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 Bermunda turns 400 years old this year and is hoping you'll help celebrate her birthday with a vacation. Visit the island this winter and you can get up to $400 in credit (typically in the form of companion air credit from the airline with which you book the package). The credit amount is calculated on a sliding scale, based on the number of nights you stay. Folks booking a two-night stay will get $200 in credits; book a three-night stay and get $300 back; come for four nights or more, and you'll get $400 in credit. As a bonus, you'll also receive a booklet containing coupons worth $1,000.
This air + hotel package gives you a choice of 10 hotels and is available through various airlines and travel operators from major East coast hubs (Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Miami, as well as multiple airports in Canada). Though the deal is the same, the airline depends on your departure city. A family departing from New York City, for example, could purchase the package through JetBlue and receive up to $400 in companion air credits.
Book by March 27 and travel by March 31.
 What are our top three reasons for loving Southwest Airlines? No hidden fees, no hidden fees, and no hidden fees. We also like how airfares just got lower with the "Wanna Get Away?" sale. Fly on Tuesday or Wednesday and you can snag fares for $49 to $99 one-way on select routes nationwide. Fly Thursday to Monday, and sale prices range from $59 to $159 one-way.
Book by January 19 and fly between January 15 and April 30 with a 14-day advance purchase.
 One nice thing about an all-inclusive property is getting a final bill with no big surprises. Curaçao Marriott Beach Resort & Emerald Casino just introduced a package that essentially turns your vacation into an all-inclusive experience. The “Escape Inclusive” special starts at $418 per room, per night and includes accommodations for two adults and two children 12 and under, all meals and beverages, kids’ club activities (for ages 4 to 12), and non-motorized, hotel-sponsored watersports including snorkeling and kayaking.
Prices fluctuate with dates, as you would expect. When we priced a week-long stay in February, peak season, for a family of two adults and two kids under 12, we found rates of $550 per night, per room for a resortview room, $610 for an oceanview room, and $670 for a beachfront room. A seven-night stay in an oceanview room would total $4270.
Non-package rates for an oceanview room would run $359 for that same week in February, so the all-inclusive package would cost you $251 more each day. At first glance, that's a sizable number. But consider that the fee for the kids’ club is normally $50 a day per kid (so, for two kids, $100 a day). If you eat all your meals at the resort, you could very well spend more than $151 per day on dining. Note: On the resort's web site, the package indicates that kids "under 12" eat free. We called to check on this and were told that the package does include 12-year-olds.
The bottom line: If (a) your children's ages fall in the 4-to-12 bracket and they like kids' clubs, and (b) you’ll be eating all your meals on-property, then this all-inclusive special could make sense for you. It will likely save you some money and also reduce your feeling of being nickel-and-dimed during your stay. But if your children won't go near kids' clubs, you're probably better off opting for the non-package rate.
The "Escape Inclusive" package is available through October 31, 2009 and is based on availability and double occupancy. To book, enter promotional code NCL when booking online, or call 888/PARADISE and reference the same code.
 For travelers, the silver lining in this weakened economy is the tidal wave of vacation deals we're seeing. Still, it's important to keep your giddiness in check and stick to common-sense travel strategies like our original 20 recession travel rules. Our latest lesson is about researching taxes and fees before you go. It's also the first time we've uncovered a deal that turned out to be too bad to be true.
Atlantis, the megaresort on Paradise Island, the Bahamas, just announced a Winter SunScape promotion, which slashes prices on winter and early spring stays by as much as 35% below regular rates. For stays between Sunday to Wednesday, the promo rate starts at $265 a night. For stays between Thursday to Saturday, the lowest rate bumps up to $319 a night. To take advantage of this offer, book a stay of two or more nights by December 31 and travel between January 4 and April 1, 2009.
When we priced out a three-night midweek stay for a family of four with two kids under 12, the least expensive option was a Terrace room in the Beach Tower, the most affordable of eight properties at the Atlantis resort. At a nightly rate of $265, our three-night total came to $795. Or so we thought until we glanced at the fine print, and this jumped off the screen:
"Add up to $144pp for mandatory taxes, mandatory housekeeping grats., &
utility svc. fees."
Uh-oh. Up to $144 per person in taxes and fees?! We scuttled over to the Terms & Conditions page, clickable from the footer of the Atlantis web site, and scrolled down to the subhead "Additional Charges." And there it was:
"Atlantis guests are subject to $50 per night for each additional person, 12
years old and older; 6% guest room tax per person, per night; 3% Paradise Island
Tourism and Development Association levy per person, per night; 3% Nassau
Paradise Island Promotion Board levy per person, per night and up to $24 per
person per day mandatory housekeeping gratuity and utility service fee."
Holy moly—if that wording were accurate, we'd be looking at some crazy additional fees in the neighborhood of $670 for a three-night stay. This can't possibly be correct, we thought. And we were right. When we called Atlantis' reservation number (888/877-7525) and spoke to a reservations agent, we found out that the reality is far less nasty. Here's how the taxes and fees actually break down for our family of four for a three-night stay:
- 12% in taxes per room—not "per person" as stated on the web site ($31.80 x 3 nights = $95.40)
- For this level of accommodation, the housekeeping and resort fee is $19.50 per adult, per night—not "per person, per night" as stated on the site ($19.50 x 2 adults x 3 nights = $117)
So we're now talking about $70.80 per night in taxes and fees, which works out to $212.40 for the three-night stay.
The moral of the story: Always think of a promo rate as your base price until you verify taxes, resort fees, housekeeping fees, parking fees, and all the other charges hotels impose on top of their advertised rates. In this case, your true spend would be an additional 27% on top of the promo rate.
Amid the tidal wave of fantastic deals on Caribbean getaways, JetBlue has unveiled a More Beach for Your Buck Sale. The airline is selling 5,000 packages that bundle roundtrip airfare plus three nights accommodation for $599 or less per person. Destinations include Aruba, Bermuda, Cancun, the Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and St. Maarten/St. Martin.
Actual prices depend on both the departure city and chosen resort. When we price-checked this deal using different departure cities, it quickly became clear that the "$599 or less" price applies only if you're flying non-stop from an East coast airport served by JetBlue—and even then, not always.
When we ran the numbers online for a family of four (two adults, two kids aged 5 and 9), here's what we found:
 Flying New York JFK to Aruba for a three-night, Thursday-Sunday stay in mid-March, the package comes to $2,211.69 ($552.92/person) if you stay at the Westin Resort, Aruba (aerial of the pool area, right).
Flying Boston to San Juan for a three-night, Thursday-Sunday stay in early March, the package comes to $2,464.59 ($615.65/person) at the Four Points by Sheraton Resort and Casino at Palmas del Mar or $2,645.59 ($661.40/person) at the InterContinental San Juan Resort and Casino.
Note that JetBlue is limiting this sale to 5,000 packages. In other words, it's a limited offer and you need to act fast if you're interested. You can book online or by calling 800/JETBLUE, option 3. You must book by December 31 for travel between January 3 and March 31, 2009. Blackout dates are February 12 to 22 for the entire promotion; some individual resorts have additional blackout periods.
Deal or no deal? A deal, but only if you live near a JetBlue-served East coast airport such as New York's JFK.
 If you've been thinking about taking your family on a Disney cruise, you'll want to know about a fantastic new deal. Kids age 12 and under can sail free on most three-night Bahamian cruises from January 22 to
May 28, 2009, when traveling with two full-fare guests in the same stateroom. The offer covers a variety of stateroom categories, ranging from deluxe family staterooms
with verandahs to standard inside staterooms. Act fast: There are a limited
number of staterooms available for this special offer. Book online or call 800/951-3532 or contact a travel agent. Be sure to use the booking code FREE.
Note: Our own review of a three-night Disney cruise aboard the Disney Wonder is coming next month.
 Everybody’s looking for a bailout these days—but as we’ve all seen, not all bailouts are worth having. Take the Vacation Bailout package at Aruba’s Westin resort: If you book a six-night stay, you get a $200 resort credit and one night free. Sounds great, right?
The 481-room resort has a beautiful beach and awesome freeform swimming pool, and offers plenty of places to spend that resort credit, such as the spa, casino, and solid (but, alas, not free) kids' program for ages 6 to 12. Its Destination Club features crafts, sandcastle-building, iguana-feeding, a Little Chefs cooking class, and Friday evening s'more roasts.
When we priced a trip with the bailout package rate (factoring in the resort credit), a room with two queen beds came to about $2,300 for six nights—a $700 savings compared to normal rates. The Vacation Bailout must be booked by December 31, but you can travel through April 16, 2009.
Deal or No Deal? A deal, but not as good as you'd think. Book the resort’s Better Tomorrows package instead, which gives you 50% off for every other night you stay (thus averaging a 25% savings over two nights). It brings the same six-night total to $2,050—not only $250 cheaper than the bailout package, but all the savings go back to you. Now that’s what we call a bailout.
To take advantage of the Better Tomorrows package, you must arrive Thursday through Sunday, and travel by March 31, 2009.
 For months now, we've witnessed a raftload of deals on Caribbean vacations, and there seems to be no end in sight. In the past two days alone, we've reported on promotions for St. Maarten, the Bahamas, and Barbados and St. Lucia. Now comes news that the booking window for the US Virgin Islands' "Winter Escape" promotion has been extended until the end of the year. The deal itself is straightforward: Book a minimum of five nights and receive:
- $300 in travelers
checks
- 5th night free at your hotel, which amounts to a 20% discount
- $50 credit on attractions
- $50
credit on meals
- Coupon book worth $1500 in additional savings on
activities and attractions
First you choose your hotel: The good news is that this deal can save a family $700 or more, without including the coupon book. The bad news is that finding the right hotel can take some time, since not all of the 26 participating properties are ideal for a getaway with kids. Some aren't that family-friendly (like The Ritz-Carlton on St. Thomas, whose standard guest rooms accommodate a two-person max). Others, such as the
Holiday Inn Windward Passage, are located in a busy commercial port
area. Here's the complete list of all participating properties:
St. Croix:
Carambola Beach Resort & Spa, Chenay Bay Beach Resort, Club St. Croix (Antilles Resorts), Colony Cove
(Antilles Resorts), Divi Carina Bay Resort, Hibiscus Beach Resort, Holger
Danske Hotel, Hotel Caravelle, King Christian Hotel, Sand Castle
on the Beach, The Buccaneer, The Palms at Pelican Cove
St. Thomas:
Best Western Carib Beach, Best
Western Emerald Beach, Bolongo Bay Beach Resort, Frenchman’s Reef & Morning
Star Marriott Beach Resort, Holiday Inn Windward Passage, Pavilions and Pools, Point
Pleasant (Antilles Resorts), Sapphire Beach Resort (Antilles Resorts), Sapphire
Village (Antilles Resorts), Secret Harbour, Ritz-Carlton, Wyndham Sugar
Bay Resort & Spa
St. John:
Estate Concordia Campground and The Westin
 One great bet for families is the Wyndham Sugar Bay Resort & Spa,
on St. Thomas, which has a gorgeous beach, three interconnecting pools
and waterfall, on-site mini golf and watersports, a well-regarded spa, kids' programs, and a fridge in every
room. A five-night stay in January for a family of four would normally
start at about $1,350. With this promotion, the same hotel stay would cost
just $1,080, plus you'd get an additional $400 back in travelers checks
and credits.
Then you double check, and do the math: It never hurts take a peek at the hotel's web site in case there just happens to be a sweeter deal on the table. On the Wyndham Sugar Bay's special offers page, we found a 4th-night-free deal. This is the same as a 25% discount on a four-night stay, but it doesn't includes the $300 gift check or other credits. Better yet, we saw a "Caribbean Vacation Stimulus Package" for stays before January 9, 2009: Book two nights, and get two free additional nights (essentially a 50% savings!) plus a $100 food and beverage credit. Since the nightly rate at this resort starts at $270, we're talking about a savings of at least $640 ($270 x 2 nights + $100 credit).
It's a very close call. If you can travel before January 9, the "Caribbean Vacation Stimulus Package" is a great deal, saving you $640 on a four-night getaway (or $160 per night), and you don't have to deal with as many credits and coupons.
But if you travel between January 9 and March 31, 2009, then the USVI tourism organization's "Winter Escape" promo wins out, saving you $700 on a five-night stay (or $140 per night), or more if you use the coupon book. Plus, when you factor in the expense of airfare, a longer stay makes more sense.
Finally, you book it. The "Winter Escape" promotion is available until December 31, for travel between December 15 and March 31, 2009. You need to book through a participating booking site, travel agent, or tour operator. Here's a short list: Expedia, Orbitz, Cheap Caribbean, American
Airlines Vacations, Delta
Vacations, TNT Vacations, and United Vacations.
Whew! Sometimes it's a lot of work to make sure you're getting a good deal.
 Wow! Half-price Caribbean deals keep landing at our feet. Just this morning, we told you about a deal that delivers 50% off at the Wyndham Nassau in the Bahamas. Now we can share another half-price deal—this time offered by Almond Resorts, which has five all-inclusive properties on Barbados and St. Lucia Four of the properties welcome families, while one is adults-only. Rates include unlimited food and beverage (à la carte, buffet-style, and room-service) and most activities, including kids' programming for kids, from newborns to teens.
Of the four family-friendly
properties, the two least expensive options are those on St. Lucia, the
Almond Smugglers Cove Resort and Almond Morgan Bay Resort. With this deal, an all-inclusive four-day/three-night stay for a family of four can be had for as little as $900 if booking land only. Packages including airfare are also available; we price-checked the same four-day stay for a family of four at $3,450 if flying out of New York in January.
Note: American Airlines has increased nonstop service from New York's JFK to
St. Lucia three times a week. In addition, American Airlines flies direct from
Miami daily, while American Eagle serves St. Lucia from Puerto Rico five times a
day.
This offer is available for bookings through December 19. You must travel by February 9, 2009.
 This is a terrific time to plan a trip to the Caribbean in 2009. The weak economy and flight cutbacks mean there are plenty of deals streaming out of the islands these days. Some are more spin than substance, however, so when we see one that’s a guaranteed money-saver we sit up and take notice. The Wyndham Nassau Resort & Crystal Palace Casino is offering a Vacation Stimulus Package: stay two consecutive nights between now and the end of 2009 and get the next two nights free. That translates into a hefty 50% discount. The package also includes a $100 food and beverage credit for use at the resort. Rates begin at $309 per night for an oceanview room, so a four-night stay would cost from $618—averaging just $155 a night (plus dining credit). The booking deadline is January 31, 2009. The fine print says the number of available with this deal are limited, so don't wait too long if you want specific travel dates.
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