Monday 21 February 2011

Fiji Deal - Pacific Pearl - Southern Highlands - Round the World Cruise

GREAT NEW DEALS AT "FIJI'S BEST-VALUE BEACHFRONT BURES"

WALU Beach Resort, renowned to its legion of fans for having "the best value Beachfront Bures and most sensational views in Fiji," has released new super-saver "Bula11 Rates" through to June 30 this year that are ideal for families or groups of friends looking to get the most from their holiday dollar.

One bedroom Beachfront Bures now cost just AU$125 per bure per night and have a double bed, two roll-out beds, a bathroom and lounge-room, while 3-bedroom Oceanview Villas are now priced at only AU$175 per Villa a night and have a double bed, four single beds, two bathrooms, a lounge-room and elevated veranda.

And a great-value optional new Meal Plan gives breakfast, lunch and dinner  for just $40 per adult per day and $20 per child per day

"We're putting real value into holidaying at one of Fiji's most-perfect beach-front resorts that's set in a private secluded paradise surrounded by tropical  gardens, golden sands and graceful palms," said new Managing Director, Michael Hay. "And we're on Malolo Island just 20km from Port Denarau, the stepping-off point from Nadi Airport to Fiji's off-shore islands."

Walu Beach Resort has plenty to do (or nothing at all): swimming in the pool or lagoon, snorkelling, kayaking, sailing, bushwalking and running, fishing, table tennis, volleyball, billiards, village visits, fish feeding, trivia, a massage service, dining that includes freshest local seafoods and just-gathered local tropical produce, and a never-to-be-forgotten Sunset Bar.

Walu Beach Resort is also just a short boat ride to one of the South Pacific's best surf spots, "Cloudbreak."

Details from www.walubeach.com,  phone +679 665 1777, or email Michaelhay@optus.ap.blackberry.net.  Ask for "Bula11 Rates."


PEARLER IDEA: FINE WINE AND FOOD AT AUSSIE CRUISE SHIP'S CHEF'S TABLE

P&O Cruises has introduced a new dining concept with the debut of its latest cruise ship Pacific Pearl – an exclusive Chef's Table in the ship's Wine Room.

The Chef's Table dinner will be offered up to three times on every Pacific Pearl cruise, with just 14 passengers a time able to reserve a seat.

Set in the elegant, bottle-lined Wine Room within the ship's chic Waterfront Restaurant, the Chef's Table will feature a seven-course degustation menu paired with Australian wines.

Sture Myrmell, Vice President of Hotel Operations at Carnival Australia, which operates P&O Cruises, said the concept was designed to showcase the high quality of P&O Cruises' food and wine and offer a unique passenger experience.

"Pacific Pearl's Wine Room sits beautifully within the contemporary Waterfront Restaurant so it's the ideal setting for the Chef's Table," Mr Myrmell said.

"We are very proud of the quality and variety of cuisine on our ships, and felt the Chef's Table would be another way to let passengers experience great food and wine during their holiday."

Priced at $75 a head including wine, the three-hour Chef's Table experience starts with pre dinner cocktails, canapés and an introduction by the ship's Executive Chef. Diners will then enjoy a tour of the ship's main kitchen before enjoying their dinner, with Chef introducing and explaining all seven courses.

The Chef's Table concept will be extended to Pacific Jewel, which also features a Wine Room, later this year.

Carrying 1800 passengers, the 63,500-tonne Pacific Pearl features three restaurants, seven bars and lounges, a giant poolside entertainment screen, Aqua HealthSpaFitness centre, two swimming pools, a swim-up-bar, multi-level show lounge, four kids centres, a casino and duty-free shopping boutiques.

Pacific Pearl will offer cruises from Sydney throughout 2011-12. As an example, a nine-night voyage to the South Pacific departing Sydney August 10, 2011 is priced from $899 quad share.

For more information contact P&O Cruises on 13 24 94 or visit www.pocruises.com.au


A TASTE OF ITALY IN THE SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS

A TASTE of Italian food and wine, cars and culture, entertainment and motorbikes will highlight the weekend of March 12 and 13 at Sutton Forest in the NSW Southern Highlands when local wine company Southern Highland Wines celebrates the Italian heritage of its winemaking team – and raises funds for children's cancer research.

On the Saturday night there'll be an authentic 4-course Italian feast prepared by local Chef Franco Rossetti, with live entertainment by Italian-born and now Sydney-resident Angelo Di Bella who'll perform songs made famous by Andrea Bocelli, Luciano Pavarotti and Patrizio Buanne.

Entry to the evening will be $95pp including all drinks.

On Sunday the winery will swing into action with a display of Alfa, Lancia and Fiat cars and an assortment of Italian motorbikes, plus there'll be cooking demonstrations, and visitors can make purchases from an Italian BBQ conducted by the Italian Alpini Association, a roasted chestnut stall, buy fresh crostoli (strips and squares of deep-fried pasta dough dusted with icing sugar) made by the ladies of the Italian Social Welfare Society – and of course there'll be  plenty of pasta dishes to choose from.

The whole family can also join in grape-crushing, macaroni craft and for the children a range of rides to keep them amused. Local Italian identity Luciano Liberale will MC the day and there'll be live entertainment by the Marconi Club choir and roving piano accordion artists.

Entry will be $10 per car, the full $10 going to the Children's Cancer Institute of Australia; for details phone Southern Highland Wines (02) 4868 2300, email info@shw.com.au or visit www.shw.com.au


WORLD'S TOP 25 LOVE NESTS


FROM Tasmania to Turkey, the Maldives to Macao, there's never been a better time for romance according to a leading Australian authority on the subject.

Glossy magazine Holidays for Couples scoured the globe in 2010 to find the world's top 25 newest, most romantic resorts and hotels to prove that love is in the air, in almost any language.

The Romance List 2011, published in the current summer edition of the magazine, paints a dazzling picture of spectacular, sexy and glamorous hideaways pandering to every whim for honeymooners, lovers, and couples with a passion for sheer indulgence.

The ultimate holiday wish list in the dizzying world of new resorts and hotels opens up a vista of architectural wonderlands in settings from beachfronts to rice paddies, mysterious jungle valleys and glaciers, to roaring log fires and tropical plunge pools.

There's even a Champagne-fuelled secluded love-nest amid the frenzy of Las Vegas, an elegant hotel right in the middle of New York City and a five-star canvas tent resort in a desert.  There are butlers, yachts, spas, celebrated chefs and armies of pampering staff.

All properties were opened for business in 2010 with the top 25 chosen by an independent panel of five top travel writers and authors after a survey of readers and industry leaders.

Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Rhonda Bannister said the magazine's annual Top 25 Romance List reflected the expertise and impartiality of a carefully-selected judging panel.

"Each property in this year's list which includes Turkey, Tasmania, the Maldives, Macao, India, Thailand, New Zealand, China, Utah, Italy, Bali, Spain, Mexico, Laos, Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong, France and Singapore is a remarkable story of romance in itself", she said.

Holidays For Couples is from the Graphic Publishing stable of quality niche magazines covering the Travel, Home and Weddings markets circulating both nationally and internationally.

See http://www.HolidaysforCouples.travel


ROUND WORLD CRUISING FROM SYDNEY IN 2012

PRINCESS Cruises will operate two world cruises from Australia in 2012 for the first time, giving Australian travellers the choice of a 104-night or a 75-night voyage around the globe from Sydney.

The move reflects the overwhelming popularity of Princess Cruises' annual world cruises from Australia since they were first introduced in 2008.

The globe-trotting duet is a highlight of Princess Cruises' new 2012 winter program for its locally-based superliners Sun Princess and Dawn Princess, and includes the debut of 17 exotic ports new to the Australian world cruise itineraries.

Sun Princess will set sail on her first 104-night full world circumnavigation from Sydney on May 16, 2012, visiting 38 ports in 28 countries including maiden world cruise visits to Iceland's colourful capital Reykjavik, Halifax in Nova Scotia and Lerwick in the Shetland Islands. Her world cruise will also feature overnight calls in the city that never sleeps – New York, as well as picturesque Venice, with fares for the full 104-night voyage starting from $20,999* per person twin share or just $34,000 per person for a balcony.

Meanwhile Dawn Princess will offer a 75-night Grand Pacific World Voyage, calling at 28 ports in 13 countries from Northern Asia and Russia to Canada and Alaska and the tropical islands of the Pacific. New ports of call on her cruise include Seward and Sitka in Alaska, Nawiliwili in Hawaii and Russia's Siberian city of Vladivostok, with the cruise departing July 27, 2012 and priced from $14,499* per person or just $23,499 per person for a balcony.

Travellers will save up to $1000 on bookings made before May 31, 2011 and will also receive a bonus onboard credit of up to $1000 per person for the full 104-night and $500 for the 75-night voyage.

Plus, passengers who book the full 104-night or 75-night cruises will receive free return economy airfares to Sydney from Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Coolangatta, Brisbane and Hobart.

Princess Cruises President and CEO Alan Buckelew said interest in world cruising from Australia had grown steadily since the cruise line sailed the first world cruise from Sydney in 2008.

For more information visit www.princess.com call 13 2488 or see a licensed travel agent.

*Fares are per person, twin share. Subject to availability, conditions apply.