Daily Archives: June 15, 2017

CARACAS The 2018 Caribbean Series baseball tournament, originally slated to be held in Venezuela, has been relocated to Mexico, the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation said, amid a wave of violent protests in the South American country.

The confederation did not specify why the tournament, which brings together the champions of professional winter leagues from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Puerto Rico and Mexico, will not be held in Venezuela.

"The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League voted against the decision at the assembly held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on June 14, 2017," the group said in a statement late on Wednesday.

The confederation said the 2019 Caribbean Series will take place in the city of Barquisimeto, located about 350 kilometers (217 miles) from the capital of Caracas.

Next February, the Mexican team of Venados de Mazatlan will defend its title in a city in Mexico that has not yet been determined.

Venezuelans struggling under a deep economic crisis have for over two months been staging often violent protests against President Nicolas Maduro, with about 70 dead. Maduro says the protests are an attempt to overthrow him with the backing of ideological adversaries in Washington.

(Reporting by Diego Ore; writing by Brian Ellsworth; Editing by Dan Grebler)

Canadian teenager Brooke Henderson plundered an eight-under-par 63 for a one-stroke lead over Lexi Thompson and five others after the first round at the Meijer LPGA Classic in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Thursday.

ERIN, Wisconsin Big-hitting Dustin Johnson was one of the biggest disappointments in Thursday's opening round of the U.S. Open as the defending champion and world number one shot three-over 75 to languish 10 shots behind leader Rickie Fowler.

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Venezuela loses 2018 Caribbean baseball tournament amid protests - Reuters

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Travel Fix's Drew Binsky tells us everything we need to know about the Caribbean including when the best time to visit, which he says is between December and April.

"That's the peak season...meaning best weather, less humid and it's not rainy season," says Drew.

Drew says the Caribbean has mostly good weather throughout the year, but May to September are considered rainy season. But the good news is, "in the Caribbean it's not going to ruin your trip. It might rain for an hour or two a day, but then it'll go away," he said.

According to Drew, every country in the Caribbean is somewhat the same, but he says his favorite country in the Caribbean by far is Cuba, which he visited in March.

"They haven't really gotten out of the 1950's yet, everything there is really old school. People are really nice, and there's lots of things to do."

Another Caribbean country that's near the top of Drew's list is Haiti. It's not a very touristy place, although it has beautiful beaches, according to Drew. It's for people who are more adventurous.

"It's more of like you go just to like throw yourself in a new culture and kind of see what happens," Drew said.

The most touristy destination out of the bunch, he said, is the Bahamas.

"It's super close to Miami, and easy to get to. A lot of resorts and stuff, and it's really expensive," Drew said.

If you're willing to take longer flights, Drew says you should visit the southern Caribbean.

"Countries like Saint Lucia, Dominica and Barbados."

Once you get there, each country is around a 2 hour fair ride from each other.

If you want to see what part of the world Drew will explore next, add him on Snapchat for the latest.

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Travel Fix: all about the Caribbean - CW33 NewsFix

The Disney Magic at the Pointe Simon dock in Fort-de-France as seen from Fort Saint-Louis in Martinique. Photo Credit: TW photo by Tom Stieghorst

Next year the number of cruise passengers to Martinique will exceed its population for the first time.

The small, French-speaking island in the Lesser Antilles expects around 440,000 cruisers in the 2017-18 season, compared with about 396,000 permanent residents.

It's a remarkable achievement, considering that seven years ago, Martinique had barely 40,000 cruise passengers visit.

The turnaround is due in part to a program to retire a generation of combative taxi drivers who were an obstacle to cruise line shore excursion programs, Martinique tourism officials said. Martinique's use as a turnaround port for European cruise lines has also grown.

A couple of cruise lines are putting a greater effort into cruises to the southern Caribbean. Martinique has made sure that when North American cruise tourists arrive, communication isn't an issue.

"You walk around, there are people speaking English," said Roger Blum, a consultant for Martinique on cruise issues and principal at Cruise & Port Advisors in Miami. "The service staff are opening up to Americans."

The result is an expected 203 calls and turnaround departures next season from 25 cruise lines, including 13 from Holland America Line, 11 from Norwegian Cruise Line and eight from both Princess Cruises and Seabourn.

For North American guests, there's plenty to see and do. On a recent trip hosted by the Martinique Tourism Authority, I spent time in three areas of the island: the capital of Fort-de-France, the Trois-Ilets peninsula across the bay from Fort-de-France and the north, around Saint-Pierre.

Most big cruise ships dock conveniently at the Pointe Simon pier in downtown Fort-de-France, which was doubled in length several years ago. Buses are staged there for excursions, or guests can wander the city.

Among the attractions is Fort Saint-Louis, a 17th century battlement that still serves as the headquarters for the French Navy in the Caribbean. Because it is a working military base, it can be toured only with a guide from the tourism bureau.

Other attractions include a large covered market, the 19th century library of the liberator of French slaves in Martinique and a cathedral that celebrates Mass in English on days when cruise ships are scheduled.

Some ships also arrive at the less-central Les Tourelles terminal, which is mainly used by MSC Cruises and Costa Cruises for a turnaround on fly-sail cruises for Europeans. Last year they brought more than 104,000 passengers to Martinique.

Martinique has several compelling shore excursions, mainly offered by Roger Albert Voyages, the island's biggest provider. On a day when the Disney Magic called, about 100 guests took the 45-minute drive north to the Zoo de Martinique.

Built amid the ruins of an old sugar mill, the zoo has dozens of birds, snakes, monkeys, iguanas and jaguars, along with a pirate museum.

The zoo is south of Mount Pelee, an active volcano whose eruption in 1902 violently destroyed the port of Saint-Pierre and killed 30,000 people.

The remnants of Saint-Pierre make for an interesting tour, as does a trip on the way back through the rain forest, which we took on a semicovered bus through Caribbean Open Tour. Also worth a stop is the beachfront Le Petibonum restaurant in Le Carbet, where chef Guy Ferdinand made us ceviche from a blue marlin bought from a fisherman that morning.

Due to his habit of wearing a chef's coat over cutoff shorts, Ferdinand is better known as "Chef Hot Pants." A former aircraft mechanic, he's got personality to spare. His outpost includes a rum bar that showcases all 12 of Martinique's distilleries.

Another outstanding tour is of Habitation Clement, one of the rum producers. I've been to three or four Caribbean rum facilities, and this by far was the best. It includes an outdoor sculpture garden, several museums, a historical mansion, a warehouse full of rum casks and a factory-museum (be sure to get the English audio guide).

David Baude, a manager for Roger Albert, said cruise passengers like to combine Clement with a tour of a banana plantation. Another top tour is to a bay to swim among sea turtles, Baude said.

Cruise passengers looking to make the most of a day call in Martinique could do worse than to hop the ferry near the cruise dock to Les Trois-Ilets, about 15 minutes away. For around $8, they can visit one of the best beaches in Martinique at Anse Mitan.

Blum said some cruise passengers ask to be taken to the best beach in Martinique, which is the remote Les Salines, a $200 taxi ride. Anse Mitan is a practical alternative. We stayed for two days in Pointe du Bout, within walking distance of the beach.

One of the great charms of Martinique is that you are actually in France. The island is as much a part of France as Hawaii is of the U.S. There is a shopping village in Pointe du Bout where French fashions are available. A wide selection of French wines are served in the bars. The pastries and breads are made to French standards.

Blum said he's done checks of the restaurants, bars and vendors in Anse Mitan and that most can accommodate English speakers. In addition to a beautiful crescent beach, there is a Jet Ski rental and a dock where sailing and snorkeling excursions are offered.

We dined at Le Kano restaurant, where guests can sit outside in the sand, practically on the beach if they wish. We ate just as well indoors, and our server, a young woman from France, couldn't have been more engaging.

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Martinique: Caribbean with a French flavor - Travel Weekly

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) In the opening scenes of the latest Vin Diesel action movie, troops in the Dominican Republic chase the hero through a rainforest and down a twisty mountain road. But in real life, the government is doing all it can to welcome the Hollywood star or anyone else who wants to produce a film in this Caribbean country.

The filming here of some scenes from xXx: Return of Xander Cage is a sign of progress in efforts to persuade the film industry to use the Dominican Republics lush mountains, white-sand beaches and colonial architecture as a backdrop.

Now, we are on the map, said Yvette Marichal, director of a government agency created in 2010 to woo film production companies to the country and to regulate their activities here.

Marichal spoke in a recent interview after returning from the Cannes Film Festival, where her agency had a pavilion promoting the countrys varied landscape along with tax breaks and other incentives to lure companies from other destinations, including other parts of the Caribbean or the U.S.

Besides the Vin Diesel action flick, which grossed more than $300 million at the box office this year, the countrys film credits have grown to include last years Netflix production True Memoirs of an International Assassin, as well as 47 Meters Down, which stars Mandy Moore and opens in the U.S. on Friday.

There are small-screen offerings as well, including the Turkish version of the competition series Survivor, which moved from the Philippines to the Dominican Republics Samana area in the north, as well as the Greek version of the same program, which is moving from Argentinas Patagonian region, and a Swedish production of The Bachelor.

All or part of 45 foreign productions, including full-length movies, documentaries and reality TV shows, were filmed here last year. There were another 20 full-length movies for the domestic market, compared to three in 2010.

In the past, the country played host to some notable films. Parts of Apocalypse Now were filmed here as were scenes in Godfather II representing Cuba. In the 2006 movie adaptation of Miami Vice, the Dominican Republic stood in for Haiti, the other country occupying the island of Hispaniola. Those occasional productions inspired former President Leonel Fernandez, who was looking for ways to diversify the economy and bring jobs to the country of more than 10 million.

That bit of investment in the Dominican Republic without any type of incentives motivated the president, said Omar de la Cruz, who served on an advisory board that helped launch a more concerted effort to attract the film industry.

In 2010, the government established tax credits for productions costing at least $500,000 and exemptions on such things as import duties for audiovisual equipment. The movie A Dark Truth, starring Andy Garcia, was the first to take advantage of the new law in 2011.

In addition to the incentives and marketing, universities in the Dominican Republic began offering courses to provide the technical skills that production companies could use to find the local production and technical workers they are required to hire under the law. In 2013, the prominent Vicini family opened Lantica Media, which operates what it describes as the Caribbeans most modern studio and sound stage facilities in a partnership with Britains Pinewood Studios.

Among the movies that Lantica Media worked on is xXx: Return of Xander Cage, which required hiring 300 local people with technical skills, providing valuable experience for them to work in future major productions, said Rafael Nunez, a production director at the companys location in San Pedro de Macoris on the southern coast. The facilities were also used in 47 Meters Down and True Memoirs of an International Assassin.

Marichal credits some of the success to the countrys varied landscape. It is incredible how we have almost all ecosystems on this little island, she said. The only thing we lack is snow but for that we have studios.

The benefits are difficult to measure, but Marichals office says that film production in 2016 injected nearly $87 million into the economy and created 4,000 direct jobs. Most lucrative for the country are the long-running reality TV series, which bring crews staying six months or more at a time. There is also the benefit of promoting the country, already among the Caribbeans top tourist destinations.

It encourages me to see how much the Dominican Republic has achieved in so little time, Marichal said.

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Dominican Republic dreams of becoming Caribbean Hollywood ... - The Seattle Times

If you like to wine a little when you cruise, here's some bad news: Royal Caribbean International has reinstated its $15 corkage fee for each bottle of wine or Champagne brought aboard.

The cruise line, which formerly charged passengers as much as $25 per bottle, did away with the fee in 2014. But it has reinstated the charge, albeit lowering the cost to $15 per bottle.

Royal Caribbean was one of the few major cruise lines that didn't charge the fee. Carnival Cruise Line and Norwegian Cruise Line charge $15. Holland America Line charges $18, and Disney Cruise Line and Celebrity Cruises charge $25 per bottle.

Though some cruise lines, like those mentioned above, allow you to bring a couple of bottles of wine or Champagne aboard when you embark on your cruise, others will confiscate bottles you bring on board.

Some lines, such as Disney, specify that passengers can bring two bottles of unopened wine or Champagne, or six beers, on board on embarkation day and in each port of call.

Many lines confiscate bottles brought aboard at ports of call and don't return them until the end of the voyage.

What's the best way to sort it all out? Check the individual cruise company's rules online before spending money on wine you might not be able to drink during your vacation.

travel@latimes.com

Twitter: @latimestravel

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New Royal Caribbean corkage fee may put a damper on your BYOB celebrations aboard ship - Los Angeles Times