Orlando on sale for Canadians...Sexy Vegas promo...Cruise News...Deal of Day

They've never done it before, but the Orlando Convention and Visitors Bureau has just instituted a savings program aimed solely at Canadians. The new "Made for Canadians" offers provide Canadian travellers more than 70 options at www.VisitOrlando.com/Canada.

The offers are valid now through April 30, 2010 and range from free nights at hotels to discounts on attractions. Examples include:

 - Book any 3 day golf school at the Faldo Golf Institute by Marriott and get 3 nights FREE lodging in a 1 bedroom villa at Marriotts' Grande Vista Resort;

- Stay 2 nights at the Nickelodeon Family Suites and the get the third night free, plus one $50 USDollar resort credit for food and entertainment;

- Receive a $10 USD discount with the purchase of $20 or more on food or beverages at Planet Hollywood.

Orlando tourism folks say Canada is poised to become Orlando's top international market by the end of the year, surpassing the UK. I find it hard to believe they get more UK visitors than Canadians, but perhaps they're measuring arrivals at the Orlando airport and not counting those of us who tend to roll onto International Drive in minivans packed with Tim Hortons cups, McDonald's wrappers and Cracker Barrel audio tapes.

SEX AND VEGAS GO TOGETHER LIKE....

Sorry, I know they're trying to turn Vegas into a family resort. That's fine. But nobody is confusing Orlando (see above) with Sin City, so let's get to the good stuff.

 

The Signature at MGM Grand down Vegas way on Nov. 1 will start offering "Naughty or Nice" packages, allowing guests to choose between a fun naughty weekend in a luxurious suite or a boring nice weekend.

The dull, sorry, nice package has rates starting at $129 for a junior suite, plus a 40 % discount to Cirque du Soleil's KA, a $25 spa credit, breakfast in bed, champagne and strawberries in your suite as a welcome gift and more. You also get a turndown service with a surprise romance gift.

The interesting, sorry, naughty package has the same rates but you get a 40 % discount at MGM Grand's Crazy Horse Paris, admission for two to Studio 54 or Tabu Ultra Lounge, a vodka bar in-suite amenity, a $75 beverage credit at Signature or MGM Grand Pools, WET REPUBLIC, Studio 54 or Tabu, plus the surprise romance gift with turndown service.

Personally, I get turned down all the time at hotels. (That's a joke, honey). But seriously, it sounds like a pretty good pre-Christmas deal in what's usually a pretty dreary time of year in Canada, notwithstanding that Prince Charles and Camilla are coming to Toronto.

I asked the p.r. person what romance gift is that comes with the naughty promotion, but all she'd say was it was "along the lines of a spa product."

JIM'S DEAL OF THE DAY

Southern B.C.’s Panorama Mountain Village is offering free nights with stays of two nights or more. The ski resort is offering one night free with two paid nights, two nights free with three paid nights and three nights free with four paid nights. Lift tickets and breakfast are included with the paid nights (and discounted for the freebie nights). Panorama is offering the flexibility of either adding your free nights to your original stay, or using them for a return trip. For travel during the holiday season, including Christmas and New Year’s, the minimum stay for this deal is three nights. More details are available at www.panoramaresort.com.

CRUISE AWARDS

Royal Caribbean won the award for best family cruise line and Carnival won the best for first-timers award in CruiseCritic.com's annual editors' picks awards.

Royal Caribbean's Freedom Class of ships also won awards for best cruises for kids and best for teens. Holland America won in the best for cabins and best for activities categories, while Carnival won best nightlife. (The only cruise I've been on in my life was Royal Caribbean, and my kids had a great time, just fyi.)

 

Here are a few other winners:

- Best wedding at sea - Princess

- Best new ship - Celebrity Solstice and Equinox sister ships

- Best main dining - Carnival

- Best healthy dining - Celebrity

- Best river cruise line - Uniworld

- Best sailing ship - Windstar

- Best cruise line private island - Disney's Castaway Cay

 

KIWIS BRINGING LOVE AT 30,000 FEET...AIR CANADA WI-FI TEST

The Aussie tourism folks made a big splash earlier this year with a campaign that gave someone a job of blogging from a lovely, semi-tropical island. It was a good stunt that got a lot of media attention.

Now come the Kiwis, and it seems they're determined to go one better.

Air New Zealand is asking frisky, sorry, "adventurous" singles to join them on what they're calling "the world's first matchmaking flight."

"The perfect trip for those who would travel the world for love and for those who have felt sparks for the stranger in the middle seat, Air New Zealand is flying singles to the opposite side of the Pacific with the aim of finding each a partner in (the) air or in New Zealand," according to the airline's press release.

Canadian singles will hop on board a plane from Vancouver to Los Angeles on Oct. 13, then transfter onto the Matchmaking flight for Auckland. ABC's The Bachelor, Jason Mesnick, and his girlfriend, Molly Malaney, will join passengers on the flight as they head down to the country where they fell in love.

Passengers "will enjoy a complete matchmaking experience," officials say, with a party prior to the departure from LA and then, once they've reached cruising altitude, "complimentary party packs, an open bar, speed dating and other games." Once they land, there will be a Matchmaking Flight party with singles from North America and New Zealand.

One can only imagine what's in the party packs. And what about the lineups for the washrooms? You gotta think the mile high club is gonna have a whole bunch of new members by the time that baby touches down in Auckland.

Roundtrip tickets start at $1,198 Canadian dollars, so it's not a bad deal when you consider the frills and what it might cost for the companionship on the ground in, say, Yorkville or Yaletown.

For more information, visit www.thematchmakingflight.com.

AIR CANADA WI-FI UPDATE

I got an email from Air Canada yesterday updating they're wi-fi experiment. An official told me they're doing tests later this fall on two A319 aircraft flying between Toronto-San Francisco and Toronto-Los Angeles.

I'm flying out to SF to visit family in November and, with any luck, I'll be able to blog from the sky. It's not quite as exciting as the mile-high club, but it'll have to do.

MORE LIVE TV COMING TO THE SKY

Continental has installed DirecTV on 18 planes and by early 2011 expects to offer 77 channels of live television to passengers on some 220 of its jets.

This is nothing short of awesome news for anyone who's ever been in the air during a big football game...or even during The Bachelor if that's your thing.

 

USA Today says Continental joins JetBlue, Virgin America and Frontier airlines in the live TV offering. Continental plans to charge $6 for coach passengers (free for the high rollers), the same as Frontier. JetBlue and Virgin America offer live TV for free, and good for them.

 

I'm trying to find out if there are any Canadian airline plans for live television...

 

SCRANTON IS ON THE MAP!

Tours to Scranton, Pennsylvania normally are slightly less booked than, say, trips to Victoria. But that's starting to change thanks to folks who are doing tours of sites in the city used in the TV show, The Office.

USA Today's travel section has a fun piece on the tours, which take folks to places such as Poor Richard's Pub and Coopers Seafood House.

STAG PARTIES ABROAD? WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE LOCAL BAR?

Geez, am I out of touch. I came across a piece in the Times (UK version, not NY) the other day that quoted a study as saying 74 per cent of men hold pre-wedding parties that go on for more than a day and that 32 per cent of guys hold their parties out of the country.

Good lord, what's wrong with hanging out at the local pub and buying your buddy a couple beers? Or, not that I would condone such a thing, spending an hour or two at a gentleman's club? Do folks really feel the need to go crazy and spend money taking an out-of-town stag?

The Times said grooms-to-be spend about $360 per person, which is insane

London was the top-city for stags, but UK guys also favour Prague, Amsterdam (gee, really?), Barcelona and Tallinn (who knew?).

Brides, on the other hand, were found to desire to stay home, and good for them. Ninety six per cent said they'd celebrate their coming vows in the UK and 28 said they'd stay in their home towns.

Brides in the UK apparently favour London, Brighton, Edinburgh, Devon, Cornwall and Bath. The only foreign city to crack the top ten was Barcelona.

ONBOARD WIFI - WHAT'S UP?

Spotted an item on Aviation Week's website that said Air Canada and other airlines have signed some sort of deal for wireless service. There's been talk of experimenting with wifi on Air Canada jets, but I'm still trying to find out the status of things with the folks at AC. I'll be sure to fill you in as soon as I get the word.

CHECK YOUR BATTERIES, FOLKS

Until Friday, July 31, the CAA of South Central Ontario is offering free, mobile diagnostic battery testsf ro its GTA members. CAA members can call 1-866-740-6421 and get a free battery test before heading out on the road for the long weekend.

Here's a hint: if you want sun, head to Vancouver. It's been in the mid to upper 20's for some time and the forecast is awesome, with no rain in sight. Sigh.

DOMINICAN CONTINUES WITH UPSCALE RESORTS

Once the domain of students and cheap vacations, the Dominican Republic continues to pull itself up by its own bootstraps. I was at ultra luxe Cap Cana last year; a great treat. And I got word the other day that the north coast community of Cabarete will be getting a five-star spot. Called the Palmera de Cabarete Resort and Spa, it's a $200 million project slated to open in 2011.

COOL AEROPLAN REWARDS ...KING EDDY DEALS...AIR CANADA NEWS

I've had my issues with Aeroplan in the past, but I gotta say the rewards program has done a good job of branching out beyond free airline tickets.

They did a showing of various Aeroplan reward possibilities in a stunning, sixth floor loft on Queen West Wednesday afternoon to celebrate Aeroplan's 25th anniversary, displaying everything from barbeques that look ready for liftoff to wine-tastings, sleek handbags, digital cameras and Callaway golf clubs.

General Manager of Rewards Management Nathalie Belanger explained that a few years ago only about 1 per cent of rewards people asked for were merchandise and that 99 per cent of requests were for travel. Now, non-travel merchandise requests account for about 20 per cent of rewards.

"We've got more choice and more options. A lot of frequent flyers, the last thing they want to do is get back on a plane."

Among the unusual offerings on display Wednesday were wine tastings, a deal where you can buy into an olive tree in Italy and get a two-litre can of oil from the tree at the end of the the year, powerful Bushnell telescopes (only 13,000 points), Home Hardware garden products, Heys luggage, Dolce and Gabbana watches, Dr. Seuss prints, wine coolers, a portable, Panasonic blu-ray DVD player (112,000 points) and a deal where you can make your own chocolates at a place in Vancouver called Schokolade and then take them home (5,000 points; pretty sweet). Belanger said a Vespa will set you back 600,000 points but we couldn't one on the web site. Damn.

"Electronics are probably tops, followed by gift cards for places such as Esso or Home Hardware. Jewellery is popular at Christmas."

Belanger says Aeroplan carries 700-800 items at a time, varying them by the season so that you can buy more hockey stuff in winter and more golf stuff in summer, naturally.

Many carriers in the U.S. have points programs that only allow travel purchases, so that makes Aeroplan a little unique, she explains.

Folks love to complain (guilty as charged) that there aren't enough Aeroplan seats available on Air Canada flights, but Belanger says that, in fact, eight per cent of all capacity on Air Canada and Air Canada Jazz flights are set aside for reward plan redemption. That would be 24 seats on a 300-passenger plane, which is far more than some people might think.

Still, she concedes folks should book well in advance if they want to redeem their points for flights, which can cost as little at 15,000 points for shorter haul, roundtrip flights from Toronto to Montreal or New York.

"If you want to go to Florida in March you might need to book six months in advance. It's not like that for flights to Milwaukee in December, not that there's anything wrong with Milwaukee."

West Jet has talked about a rewards program but has had trouble getting it off the ground, so to speak.

KING EDDY...AND A ROYAL TOUR

The folks at Le Meridien King Edward, "Toronto's oldest luxury hotel," have announced a historical tour and afternoon tea package. With rates starting at $279 double occupancy, you get a night at the hotel  plus afternoon tea for two, valet parking, a 3 p.m. checkout and a two-hour walking tour with Bruce Bell.

I recall the afternoon tea being pretty good from a long time back and I had a great, just wonderful, tour with Bruce Bell last year. Bell is racy and informative and colourful and interesting and he knows more about the city of Toronto, especially the old city in and around St. Lawrence Market, than just about anyone. He'll regale you with great stories and tell you things you simply never knew before. Highly recommended.

Go to www.lemeridien.com/kingedward or call 416-863-9700.

AIR CANADA STABILIZING?

Good for Canadian travellers to see that three unions that represent about 60 per cent of Air Canada's unionized workers have agreed to a no-strike, no-lockout deal. Air Canada chief executive Calin Rovinescu called it a "milestone" deal.

The last thing any of us in the travel biz need is Air Canada having labour troubles. Still, there's more work to do, including nailing down an agreement on pension plans with pilots and flight attendants.

I DO...I REALLY DO

The Sonesta Maho Beach resort & Casino in St. Maarten has a new "Free Wedding Package" that's valid through 2010. Brides and grooms who book at least 10 rooms on the resort's all-inclusive plan get a free wedding with the works, including a wedding consultant, a customized cocktail reception and celebration dinner, the reception and dinner venues, a marriage license (always a good idea), plus an open bar (woo-hoo!) during the event, a custom wedding cake, sparkling wine for the toasts and more.

All-inclusive rates start at $174 U.S. per person per night, based on double occupancy and not including service charges and taxes. Email Sonesta at weddings@mahobeach.com or telephone 602-904-5584.

MORE HOTEL OPTIONS

Told you last week about hotwire, which I admit I didn't know much about. Now travelocity is doing a similar project where you can look for hotels on certain dates but do so through an "opaque" process where you don't find out the name of your hotel until you push the magic "accept" button.

If you go to travelocity.com or travelocity.ca and look for hotels in, say, Vancouver in August, you'll get an interface that has several tabs near the top. Look for the tab that "top secret hotels" and you'll find a series of hotel options where you know the number of stars the property has and the general area but not the specifics. Until, of course, you agree to pay.

It's still fairly limited in terms of choice but officials say they've got properties in many Canadian cities already, including Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto and Montreal.

WHY YYZ?

I'm sure there's a good reason, but I had an interesting chat with a guy on a plane today about airport codes. I understand that when Canada's turn came it was decided that airports should start with Y to differentiate us from other folks. Toronto likely couldn't be TOR as it probably was taken by Torino (Turin in North American-ese).

But why is it YYZ for Toronto? Vancouver is YVR. Why isn't Toronto YTO or YTR or something that makes sense? I think it could be that YTO is for all airports in Toronto, just like YMQ is for all Montreal airports. But YYZ still seems kinda funky.

BRIARS WEDDING BELLS DEAL

The Briars up in Jackson's Point put out a notice today to say that folks whose weddings have been affected by the swine flu can get special deals by booking with them. And good idea, I say. For more info, go to www.briars.ca.

GOLF DEALS IN IRELAND

Finally, while still on the subject of good deals, check out swinggolfireland.com for the latest batch of fine bargains on the Emerald Isle.

MORE AIRLINE OPTIONS?

Reuters reports that RyanAir, the low-cost provider of air travel in Europe, has held talks with the folks in Buffalo about shuffling passengers off to Dublin, Ireland through upstate New York.

It would be a great alternative to Pearson for some folks, especially those who live down Hamilton or St. Catharines way.

Reuters reports that the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority is "aiming to attract low fare airlines to the Buffalo Niagara International Airport."

There's also talk that the drop in oil prices could see the resurrection of Zoom Airlines flights from Toronto to Europe.

Bring it on; the added competition could only be good news for southern Ontario travellers.

COMPETITION FOR CALIFORNIA?

Folks down in Virginia have a burgeoning wine biz, and the city of Richmond will host a Virginia Wine Expo from Feb. 27 to March 1. More than 45 Virginia wineries will have tastings and comparisons, and there also will be wine seminars and celebrity chef demonstrations. go to virginiawineexpo.com for more information.

BLOSSOMS BY THE BILLIONS

Driving south after the march Break? The National Cherry Blossom Festival will be held in Washington, D.C. from March 28-April 12, with more than 3,000 cherry trees in (they hope) full bloom.

I NOW PRONOUNCE THEE...

The Big Apple is hoping to take a big bite out of the Las Vegas honeymoon biz. New York just recently opened a "Manhattan Marriage Bureau" near New York city hall in lower Manhattan, at 141 Worth St. They spent more than $12 million U.S. to gussy the place up.

It's hard to say whether it'll work. A wedding ceremony followed by a ride on a horse-drawn carriage in Central Park sounds more fun than watching a fake volcano blow up in Las Vegas every hour. But the weather's a lot better in Nevada, and it's certainly a cheaper destination. The golf's a little better in Vegas, too.

ROSES ARE RED ...

Okay, guys, it's about a month until Valentine's Day. That would be Feb. 14 for those of you keeping score at home.

With the big day in mind, travel folks are swelling with pride over their bountiful deals.

Here are a few of them:

Fairmont Hotels has a series of "doghouse" packages aimed at getting you out of the doghouse and into a nice set of matching bathrobes. Included are deals at signature Fairmont properties in Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia. Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City has a deal featuring a romantic, chateau-style room, daily buffet breakfast for two and a special in-room delivery, with rates starting at $328 a night. Fairmont Chateau Laurier's package for Ottawa is called the "puppy love" package and features a bouquet of red roses, an aphrodisiac chocolate and breakfast delivered to your room, with rates starting at $395 a night. Most deals begin Feb. 15.

If you're interested in the northeast U.S., check out the Jared Coffin House (not a particularly romantic name) in Nantucket, Massachusetts, where you can wander cobblestone streets and have a drink by the fireplace. Chocolate-covered cranberries are dispensed upon arrival and there's a gourment Sunday breakfast for two, with rates starting at just $124 U.S. for Saturday night. Hotel officials recommend a stop at Ladybird Lingerie for the top of the line intimate wear.

One step down the line, if you will, is the Marmara Manhattan's getaway package, which gives you a one-bedroom suite in New York for two nights with a dozen roses, rose petals on the bed, a bottle of champagne, chocolate-covered Turkish Delight candies and a Kama Sutra kit "for couples to indulge their sensuous side."  The deal is $699 U.S. for the two nights for a suites hotel on the Upper East Side of Manhattan complete with a kitchen.

Willing to travel a little further? The Viceroy in Santa Monica, California has a weekend package that includes accomodation in an Ocean View Room, dinner for two at the restaurant Whist, a bottle of wine, local strawberries, organic bath amenities and poolside pedicures. You also get an organic breakfast and bike rentals (presumably organic) to tour the Santa Monica Farmer's Market. It'll cost you $800 including tax and gratituities but that's 35 per cent off and isn't your sweetheart worth it?

Le Meridien Bora Bora also has a romance package, but if taking your honey to the South Pacific isn't enough to get things going you're probably beyond hope.

GOURMET MONTREAL

The second annual Happening Gourmand restaurant week is underway in Montreal and runs through Jan. 31. Eight restaurants in Old Montreal are offering three-course, prix-fixe menus at either $17, $22 or $27. Go to happeninggourmand.com for menus.

OBAMARAMA

The Los Angeles Times reports that heading to Washington D.C. for next Tuesday's inauguration of Barack Obama isn't as problematic as some have suggested. A website called CrashtheInauguration.com can hook you up with locals, maps and travel info for the big bash.

JONAS JOY

The folks at Atlantis, Paradise Island resort in the Bahamas are presenting a Jonas Brothers "Burning Up" Atlantis package for three exclusive concerts this spring. The three day/two night packages includes accomodations, round-trip ground transfers on island and tickets for the concerts, with rates starting at $639 U.S. per person or $199 per child (ages 11 and under) for the March 14 and April 19 shows, and $589 per person and $199 per child for the May 9 concert. Call 1-800-Atlantis or book at atlantis.com.

WEDDING BELL BLUES

Modern Bride magazine (hey, I like to stay current with all the trends out there) conducted a travel survey through a group called Virtuoso, a network of 6,000 luxury travel agents who seemingly haven't put me on top of their invite list just yet. According to the agents, the top honeymoon destination for 2008 was, to me, a bit of a surprise.

That would be Italy. Which, come to think of it, makes a certain amount of sense. Venice is dreamy and romantic and all that, although I personally was disappointed on my only visit way some 30 years ago. Rome is Rome, and Florence is always a huge draw (sometimes too much; a visit in August a couple years back was like a trip on the Tokyo subway). There's also the Amalfi Coast, the Cinque Terre and dozens of gorgeous spots up and down the country.

If you think about it, Italy also is a place a lot of Americans, in particular, seem to feel comfortable. France can seem to foreign to some folks from south of the border, but Italy has food that's become so insinuated on American menus that visiting a taverna in Rome is a lot like being in New York or Chicago. Or even Tulsa.

But we digress. The next nine places on the list (and remember these were luxury travel agents, not your run-of-the-mill folks who suggest a post-wedding trip to Wingham or Winnipeg), were

• Hawaii
• Tahiti
• Mexico
• Greece
• Costa Rica
• Bali
• Fiji
• France (guess some Americans are pretty brave, after all)
• Turks and Caicos

 The latter one was a bit of an eye-openerl. I must admit I don't know a lot about it but I would've suspected the Bahamas or maybe Barbados would get the nod over the Turks and Caicos. Guess I better hustle down there and see what I've been missing?

TEXAS CALLING

In addition to missing the Turks and Caicos, I seem to somehow have never made it to San Antonio. We got a note on our travel wires today that said the San Antonio New World Wine & Food Festival opens Nov. 4 for a six-day run. More than 40 culinary and wine-tasting events throughout the city showcase internationally renowned vintners and the hottest chefs from San Antonio and beyond.

See www.nwwff.org for a complete schedule and information about ticket prices, or call 210-822-9555.

We hear there's great golf in the area, and having a margarita (a real one, not one of those pre-fabricated slushy thingy's some restaurants will dispense out of a slurpee machine) on the Riverwalk seems like a nice way to spend a fall evening.

HOW'S THAT AIRLINE STOCK HOLDING UP, GEORGE?

A glance at the business wires today (like I said, this is a blog that likes to widen its horizons) showed a whole bunch of headlines with words like "China Air loss" and "Malaysian Air loss"  and "Finnair loss."

It's not a good time for most stocks, as far as we can tell, and things aren't looking so great in the airline industry for sure.

On the other hand, experts in the U.S. say they're expecting much better deals than normal for Christmas-time and for the upcoming American Thanksgiving holiday.

Northwest Airlines started the rush Tuesday night with a broad holiday fare sale, Associated Press reports, and most other major carriers matched the prices Wednesday, according to Rick Seaney, chief executive of the travel website FareCompare.com.

“It’s by far the most broad-based fare sale we’ve tracked in at least 18 months,” Seaney said, “and this is the earliest I’ve ever seen one.”

The big deals might not migrate north of the border, but it's always worth a look to see what deals you can get out of Buffalo, or Detroit if you live down London way or further west.