Black Friday travel on sale from hotels to cruises

by Chris Owen on

Between Black Friday and Cyber Monday travel companies are going all out with some outstanding bargains on everything from airfare to cruise vacations. It’s a time when sellers of travel hope they can get us to buy big, once, and take care of the whole family with a single purchase.

One big travel gift for the whole family is a great choice for people who don’t like to shop very much and like to travel or know people they need a gift for who do. Travel gifts don’t have to be big either, a travel gift card is a good choice for backpackers, road warriors and everyone in-between. Still, Black Friday deals are up first so lets take a look at some of the best available, Friday only.

Travelocity has savings of up to 50% off with offers that might include third night free and 40-50% off at hotels in Hawaii, Chicago, and other cities. They even have a special Black Friday Booking site.

Yuupon is offering hourly, travel deals where shoppers get sale items that can include up to 90% off airline, gas and restaurant gift cards and Vegas shows and Florida tours are also included. Yuupon also has a special Black Friday website set up.

Hotels from Red Roof Inn to Intercontinental have special offers too. Follow Intercontinental Hotel Group on Twitter for special deals announced on Friday. Orbitz lets Friday buyer save up to 50% for stays at popular hotels in Orlando, Las Vegas, San Diego, New York, Miami and Hawaii. The company also promises similar savings at international locations, including Paris; Puerto Vallarta and Cancun, Mexico;and London.

“Discounts are likely to slip away faster than the parking spaces at the mall,” Orbitz told CNN.

To get the deals, visit The Orbitz Cybersale web site. The site goes live 12:01 a.m. Friday and closes 11:59 p.m. Monday.

Princess Cruises’ first-ever After Thanksgiving Alaska Sale has travelers dreaming of savings on visiting the splendor of Alaska’s wilderness.

Running from November 25-29, the sale offers passengers up to $1,000 in savings and up to a $50 onboard credit on one of the cruise line‘s popular cruisetour vacations, which combine a Gulf of Alaska cruise with rail travel to Denali and stays at Princess’ exclusive wilderness lodges. For those who opt to see Alaska by sea only, the sale provides a free balcony upgrade and up to $100 onboard credit.

Norwegian Cruise Line will offer reduced deposits (50% off) and up to $250 in onboard credit per stateroom. The sale begins on Wednesday, Nov. 23 and runs until Nov. 29. All sailings are included in this sale with the exception of 1 & 2 day sailings and those on the Norwegian Breakaway.

Costa Cruises, Europe‘s largest cruise line, is planning a Black Friday sale that will feature its lowest rates of the season on select Mediterranean and Caribbean sailings. Cruise-only fares for 11-night eastern Mediterranean departures will start at $599 per person based on double occupancy while seven- to 11-night western Mediterranean cruises will begin at $399.

“For the third consecutive year Costa is offering Black Friday fares because they have proven to be very popular with consumers,” said Maurice Zarmati, president and CEO of Costa Cruises North America. “At these exclusive rates travelers can book one of our Italian-style cruise vacations at an incredible value.”

Costa Concordia seven-night and Costa Serena 11-night Mediterranean sailings feature a $100 per person on-board credit for balcony cabins plus huge savings on Caribbean 10-night cruises. Cruise-only fares for 11-night eastern Mediterranean departures start at $599, and seven- to 11-night western Med cruises begin at just $399. The 10-night Caribbean cruises begin at just $699.

Royal Caribbean also has a special offer, extending their usual “Tuesday Only” sale to begin on Friday and run through the weekend. See your travel professional for details and pricing on this sales event too.

 


Photo of the day – Toronto turkey

by Meg Nesterov on


It’s Thanksgiving today in America, and thus time for the obligatory turkey-related photo. Our friends over at Matador called our attention to this turkey-shaped building in Canada, of all places. The University of Toronto‘s John P. Robarts research library was designed to look like a peacock, but bears more of a resemblance to tonight’s main course. The concrete and vaguely Soviet structure was taken by Flickr user Jiang Long and is also known as “Fort Book.”

Found any other animal-shaped buildings? We’d be most thankful if you could upload your pix to the Gadling Flickr pool for a future Photo of the Day. Happy Thanksgiving!

Tucson’s beloved Grill restaurant closes

by Meg Nesterov on


Today marks my second Thanksgiving outside of the US (in Turkey, ironically) and as nostalgic as I am for Pepperidge Farm stuffing and canned cranberry sauce, this week I am missing another important piece of my past: the Grill restaurant in Tucson, Arizona. A landmark of downtown Tucson for decades, Grill (true regulars know to leave off the “the”) shut its doors this week, leaving many current and former Tucsonans distraught and de-caffeinated. Open 24 hours, serving breakfast “until tomorrow,” Grill’s menu offered the helpful tip: “when dining out, insist on food.” If you were to walk by it, you may be forgiven in thinking it was just a diner, but it was much more than that.

Grill was first opened in its current iteration in 1994 by James Graham, a classically-trained chef who made it an amalgamation of a traditional New York diner fare and more haute cuisine. In addition to burgers and fries, an impossible-to-finish short stack of pancakes, and steak and eggs, you’d find surprises on the menu. Toasted and fried “Spanish ravioli” (mysteriously called “depth bombs”). A salad with hearts of palm and fresh mozzarella. Even a big bowl of Cap’n Crunch. Some of those old favorites were left off the menu when James sold it in 1999 and moved to L.A., but his original rules remained in effect: tater tots only available late night and never with cheese. No ranch dressing. Always tip your waiter (that’s just polite).

Beyond the food and coffee, Grill was a haven for many people, with a constant rotation of Johnny Cash and Patsy Cline. Many of Tucson’s eccentrics, artists, and just plain weirdos called it home; it was a hipster hangout before hipsters existed. I spent much of my adolescence in one of the red booths, drinking coffee, smoking illicit cigarettes, doing crossword puzzles, crying over boyfriends, and occasionally studying. Even my father, a downtown-based criminal defense attorney, was a regular for lunch and we’d occasionally cross paths, each slightly embarrassed to see the other in such a sacred space. Bringing a new boyfriend to Grill was in important test: if you didn’t respect and appreciate Grill, it was a personal affront. When I moved to New York in 1998, I had a special named after me: the Meg Lamb Memorial “You’re Gonna Make it After All” Knish Dish.

Grill changed a bit over the nearly 15 years since I left Arizona. The adjoining Red Room was a lounge space in my day, with a much-used photo booth, an assortment of motley board games, and some antique couches where my high school poetry club used to meet monthly. For the past several years, Red Room was a bar and music space separate from Grill. In my last visit in 2007, it didn’t feel quite the same, but the spirit remained the same: an oasis in Tucson’s occasionally desolate downtown, “open later than you think.”

If you go to Tucson now, you can still find a few spots for late-coffee and eats. The perennial goth favorite, Cafe Quebec, is now the worker-owned cooperative Shot in the Dark Cafe. The bikers hanging out at Safehouse are friendlier than they appear. The Hotel Congress is home to the Cup Cafe, in addition to one of Tucson’s best nightlife scenes. Later this year, James Graham will open a new restaurant in Los Angeles: Ba Restaurant in Highland Park, serving French provincial classics, a major departure from diner fare. A growing Facebook group is trying to inspire a new Grill to rise from the ashes. One question remains: how does the next door Wig-O-Rama stay recession-proof?!

Thanks for the memories Grill!

Photo courtesy James Graham, circa 1994.

Dominican resort offers ultra-luxe island adventure

by Chris Owen on

A new Dominican resort has plans to change the travel and tourism landscape in the Caribbean when completed in February 2012. Eden Roc at Cap Cana in the Dominican Republic consists of 34 freestanding suites and three opulent bungalows, each one fully equipped with it’s own private swimming pool, that offer jet-setting guests an unprecedented level of intimate luxury that personifies glamour.

Eden Roc promises to spoil guests further with extravagant amenities such as the resort’s full service spa, three Jack Nicklaus signature golf courses, tennis facilities, Caletón Beach Club, Eden Roc Kids Club, five diverse culinary selections and more.

Located in the uber-exclusive community of Capa Cana, Eden Roc at Cap Cana is a 20-minute drive from the Punta Cana International Airport and private jet landing strip. Home to white haute beaches and tropical rainforests, the Caletón Beach Club offers global luxury clientele everything they may desire.

Families with children will have access to the resort’s jungle-themed Kids Club, designed to resemble a massive tree house complete with video games, mini dining area and Mini Spa, where kids of all ages can enjoy manicures, pedicures and hair styling in style.

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Prices start at $750 per night for an 824 sq ft Junior Suite with a garden view that includes a King bed, private swimming pool, private courtyard with pergola, marble bath with Jacuzzi tub, 2 separate vanities and bidet plus 1 touring cart .

Flickr photo by http2007


Trick out your bike with animated wheels

by Grant Martin on

Well here’s a new way to hipster out your bicycle for your daily commute (I’m looking at you, Portland). Youtube user TheManimation concocted a paper insert to go on top of a bicycle wheel that when rotated turns into a groovy animation. You won’t see it at first. Initially, the whole thing will look like one of those folded paper snowflakes that we all used to make in kindergarten. But once the wheels get moving, everything hits the right frequency and the gears start spinning (literally). The result is pretty impressive.