News in Brief: Thursday August 14

Portuscale Cruises have released a new 2 for 1 offer on its 45 Day Suez Sojourn. Departing 4 January-17 February 2015 the vessel will travel from Barcelona to Newcastle.
With the first guest paying full fare, the companion only pays for port charges and any other fees. The offer runs until 15 September 2014 and there are strictly limited availabilities.
Airberlin will be the first German airline to offer an auction for Business Class upgrades on long-haul flights. Guests will be given the opportunity to bid for an upgrade to Business Class 72 hours before departure .
Passengers can check the website to see whether an auction is available for their flight and then submit a bid, finding out at least 12 hours prior to departure whether their bid was successful
As of next year Australians will be given the chance to explore Asia and the Pacific on-board Seabourn’s ultra-luxurious fleet.
The 2015-16 program, offers guests a world of luxury as its three ships sail on 70 different itineraries visiting all seven continents. The cruises range from 10 to 97 days and feature 25 destinations which are either maiden visits or ports that Seabourn has not sailed to for some years.
Scenic Tours are holding a series of free world information sessions nationwide from 3 to 25 September. In partnership with local travel agents, Scenic Tours will be promoting a range of its destinations including Africa, Antarctica, China, Japan, Europe and South America.
Sessions will take place in Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne, and offers guests a chance to find out more about the range of Scenic Tours products on offer at a time that suits them.
Seabreeze Resort has won the New Zealand Restaurant Challenge as part of Friendship Week. The competition ran from the 1 to 9 August with nine restaraunts competing.
Restaraunts were given the task to design a dish that would encompass the best of both Samoan and New Zealand foods. The wining dish was created by head Chef Sili presented Hapuku (commonly known as Groper) wrapped in wafer thin local bacon and topped with a shaved Papaya and radish Salsa.
Artist Lawrence Argent, has designed a 30-foot polar bear sculpture that will sit on the top deck of the world’s most advanced cruise ship, Quantum of the Seas.
The Royal Caribbean International’s newest ship left the enclosed building hall at the Meyer Werft Shipyard in Papenburg with the hard-to-miss eight tonne bear sculpture situated on the exterior deck of the ship. This is the first glimpse into the 2,980 piece, multi-million dollar art collection that has been curated for Quantum of the Seas.
Qantas Frequent Flyer has officially launched its new online qantaspoints.com. Featuring an online mall stocked with premium global brands the website will continue to expand what’s on offer to its diverse member base.
Qantaspoints.com is a direct reflection of the Qantas Frequent Flyer programs success in recent years, particularly with its range of partners, number of members and the increasing volume of points earned through activities other than flying.
Princess Cruises has announced it will honour the role that the iconic television show The Love Boat has played in its history by naming the original cast members as godparents of its new cruise ship Regal Princess.
The original Love Boat cast members – who played Captain Stubing, Gopher, Isaac, Doc, Julie and Vicki – will reunite to christen the new ship in Fort Lauderdale on November 5 this year. The ceremony will officially launch the golden anniversary celebrations for Princess Cruises, which will celebrate five decades of operation throughout 2015.
Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au
airberlin portuscale cruises scenic tours seabourn seabreeze resortLatest News

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