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Cayman Islands News, Articles and InformationCrown Princess, Newest Jewel in the Princess Cruises Fleet, Arrives in New YorkCrown Princess, the newest ship in Princess Cruises fleet, sailed into New York today to begin its schedule of inaugural festivities, which will celebrate the "crowning achievements" of several notable guests, specifically a triumvirate of accomplished women. The ship's godmother will be Martha Stewart, who has created a domestic dynasty of truly royal proportions. Also in attendance will be America's newest pop princess, Katharine McPhee, who will sing the National Anthem and perform during the christening ceremony. And the "queen of the spelling bee," 13-year-old Katharine Close, the recent winner of the 2006 Scripps National Spelling Bee Tournament and the first female winner in seven years, will compete in the very first "Bee At Sea," Princess' new spelling bee tournament which debuts on Crown Princess.
Getting away from it allRob Sevart, general manager of Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, has reached a compromise with his wife and three children about working during vacation."The agreement is I might spend 30 minutes in the morning working," he said. During that time, Sevart uses his Blackberry personal digital assistant to communicate with colleagues and deal with situations. "It makes me feel better," Sevart said. "They (wife Michele and their three children) know my comfort and relaxation for the day is going to be improved." Zudi Karagjozi, founder and president of Kara Homes Inc. in East Brunswick, said he does not disconnect from work during vacations as much as he would like, but sometimes he manages to do it. "I have gone on vacations where I have literally shut it down, which is great," he said.
Percipia Selected by Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong to Deploy VoIP in Legendary Luxury HotelPercipia Inc. has been selected by Mandarin Oriental Hotels to deploy VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) in its flagship hotel in Hong Kong. The legendary luxury hotel, which is undergoing a comprehensive USD140 million renovation, will re-open its doors this autumn featuring the latest guest room technology. Percipia will deliver advanced hospitality applications to Cisco color touch tone phones over the hotel's network which converges data, voice and video. Guests in the hotel's 500 rooms will enjoy the highest quality phone equipment in the world for conference calling and more. Sophisticated phone applications provided by Percipia include access to local and home weather, stock quotes, and the ability for guests to view the list of members of their group at the hotel, then directly dial them.
Economic crime survey readyThe Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce will unveil its Economic Crime Survey 2006 today and some people may be taken aback at the survey’s contents.The survey shows the main threats to Cayman businesses come from money laundering, embezzlement, cheque and credit card fraud and cyber fraud. And businesses are paying for it too. "Projections based on the responses received indicate that Cayman Islands businesses may have lost an estimated $20 million in 2005 through acts such as fraud, asset misappropriation, cheque and credit card fraud, embezzlement and corruption and spent a further $40 million seeking to prevent and combat the problem," said Chamber President Morgan DaCosta in his introduction to the survey. "I hope that the publication of this report will raise awareness of the impact of economic crime and that our findings will help businesses to introduce systems, policies and procedures to prevent and detect economic crime in the future," he said.
Travels With CongressOh the toil, the drudgery. It's a difficult, demanding, grueling and thankless lot that falls on the shoulders of our poor overworked Senators, Congressmen and their diligent staffers. Travel here, junket there, cramped seats in corporate jets, expensive booze, four star hotels, an endless grinding cycle of golf and spas, dinner and massages, speeches and shopping and hookers, oh weariness, the hookers.. George Town under quarantine for mealybug pestsExperts from the Department of Agriculture (DoA) have quarantined some areas of George Town following confirmed cases of pink hibiscus mealybug (PHM), which is a plant killer.The DoA said they are working to contain and eradicate the serious plant pest that was discovered in the Cayman Islands' capital many weeks ago. Chief Agricultural and Veterinary Officer Dr Alfred Benjamin said his department had been on alert for over a decade. "For 12 years, the DOA has been on alert and monitoring the spread of PHM throughout the region," he said. "The aim, of course, was to keep the pest from Cayman's shores." However, confirmation came on Wednesday, 21 June from the Florida Department of Agriculture's laboratory that suspected areas in George Town were positive for PHM. Bloomin' Pirates!Welcome aboard. The Black Pearl that is. Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean" are back and so is Orlando Bloom as Will Turner, the lovable pirate who gets caught up in Captain Jack Sparrow's (Johnny Depp) scheming, but beguiling high sea adventures. The charismatic and charming Bloom sat down with ComingSoon.net to talk about "Dead Man's Chest," as well as the third film that was being shot at the same time and whether Haven is ever going to be released. ComingSoon.net: Was it easy to rediscover your inner pirate? Orlando Bloom: Yeah. He goes from being a straight-laced kind of upright stick in the mud-Will-to becoming more of a bit of a pirate in this one, thankfully. It was kind of like discovering my inner pirate for the first time in away. CS: What's the attraction of doing these films? Is it a fulfillment of your childhood fantasy? Bloom: My whole career has been fulfilling my childhood fantasies.Tropical depression updateA tropical depression that formed this morning in the Caribbean Sea was the first of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season, which scientists predict could produce up to 16 named storms, six of them major hurricanes.The depression was expected to become the year's first named storm - Alberto - as it veers toward Florida but was not expected to become a hurricane. "It will be relatively weak in terms of wind, but that doesn't mean it's going to be weak in terms of rainfall," senior hurricane specialist Stacy Stewart said. Last year's hurricane season was the busiest and most destructive in recorded history. Hurricane Katrina alone devastated Louisiana and Mississippi and was blamed for more than 1,570 deaths in Louisiana alone. The depression that formed Saturday, nine days after the official start of the season, had maximum sustained winds near 35 mph, just below the 39-mph threshold for a tropical storm, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Tourism Outlook GoodCreative marketing strategies by the Department of Tourism (DOT) are wooing more stay-over visitors to the Cayman Islands, according to stakeholders in the local hospitality sector.Since Hurricane Ivan hit Grand Cayman in 2004, the number of stay-over visitors dropped massively, forcing the DOT to invest large sums of money into promoting the Islands. The Government agency, prior to the hurricane, was faced with a situation of dwindling air arrivals as other destinations competed fiercely with Cayman for market share. Twenty-one months later, the Islands have been seeing a steady growth in that sector with renovation work on hundreds of hotel rooms completed following widespread devastation. Tourism-related businesses are preparing to cash in on the fortunes to be had from the hike in bookings from visitors, mostly from the United States. Water sports and car rental organisations have projected significant increase in revenue, given the high levels of bookings for this summer compared to the pale showing in the same period last year. Managing Partner of DiveTech Nancy Easterbrook hailed the hurricane recovery process as an ongoing success story for the dive sector. |
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