AirTran Winter Fare Sale 2007

AirTran Launches Winter Fare Sale for 2007
Published on: January 4, 2007

AirTran Airways, a subsidiary of AirTran Holdings, Inc., yesterday launched a sale for flights to all of the airline’s destinations with fares starting as low as $29 each way. Travelers may purchase these sale fares at www.airtran.com or via AirTran Airways’ reservations system at 800-AIR-TRAN. These special fares are available for purchase through Jan. 18, 2007, with Florida and Bahamas travel good through March 7, 2007, and travel to and from all other cities good through May 23, 2007. These sale fares are not valid for travel on Sundays. Like all AirTran fares, prices included in this sale are available for one-way travel and do not require a roundtrip purchase or a Saturday night stay.

Regent Seven Seas

Regent Seven Seas to Host Hurricane Specialist
Published on: January 4, 2007

Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ Seven Seas Mariner will host noted meteorologist and hurricane specialist Max Mayfield on a 10-night roundtrip departing Fort Lauderdale on March 13. The former director of the Tropical Prediction Center of the National Hurricane Center, Mayfield will lead guests on an exploration of hurricane behavior and meteorology through three onboard lectures. In 2005, Mayfield was named ABC Television Network’s “Person of the Week” following Hurricane Katrina, and received a Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Service from President Bush. The cruise calls in the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, St. Barts, St. Maarten, the British Virgin Islands, Dominican Republic and Turks and Caicos. Per-person prices start from $3,948. Cruise fares include all shipboard gratuities; complimentary beverages, including select wines and spirits served throughout the ship; complimentary 24-hour room service; in-suite bar setup in butler suites; and a refrigerator stocked with soft drinks, beer and bottled water replenished daily. This sailing also features a “Kids Sail Free” special offer, valid for children age 17 years old or younger sailing in the third or fourth berth only. Children age 17 or younger that are sailing in the second berth do not qualify for the promotion. This offer is available for new bookings only.

Outrigger’s Waikiki Beach Walk Opens

Outrigger’s Waikiki Beach Walk Starts to Open
Published on: January 4, 2007

Outrigger Enterprises Group’s Waikiki Beach Walk is now partially open. The $535 million retail, entertainment, and hotel development is transforming nearly eight acres of central Waikiki into a pedestrian-friendly gathering place. The entire complex will include five hotels offering nearly 2,000 rooms and suites, and 47 restaurant and retail tenants in 93,000 square feet of space. The development includes the newly opened Embassy Suites-Waikiki Beach Walk and Wyndham Vacation Ownership Resort-Waikiki Beach Walk. The new district is also home to the Outrigger Reef on the Beach, currently undergoing a $100 million repositioning; the Ohana Islander Waikiki, which is slated for a complete makeover beginning in 2007; and the new Trump International Hotel & Tower-Waikiki Beach Walk, scheduled for completion in 2009. A wide selection of restaurants, casual eateries, specialty shops and boutiques has begun to open. Freaky Tiki Tropical Optical, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Beard Papa’s Sweets Café, Coco Cove, Malibu Shirts, Tabora Gallery and Mondo Gelato were the first to open. The next three months will see a flurry of openings, including Quiksilver, Crazy Shirts, Wyland Galleries, Folli Follie, Sunshine Swimwear, Maui Divers Jewelry, Na Hoku and Mana Hawaii-Spirit of Hawaii Nei. Among the restaurants set to open in the coming months are Roy’s Waikiki, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Yard House, Giovanni Pastrami, Holokai Grill, Kaiwa Japanese restaurant and Taormina Sicilian Cuisine. The Waikiki Beach Walk district will also feature island musicians and ongoing educational and cultural activities, such as ukulele, hula and lei-making lessons; story-telling; and wood-carving. Many of these events will take place at Waikiki Beach Walk’s center stage. After nearly 10 years of planning, the Waikiki Beach Walk development was announced in July 2001 and began construction in April 2005. The first phase of the project saw several older hotels — the Edgewater Lanais, the OHANA Coral Seas, and the OHANA Edgewater — come down to make way for the two-level retail/entertainment complex, designed as the centerpiece of the large open-air plaza intended to capture the ambience of vintage Waikiki.

Silversea 2008 Cruise Schedule

Silversea Unveils 2008 Worldwide Cruise Schedule
Published on: January 4, 2007

Silversea Cruises has announced its 2008 worldwide voyage schedule and is now accepting reservations. Complete day-by-day itineraries can be found at www.silversea.com. The company’s four ships are set to visit over 340 different ports in 116 countries on a schedule of more than 140 itineraries of six to 110 days. The Silver Shadow kicks off the year with its second World Cruise, departing Fort Lauderdale in January. On Jan. 16, 2008, the 382-guest Silver Shadow is set to embark on its second World Cruise, a 110-day voyage encircling the world and visiting more than 25 countries and 50 ports of call. The Silver Shadow will sail through the Panama Canal and along the Mexican Riviera, to four Hawaiian ports, marking the company’s first visit to the 50th state in five years. Inaugural calls are scheduled for the Northern Mariana Islands, the Marshall Islands, Pohnpei, Guam, Okinawa and Iwo Jima. Also on the itinerary are ports in the Far East, Egypt, Italy, Spain and the Caribbean. Highlights of the world cruise include extended overnight calls in Hong Kong, Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok, Mumbai and Barcelona. The 296-guest Silver Cloud begins 2008 with cruises to Africa, the Seychelles and the Arabian Peninsula, highlighted by inaugural calls to the remote Farquhar Islands in the Seychelles and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. From mid-April to early November, the Cloud will cruise the Mediterranean and Northern Europe on 20 cruises ranging from seven to 15 days. New destinations include Formentera, the smallest of Spain’s Balearic Islands; Belle Ile, the French island off the coast of Brittany; the German island of Sylt in the North Sea; and Sibenik, located on Croatia’s southwest coast. In the fall, Silver Cloud crosses the Atlantic to explore the Caribbean and South America. The 296-guest Silver Wind starts the year exploring South America on four cruises of eight to 16 days and then offers a series of mostly seven-day cruises in the Caribbean, including several roundtrip departures from San Juan. From May to early November, Silver Wind offers 19 cruises of seven to 15 days through the Mediterranean and Northern Europe. Highlights include an inaugural call to Kokkola on the Gulf of Bothnia. The ship repositions to Africa for the fall, making the company’s first-ever visits to Banjul, Gambia, and Maputo, Mozambique. After completing its World Cruise in May, the Silver Shadow returns to Alaska after a one-year hiatus. On the schedule are 10 cruises ranging from nine to 12 days, including several roundtrips from San Francisco and Vancouver. During the fall, two cruises will explore Hawaii and French Polynesia, including the company’s first-ever visits to Rangiroa and Nuku Hiva. Also planned is a 53-day “South Pacific Explorer” cruise, sailing roundtrip from Los Angeles. During the balance of the year, Silver Shadow transits the Panama Canal and explores the Caribbean. The 382-guest Silver Whisper opens 2008 with cruises to Australia, New Zealand, the Far East and the South Pacific with eight itineraries, ranging from nine to 18 days. An extended summer season in the Mediterranean offers the opportunity to explore the region on 18 mostly seven-day voyages. Silver Whisper wraps up the year exploring the Arabian Peninsula, Australia, New Zealand and the Far East.

RCCL Elimates Trans-Fats in Cuisine

Royal Caribbean Eliminates Trans-Fats in Cuisine
Published on: January 4, 2007

Royal Caribbean International, joining a growing trend, will become the first cruise line to make the move toward removing trans fat from its menus beginning March 1, 2007, culminating in a fully trans-fat-free menu fleetwide by the end of this year. Effective immediately, trans-fat-free frying oil will replace the old pour-and-fry oil originally used in food preparation, and entirely-new, trans-fat-free menu options will be introduced to Royal Caribbean’s menus. Royal Caribbean has long accommodated requests from guests with special dietary requirements, from those looking to maintain a low-fat intake to others who face serious allergies. “Vegetable oils that have undergone hydrogenation result in a type of fat that doctors have linked to serious health risks including diabetes, high blood pressure and increased cholesterol levels,” said Michael Bayley, senior vice president, Total Guest Satisfaction. “If we can offer guests a healthier serving of the foods they love by switching to trans-fat-free oils, while maintaining the same level of satisfaction, why wouldn’t we make the switch?” The trans-fat-free oil was put to the test onboard Navigator of the Seas last November. The conclusion was that, not only is the trans-fat-free oil healthier for guests, but it provides a better tasting product. Royal Caribbean is working jointly with all onboard food and beverage partners as well as suppliers to ensure that a full transition to a trans-fat-free menu will take place fleetwide by the end of this year.