Where in the Caribbean can you get the most for your money?

David Seeberger: Some people have the mistaken impression that the Caribbean is only for the luxury traveler. There are nice moderate accommodations on almost every island in the Caribbean basin. The Dominican Republic has several all-inclusive properties that are a good value. The Caribbean has lots of all-inclusive resorts (and not just the heavily-marketed resort chains), which for the budget traveler often provides more bang for the buck.

Jamaica and Puerto Rico are known as having good values for the budget traveler. The Caribbean is a very complex market compared to many other destinations, and while it’s easy for any agent to book resorts in the Caribbean, you’ll usually find that a specialist with a thorough background in the Caribbean can find you a better and more memorable experience for your money.

When is the best time to go to the Caribbean?

David: The Caribbean has become a year round vacation destination. The peak travel season is December to March. This time frame has the highest prices and coincides with the worst weather back here in the mainland US.

The official Caribbean hurricane season is June 1 to November 30. Many resorts offer hurricane rebate guarantees and many tour operators require travel insurance purchase during this time. The travel insurance will insure refund in the rare reality of a hurricane hitting your destination during that time. Your travel agent will have the most up to dated travel protection ideas for your vacation. Many travelers don’t realize how massive the Caribbean region is, and it is highly unlikely that a single hurricane will affect devastatingly a large area of the Caribbean. If a hurricane is headed to your vacation island, the airlines will generally suspend additional travel to the area and evacuate as many vacationers as possible before the hurricane arrives.

If you’re going to be honeymooning during hurricane season, and can’t take the chance of being visited by a hurricane on your vacation, there are some wonderful islands like Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao which lay beneath the traditional hurricane belt, and are rarely if ever touched by hurricanes.

Best rates for travel generally occur during the low season, but some properties close some of their facilities during that season. Working with an agent who specializes in the Caribbean will help you pick accommodations that will provide the best experience for your holiday. Legend has it that “once you visit the Caribbean, you will return again and again.”

Do you have any favorite “hidden gems” in the Caribbean?

David: Hidden gems exist all through the Caribbean. Some of my moderate favorites include the Bucuti Beach hotel in Aruba. Below the hurricane belt in Aruba, this hidden boutique hotel jewel is family run and has the widest sand beach in Aruba.

Another moderate hotel that helps you get much value for the dollar, is booking the Comfort Suites in Paradise Island. If you stay at this hotel adjacent to Atlantis Resort and Casino, you get to use the facilities of the amazing Atlantis.

Anguilla is one of the most popular islands for celebrity watching now. One of my favorite moderate hotels is on that island. At only 35 rooms The Anguilla Great House Beach Resort is a good value. All the rooms have a nice view of the Caribbean Sea and it’s a great spot for romance.

My current favorite world-class property in the Caribbean is the Four Seasons Resort on Nevis. Although it is a little bigger at 196 rooms, it is still a low-rise resort, and is small enough to still feel intimate and pampered. It has one of the Caribbean’s largest sports facilities and one of its best golf courses.

If you want to splurge a little, two of my favorites for romance are both intimate properties. The Horned Dorset Primavera in Puerto Rico is considered to be the most elegant, romantic inn in Puerto Rico, with private plunge pools and tubs for two. I also love the small Anse Chastanet on St. Lucia. Some of the plantation villa style rooms have one wall missing, opening to a freshwater pool, helping the lucky guest become closer to nature.

What makes the Caribbean a special destination when compared to Mexico or Hawaii?

David: The most important difference is air distance. Clients just don’t want to fly as far as they used to. The natural travel market for the Caribbean region is the midwest and east coast of the U.S. The southern states’ natural travel market is Mexico, while the west coast loves to visit Hawaii.

Like Mexico and Hawaii, the Caribbean is predominately known as a sun and sand destination. The Caribbean provides a close-by destination to experience different cultures, history, countries, and sometimes even different languages–although in most destinations English speakers are easy to find. The Caribbean has a wider selection of accommodations to choose from, compared to Hawaii or Mexico. They range from small guesthouses, to moderate and world-class all-inclusive resorts, to world-class best-of-the-best luxury villas. The Caribbean also provides more gaming and duty free shopping opportunities then Hawaii or Mexico.

Where do celebrities like to stay?

David: Celebrities flock to the Caribbean for the same reasons we all do- SUN, SAND, RELAXATION AND RENEWAL. Many celebrities have homes in the Caribbean. Some of the more recent celebrity hangouts include St. John where Kenny Chesney makes his home. Another popular celebrity hangout is at Paradise Island in the Bahamas where Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods and many other celebrities have homes.

Anguilla contains the Cap Juluca resort, a 179-acre celebrity favorite. It is a dramatic, white Moorish-style resort totally devoted to romance and luxury. Sandy Lane in Barbados is also known for its celebrity clientele. Tiger Woods rented the entire hotel in 2004 for his wedding.

Current hot celebrity island destinations include St. Barts, often referred by Hollywood as St. Tropez in the Caribbean. David Letterman, Uma Thurman and many others favor St. Barts.



Thanks to Jared Moran for contributing this article to our Caribbean blog:

Luxury Caribbean Honeymoon

Paper presented at the official launch and mini-conference of the Journal of the University College of the Cayman Islands. (JUCCI) Thursday October 16th 2008

Good evening ladies and gentlemen. 

The need to recruit teachers into Initial Teacher Education and Training (ITET) is a worldwide occurrence. However, for the Caribbean region, the challenge is made worse when looked at in light of the fact that trained Caribbean teachers are being recruited to serve in other countries and regions.

Mike Baker, the British Broadcasting Cooperation’s (BBC) education correspondent in his 2002 article entitled United Kingdom ‘poaching’ Jamaican teachers, pointed out that between 2001 and 2002 six hundred teachers (600) left the island to work abroad, mostly in the United States and  the United Kingdom. During that same period, the United Kingdom government issued six thousands (6,000) work permits to teachers from outside the European Community.

The global demands for teachers including those from the Caribbean, offers the region both a challenge and an opportunity. A challenge in that new teachers need to be attracted, recruited, educated and trained and an opportunity, in that, trained teachers who seek economic independence can achieve it by practicing their craft in an economically buoyant community.

While there are many strategies for encouraging the recruitment of persons into ITET, given the social, cultural, political and educational context of each Caribbean state and, in particular the Cayman Islands, it is not easy to discern what will and will not work. Therefore, the contribution of the paper I have written and published in the Journal of the University College of the Cayman Island, is an analysis of relevant recommendations resulting from research, which sought to address the problems of teacher recruitment not only in the Cayman Islands, but also in the Caribbean region.

In that published work, recommendations and results of two studies were analyzed; the 2006 Organisation of American States Sub-Region Consultant Study Report concerned with the challenges of improving the quality of teacher education, recruitment and selection, initial education and training, professional development and evaluation of teachers in countries of the Caribbean. And, the 2001 report of the committee set up to examine the conditions relating to the recruitment of Caymanians into the teaching profession.

What are specific ways of encouraging the recruitment of teachers into ITET in the Cayman Islands? Some thoughts follow. There is the need to:

1. Undertake innovative and strategic approaches to policy development in the area of ITET. Policies are needed that would direct actions and guide innovations, thus boosting people’s trust in the process and product of ITET.

2. Formulate policies to address the nature and kinds of academic qualifications offered and the standards at which local teacher education and training institutions operate.

3. Develop policies on the process of recruitment into ITET and on the promotion of teaching and the identification of appropriate target populations for recruitment.

4. Offer a competitive and internationally recognized bachelor’s programme in education. (this is happening right now at the University College)

5. Develop a clearly articulated alternative paradigm for career structure and its underlying values in the Cayman Islands, coupled with efforts to improve the economic status of teachers.  Morris and Williamson (1989) reveal that in Japan and Taiwan, among other countries, where teaching is thought of as extremely important, teachers are relatively well compensated hence teaching is viewed as a relatively well-paying job, the supply of new teachers is high and there is a low level of attrition. The writers go on to state that additionally those countries place high value on their peoples remaining in a profession or a post for the duration of an entire career.

So my point is, what is required, (in addition to marketing strategies and advertising campaigns), is a paradigm shift or change in the way we think about teaching,  not just for the Cayman Islands but for the Caribbean region.

6. Enable ITET programmes to be framed in a reflective model of teaching which encourages the development of skills and knowledge in content areas, professional studies, and practical teaching, grounded in the real world of the school and classroom.This model of teaching presently guides the teacher education and training department here at the University College of the Cayman Islands.

For more details, please consult  my article entitled “Encouraging the Recruitment of Teachers into Initial Teacher Education and Training (ITET) in the  Cayman Islands published in the  Journal of the University College of the Cayman Islands Volume 2 August 2008, pp.65-78. Copies of the journal are on sale at the main entrance to the auditorium.

Thank you, the floor is now open for questions and discussion.

 

Reference

Baker, M. (2002). UK “poaching” Jamaican teachers. BBC education correspondent, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), 15 March 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/1871706.stm (accessed 2 October 2007).

McLean, G. (2001). The report of the committee to examine the conditions relating to the recruitment of Caymanians into the teaching profession. Ministry of Education, Human    Resources and Culture. Cayman Islands. 29th June.

Mark, P. (2006). Organization of American State Hemispheric Project Draft Harmonized Policy for Teacher Education (Summary Document) Caribbean Sub-Region Consultant Report (Unpublished).

Morris, P., and J. Williamson. (1998). Teacher education in the Asia-Pacific region: A  comparative analysis. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education and Development 1: 17–27.

 



Thanks to Dr. Mark A. Minott for contributing this article to our Caribbean blog:

Grand Bahamas Island Tour

Visiting another region entails days or even weeks of planning and saving.  This is why for some people; the Caribbean vacation is the ultimate vacation.  It is something that is often reserved for special occasions such as honeymoon or anniversaries.  For other people, a Caribbean vacation is their reward to themselves for working hard, for graduating on time, or just about any occasion.

A Caribbean vacation means a vacation to the islands and coasts near the Caribbean Sea.  This region can be found near North America, Central America, and South America.  It is also located on the Caribbean Plate, an area composed of over 7,000 islands, generally

known as the West Indies.  This name was coined by Christopher Columbus, who thought this place was the East Indies or Indies of Asia.

While you were planning for your Caribbean vacation, you may have wondered where the Caribbean region got its name.   Well, the term Caribbean originated from Carib, which is one of the ethnic groups in Lesser Antilles.  Some of the islands included in Lesser Antilles are the U.S. Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, and Saint Kitts, among others.

People from countries with cold climate often seek the warmth that a tropical region such as the Caribbean Islands can give.  Because this region is made up of several islands with varying elevation, size, and currents, the rainfall is not the same for each place.  So if you plan to have a Caribbean vacation, you should take into consideration the specific island that you’re visiting.  This way, you can research on the island’s climate, check up on the weather forecasts, and prepare the items you’ll bring.

If you’re a typical beach lover who loves to sunbathe or get a tan, the you will surely enjoy the white sands of the Caribbean Islands.  Some people specifically go on a Caribbean vacation just to see the gleaming white sand this region has to offer.  

However, if you’re feeling adventurous or you simply want to try surfing, you would surely enjoy the Caribbean islands near the Atlantic Ocean.  The waves in that area will definitely give you the high or challenge that you seek.  



Thanks to Anand for contributing this article to our Caribbean blog:

Villas For Rent In The Caribbean

The Caribbean, also known as the West Indies, is the common term given to a group of islands located in the Caribbean Sea. Located from the southeastern areas of Mexico to the northwest of Venezuela in South America, these Islands are organized into 25 territories including sovereign states, overseas departments, and dependencies. There are at least 7,000 islands, islets, reefs, and cayes in the whole Caribbean region.

Because of their location and their natural beauty, the islands in the Caribbean region have become favorites to tourists, due to the many things they offer like style, seclusion, niche gifts, and nightlife.

Planning a trip to the Caribbean soon? Read the tips below to make the most of your vacation.

Rent or buy a beachfront villa If you have the money, the best way to totally enjoy the Caribbean is to rent or buy a Caribbean villa. The prices of Caribbean villas range from the cheap to the outrageously expensive. The prices depend in the location but almost all villas are beautiful.

In general, beachfront villas in the Bahamas area are expensive while beachfront property in the Dominican Republic is more affordable. Both locations are beautiful but the Bahamas is frequented by significantly more tourists than the Dominican Republic.

IF you are planning to stay for just a few days or a few weeks, it is highly advisable that you rent a beachfront villa instead of staying in a hotel. There are many advantages to doing it this way. It is more private and beautiful than a crowded hotel. Another advantage of a rented beachfront villa is the fact that you can cook your own meal there. In a hotel your choices are to all meals, in a restaurant. You can even hire someone to cook for you in a beachfront villa.

Rent a Caribbean Island But if you want to have a really perfect Caribbean vacation then rent a whole Caribbean Island for yourself or for you and your friends or family. That’s right! You can rent a whole Island in the Caribbean. You can truly live like a king on the island because it comes with staff and everything you need to spend a luxurious vacation. Renting a whole Caribbean island is also a very nice idea for a wedding or any party.

Charter a Yacht If the island is too much activity for your tastes, you could just charter a luxury yacht. There are many Caribbean yacht providers that will surely be able to meet your needs and budget.

Get in touch with a Caribbean holiday specialist Of course you can simply go online and start searching and learn everything there is to do in the Caribbean and the places to go when you get there. But it is definitely a lot easier to simply employ a Caribbean holiday specialist to help you plan the perfect Caribbean vacation. Getting the services of a Caribbean holiday specialist will save you a lot of time and energy. You could also save money with this method because they know different discounts and preferred rates. They have insight and knowledge and many years experience booking Caribbean vacations so you don’t have to do serious work and effort to plan the vacation yourself.



Thanks to David Arnold Livingston for contributing this article to our Caribbean blog:

Villas For Rent In The Caribbean