers a different way to use their TrueBlue points. Donate them to more than 2.5 million causes in the TrueGiving database, powered by KULA Causes. JetBlue will match customer donations made through the program, up to $25,000, from Dec. 10 – 17. Visit Truegiving.jetblue.com.

Are you combining travel and giving this holiday season? Please let us know.

Miami-based Carnival Cruise Lines kicked off its ”Carnival Breeze-A-Thon,” online sweepstakes this week, which offers a grand prize of a free cruise for two as well as a variety of other gifts inspired by the line’s newest ship.

The Carnival Breeze recently arrived in Miami to kick off a year-round program of six- and eight-day cruises to the Caribbean and is the largest Carnival ship ever based in South Florida, the cruise line said.

The new ship will be christened and officially named on Saturday Dec. 8 in a ceremony at PortMiami.

Carnival Breeze rendering, Courtesy of Carnival Cruise Lines

To participate in the sweepstakes, go to Carnival’s Facebook fan page and enter by Thursday, Dec. 6.

On Saturday,  prizes will be awarded each hour between 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., interspersed with a series of videos showcasing many of the ship’s fun and fantastic features, Carnival said.

 The final video of the day will feature highlights from the naming ceremony.

For more on Carnival Breeze, click here.

Courtesy of Hutchinson Island Marriott Beach Resort & Marina

Update: Dec. 3, 2012 at 7pm

Many hotels in Florida and the Caribbean see their business slow after Christmas and New Year’s and before Valentine’s Day. So, if you want to stay in January or early February, there often are deals – especially if you book early and stay weekdays.

Here are two Florida outfits offering deals early winter. Check for more at your favorite hotel or try to negotiate.

The Hutchinson Island Marriott Beach Resort & Marina offers 25 percent off leisure rates  in its “Defrost the Cost” travel package based on minimum two-night stays. Book between Dec. 10 and Dec. 31 for stays Jan. 1-Feb. 14. Rates start at $156 night and include breakfast for two. The package is subject to availability. Call 1-800-228-9290 or visit marriottwintersavings.com and use promotional code LQ1.

On Fort Myers’ Estero Island, several condominium resorts offer a fourth night free on three-night stays in January. Visit SandalsInTheSand.com. Offer is based on availability. The deals apply for the 50-suite Seaside All-Suite Resort, 35-unit Casa Playa Beach Resort and 12-unit Cornerstone Beach Resort.

And here’s a couple of deals in the Caribbean area for December booking, that we received after posting this blog.

The all-inclusive resort chain Breezes Resorts & Spas is offering U.S. residents a fifth-night free in Jamaica and the Bahamas. Book a five-night stay by Dec. 19 at Breezes Grand Negril in Jamaica or at Breezes Bahamas  for travel between Jan 1 and Aug. 31, and you get the fifth night free. Five-night stays start at $672 per person based on double occupancy. The rate includes room, food, drink, activities and tips. Visit breezes.com or call 1-877-BREEZES.

Do you have other tips for deals on warm-weather destinations in winter? Please let us know.

Holland America Line’s ms Eurodam will be arriving in Port Everglades on Saturday with one less passenger aboard.

An American man was reported missing by his wife Thursday and is presumed to have fallen overboard the ship that left Fort Lauderdale on Nov. 24 on a seven-day Eastern Caribbean sailing.

Here’s the statement from Holland America about the incident:

Seattle, Nov. 29, 2012

ms Eurodam naming ceremony 2008, Holland America Line/COURTESY

“At 3:30 am local time this morning, a 42-year-old male guest sailing on ms Eurodam was reported missing by his wife.  The ship contacted the U.S. Coast Guard, turned around and coordinated with the Coast Guard to assist in the search for the man, who is a U.S. citizen. Eurodam was released at 4:00 pm local time by the USCG and is now proceeding to Fort Lauderdale for an on-time arrival Dec. 1. The ship departed St. Thomas yesterday at 5:00 pm local time and was en route to Half Moon Cay, Bahamas, where a call was originally scheduled for tomorrow but has now been cancelled. Our thoughts and prayers are with the guest and his family.  ”

For other reports about the missing cruise ship passenger, click here.

Now through Dec. 9, Norwegian Cruise Line is offering guests the chance at seasonal deals during its 12 Days of Holiday Savings promotion launched earlier this week.

To take advantage of the promotions, consumers should visit http://www.ncl.com daily to view the unique and exciting offers available for select ships, dates and itineraries. 

Norwegian Epic, Norwegian Cruise Line/COURTESY

The holiday promotion is applicable to a range of destinations including Alaska, Bahamas & Florida, Bermuda, the Caribbean, Europe and Hawaii, the Miami-based cruise line said.

Courtesy of InterContinental Presidente Puerto Vallarta hotel

The InterContinental Hotels Group is a “Free Night Holiday Celebration Package” at its multi-brand properties in Latin America and the Caribbean for stays Dec. 14 through Jan. 31.

Book a minimum four nights stay and receive one night free with the package. The deal also includes breakfast buffet for two adults and children staying in the same room; a 4 p.m. late check-out; and a $25 credit for phone calls or Internet use.

The package is valid at the company’s InterContinental, Indigo, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express and Staybridge Suites properties.  Booking must be made by Jan. 15.

For more information, visit ihg.com/celebrate.

JetBlue Airways’ new daily nonstop service between Fort Lauderdale and Providence, R.I. kicked off today.

The Fort Lauderdale-Providence flight is scheduled to depart daily at 12:55 p.m. and arrive at 3:50 p.m. Returning, it’ll leave Providence at 4:30 p.m. and arrive here at 7:44 p.m. 

JetBlue plane with blueberry tailfin, JetBlue Airways' Flickr/COURTESY

The New York-based airline also started new twice-daily service from Orlando to Providence on Thursday.

Southwest Airlines is the only other carrier with daily nonstop service from Fort Lauderdale to Providence’s T.F. Green International Airport, according to Fort Lauderdale airport data.

Roughly 225 passengers fly Fort Lauderdale to Providence daily each way, airport officials say.

Service between Providence and the two Florida cities will be operated with Airbus A320 aircraft, which offers leather seating with extra legroom and more than 140 channels of complimentary live television and radio on personal seatback screen, JetBlue said.

The first checked bag is free on JetBlue flights.

For information, visit jetblue.com/new.

PHOTO CAPTION:

Disney Cruise Line Prepares for Inaugural Season from Miami

Captain Mickey Mouse sails by PortMiami, Disney Cruise Line/COURTESY

On Wednesday, Nov. 28, Captain Mickey Mouse officially kicked-off the countdown for the arrival of the Disney Wonder to PortMiami with a Disney-style unveiling of a larger than life banner proclaiming “See You Real Soon.”

When the Disney Wonder arrives in Miami on Dec. 23, 2012, it will mark the first time a Disney Cruise Line ship has home-ported in South Florida.

Disney Cruise Line will sail from Miami on a variety of itineraries to the Bahamas and Western Caribbean, with most cruises taking guests to Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay.   (Photographer:  Kent Phillips)

Source: Disney Cruise Line