Carnival's Roller Coaster At Sea, NYC Winter Deals And Canadian Millennials

NYC & Company, New York City's official destination marketing organization, this week launched NYC Winter Outing, a program created to inspire out-of-town visitors to plan overnight trips to NYC from January 21 through February 10, 2019. NYC & Company will launch its three signature programs simultaneously for the first time ever (NYC Broadway Week, NYC Restaurant Week and NYC Must-See Week) on Jan. 21. During this period, a selection of Broadway shows, museums, attractions and tours will be available at a two-for-one price, and nearly 400 restaurants will offer prix-fixe menus. In addition, NYC's hotels offer the most attractive pricing of the year, providing visitors extraordinary value. NYC Winter Outing details are live at nycgo.com/nyc-winter-outing.

"One of New York City's best-kept secrets is the incredible value overnight visitors experience during the winter months," said Fred Dixon, NYC & Company's president and CEO. "Winter consistently offers the most attractive hotel rates of the year. That combined with aligning the dates of NYC & Company's signature winter programs - NYC Restaurant Week, NYC Broadway Week and NYC Must-See Week - makes NYC an irresistible draw for travelers in January and February."

Now THIS looks like fun.

In another cruise industry first, Carnival Cruise Line's Mardi Gras™ will feature the first-ever roller coaster at sea when it debuts in 2020, providing an unforgettable and unique open-air thrill ride on the line's newest and most innovative ship.

Built by Munich-based Maurer Rides, BOLT: Ultimate Sea Coaster is a heart-pounding rush of adrenaline offering nearly 250 meters of exhilarating twists, turns and drops with riders reaching speeds of nearly 70 kilometers per hour.

Taking cruise industry innovation to new heights, BOLT is an all-electric roller coaster that allows two riders in a motorcycle-like vehicle to race along a track 60 meters above sea level, enabling guests to experience the sea in an exciting new way with breathtaking 360-degree views.

BOLT begins with an action-packed launch where riders can achieve race car-like levels of acceleration and culminates with a high-powered hair-pin turn around Carnival's iconic funnel. Riders' speeds are posted after the race, and just like land-based roller coasters, guests have their photo taken during the ride for a memorable keepsake. And since guests choose their own speed, each ride is unique.

Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line, said that BOLT is the cornerstone of innovations and features being designed for Mardi Gras, which will be the ultimate playground at sea for fun seekers of all ages.

"Mardi Gras will be our most innovative ship ever with some truly special features and attractions, highlighted by BOLT, the first roller coaster at sea," said Duffy. "BOLT will continue the tradition of Carnival providing exciting new ways for our guests to 'Choose Fun.' We are so thrilled to introduce this one-of-a-kind, game-changing, exhilarating attraction - our guests are going to love it!"

During the cold winter months it's only natural to want to escape the snow for warmer climates. However, trends suggest more travellers are embracing the chill and turning to cold-weather vacations. According to a recent IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) survey, majority of Canadians (60%) consider Canada a go-to travel destination in the winter. This is especially true for millennials, of which a third prefer to embrace the cold and travel within Canada during the winter months (34%).

"There's no shortage of unique winter activities to experience in Canada, so who better to embrace the latest cold-weather travel trends? With our Great Canadian Winter Travel List, we want to show Canadians you don't have to travel far to have a truly memorable winter vacation," said Beata Cieplik, Regional Vice President, IHG, Canada.

The survey found that when it comes to seasonal travel, 51% of Canadians currently don't have any plans. For the half of Canadians who haven't yet booked their travel this winter, don't fret! It's not too late to try something local.

Among the winter activities suggested by IHG are taking in Nuit Blanche in Montreal, stargazing in the Dark Sky Preserve at Point Pelee National Park in Ontario and Snowshoeing the Myra Canyon Trestles overlooking Lake Okanagan in Kelowna, B.C.

In anticipation of the upcoming Wave season, Holland America Line is launching a new Why Not Now? promotion to entice savvy travelers to plan ahead. The special offer on cruises from summer 2019 through winter/spring 2020 includes free stateroom upgrades, shore excursion discounts, up to $1,000 air credit per stateroom and deposits from $99 person if booked by Feb. 28, 2019.

Guests who book a suite with Why Not Now? also receive up to $600 in onboard spending money, in addition to the other perks.

As part of the promotion, depending on departure and ship, guests who book an interior stateroom will be upgraded free to an ocean view stateroom and those booking an ocean view stateroom will get upgraded free to a verandah. Free upgrades are based on available space at the time of booking and may differ based on sailing date. Every effort will be made to accommodate.

By booking air through Holland America Line's Flight Ease program from offered gateways, guests are eligible to receive an air credit up to $1,000 per stateroom. Reduced deposits starting from $99 are available with the Why Not Now? offer, and booked guests who also reserve select shore excursions by Feb. 28 can take advantage of up to 10% savings.

The bonus $600 onboard spending money for suite bookings can be spent on a variety of amenities, including specialty dining, spa services, shore excursions, gift shop purchases, beverages and more.

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, the world's leading luxury hospitality company, today announced a curated collection of three Four Seasons Private Jet itineraries set to take flight in 2020. Featuring the trip of a lifetime to Rwanda and the Galápagos as part of the fastest selling itinerary to date, World of Adventures, the trio of international expeditions gives travellers the opportunity to discover the rare, wild, and beautiful in the comfort and care of Four Seasons, aboard the brand's Boeing 757.

"The feedback we've received since launching our fully branded and customized Four Seasons Private Jet Experience in 2015 has been overwhelmingly positive," said Peter Nowlan, Chief Marketing Officer at Four Seasons. "Guests are beyond thrilled they can now cross destinations off their bucket lists in the comfort and care of Four Seasons, resulting in record-pace bookings and subsequent wait lists for each of our 2019 itineraries. Travellers are clearly responding to the dedicated team and renowned high touch service that we offer both on the ground, and when cruising at 40,000 feet."

Explore the 2020 Four Seasons Private Jet Itineraries

The all-encompassing itineraries feature air travel aboard the Four Seasons Private Jet, ground transportation, planned excursions, all meals and beverages, and luxurious accommodations at Four Seasons hotels and resorts.

To commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day and the Battle of Normandy, luxury cruise line Cunard is partnering again with The Greatest Generations Foundation to pay tribute to six heroes of World War II onboard flagship Queen Mary 2. Thematic onboard programming will allow guests to hear first-hand accounts from WWII veterans as they share their experiences of battle during the Transatlantic Crossing. To learn more about the partnership between Cunard and TGGF, click here: https://youtu.be/CjyHccGm7hw

Events will take place all over France and the United States to mark this significant anniversary. This historic Crossing will transport six D-Day Normandy veterans to Europe, where they will participate in many activities to celebrate this momentous occasion. On the seven-night Crossing, departing New York on May 24, 2019 (M914), guests will have the opportunity to attend lectures, Q&As and interact with several WWII veterans.

Cunard played a pivotal role in World War II: iconic liners Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth were transformed into troopships and together carried over 1.5 million servicemen across the Atlantic. Winston Churchill credited both Queens as helping to shorten the war by a year due to their troop transport.

Italy's wine heritage dates back more than 2,000 years to Roman times. That makes Italy the perfect setting for European Waterways' new wine appreciation cruises for 2019 on La Bella Vita, the 20-passenger hotel barge that navigates the Venetian Lagoon and waterways of the Po Valley, a region that is home to some of Italy's best wines.

European Waterways is celebrating its new wine-oriented cruises with a 10% reduction on whole boat charters, good on select departures in March, April and May 2019 and when booked by Jan. 7, 2019.

European Waterways pay travel agent commissions, as well.

That's according to a study recently conducted by Contiki, the youth adventure travel company exclusively for 18-35 year old's, which polled Gens Y and Z from across Canada in an effort to understand the psyche of today's young traveller. The survey touched on what motivates them to book a trip, what they would give up for a year if given the opportunity to travel for free, their top regrets of 2018 and their dream "travel squad" of 2019 - people, dead or alive, whom they would want to travel with. Overall young Canadians underscored that for their generation, it's no longer about buying material goods, it's about moments that matter, with nearly three-quarters of respondents stating they are planning to try new experiences (versus "spending too much money on things I don't need") in 2019.

Key findings from the survey include:

Three-quarters of young Canadians said they would be more than willing to cease "buying new and shiny things (such as clothing and electronics)" in order to go travel more.

40% pegged experiencing local culture of the destination they're visiting as a top booking factor, with another one-third specifically on the hunt for adventure-based activities. Great insight for agents looking to increase their millennial clientele.

Half of young Canadians said "not travelling enough" was their biggest regret of 2018.

One-quarter of Canadians said they would have liked to have had the opportunity to travel with the late, great Anthony Bourdain - experiencing food in a new light the way he did so masterfully.