About two weeks after Tobago unveiled its $17 million investment to its cruise industry, its sister island, Trinidad, is slated to officially open the Hyatt Regency Trinidad on January 4.

The Tobago House of Assembly announced two weeks ago the grand opening of the Scarborough Jetty in Tobago. The $17 million Scarborough Jetty expansion project will facilitate larger cruise ships and is designed to encourage more cruise lines to include Tobago on their itineraries. The Jetty can now accommodate cruise ships that hold up to 3,114 passengers and measure 320 meters long by nine and a half meters in depth.

Carnival and Royal Caribbean are both expected to make calls there in the 2008-2009 season. Travel Agent also learned that more cruise lines are expected to get onboard, although no further details have been released as of yet. Visit www.visittobago.gov.tt.

River cruising as a vaction option has been around for years; the problem is, you might not know much about it. Besides the fact that the great river cruises operate across the pond in Europe, there is a dearth of advertising and marketing of river cruise products here in the States. Commercials touting the big guns such as Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line are in heavy rotation, but nary a word is peeped about the Vikings, Uniworlds, Amadeus' and Avalons of the world.

Travel agents are at the forefront of changing that. Just as travel agencies market their services primarily through word-of-mouth advertising, the river cruise lines are benefiting from the same grassroots method. Most agents will agree that their clients' satisfaction rate of a European river cruise is high. "They rave over it," says Neelie Kruse, owner of Cary Travel Express in Cary, IL, near Chicago.

Gauging travel agent response, it's becoming exceedingly clear why river cruising is receiving such high marks: size of ships and the passing scenery. "Past mainstream clients find the smaller passenger capacity intriguing and the overall experience more relaxed and intimate," says Lew Boehnke, a travel consultant with The Travel Center in Des Moines, IA.

River cruise vessels usually carry only between 100 and 200 passengers, which is a far cry from the more mainstream cruise ships that haul upwards of 3,000 passengers. This is not to disparage the bigger ocean-going ships; it merely shows the vast difference in lifestyle. Plainly put, "It's a different type of experience," notes Harriet Soltoff, of Destinations Travel in Philadelphia. This partly is because riverboats, unlike big-ship cruising, can ease right into a city's port without much hoopla. There is no waiting to disembark the ship, and, on top of that, when you step off the boat you are right smack in the city action.

Hong Kong Is A Unique Destination—a crossroads of sorts that mixes cutting-edge fashion and centuries-old Chinese culture. Last July, Hong Kong (pictured) celebrated its 10-year anniversary of its handover from Britain back to Chinese sovereignty with an impressive display of fireworks on the Kowloon waterfront.

While the party was in full swing, neighbor Macao—37 miles to the southwest—made a racket of its own with full-tilt construction to the tune of billions of dollars. In past decades, Macao (also spelled "Macau") has flown under travel agents' radar as a possible destination for their clients. That's about to change in a big way, as investment is flowing into the gambling mecca.

Getting to Macao from Hong Kong is a simple matter. High-speed catamarans and jetfoils make frequent roundtrip, one-hour journeys between Hong Kong and Macao. There is also regularly scheduled helicopter service—a 20-minute flight—between the two destinations, operated by Heli Express.

It's hard to say if Americans will come to Macao in significant numbers. At present, the easily reached island, which mixes Portuguese and Chinese culture, makes a colorful and exciting add-on to a Hong Kong journey.

That small window between announcements of new Dominican Republic developments was abruptly shut recently as Cap Cana, a luxury resort in the Dominican  Republic, and Ritz-Carlton announced a partnership that can officially put the stamp of luxury on the region and the explanation point at the long list of developers who plan on gracing the destination.

Since the beginning of the year, we have brought you constant news of property’s opening its doors or plans to build in the Dominican Republic whether it was the upcoming Maxim Bungalows, our visit to the grand opening of Agua Resort & Spa in  Uvero Alto or the July news of Oasis’ acquisition of four properties there.

We first told you about Cap Cana in our March 5 issue of Travel Agent. The luxury resort consists of 30,000 acres of prime Caribbean waterfront.

The two-fold partnership with global powerhouse The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C., is to develop a world class luxury resort, The Ritz-Carlton, Cap Cana, and a residential venture known as the Residences at The Ritz-Carlton, Cap Cana.

Disneyland is expanding its Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, which will offer the first Disney Vacation club villas in Anaheim, increasing the property's accommodations by more than 30 percent.

The project, scheduled for completion in 2009, will be a 2.5-acre expansion on the hotel's south side and will see the addition of over 200 hotel rooms and 50 two-bedroom equivalent vacation villas, which will include kitchens and living and dining areas.

Other expansion plans call for a rooftop deck, a new swimming pool and roughly 300 more parking spaces. Upon completion of the project, the Grand Californian Hotel & Spa will offer 745 guest rooms, 44 suites and 50 Disney Vacation Club villas. Visit [www.disneytravelagents.com]. (JM)

Hilton Hotels Corp. shareholders have given the go-ahead on the company's $20.1 billion sale to The Blackstone Group, Hilton announced Tuesday. The company was still calculating the exact percentage of shareholders that voted. With this hurdle passed, the transaction now needs to pass regulatory approval. (DE)

Whereas hurricanes Felix and Dean dominated Caribbean news at the end of the season, it was the opening, unveiling or refurbishing of luxury products in the region that took the title for the most common theme coming out of the Caribbean this summer.

The summer season started with the unveiling of Grand Isle Resorts & Spa’s Master Grand Penthouse. The property, located in Exuma, the Bahamas, has remained a pretty well-kept secret since it opened about four years ago. But this last finishing touch, as well as the press we gave it, probably ensures that most agents know about this luxury resort by now.

The best room is the Master Grand Penthouse, which was unveiled to media, tourism and government officials when we visited. The $5.7 million Master Grand Penthouse sits on the highest point of Emerald Bay, and in peak season, costs as much as $6,000 per night.

Costa Maya, the small touristy region between Cancún and Belize, it appears, did not escape the ire of Hurricane Dean. News has surfaced that Costa Maya's cruise port was badly damaged by the storm. Cesar Lizarraga, Costa Maya's director of sales and marketing, says that about 50 percent of the port's infrastructure, including the cruise ship pier, was impacted. Further, Lizarraga says, early estimates indicate that the port could be out of service for six to eight months, with clean-up costs reaching into the millions.

Costa Maya has become one of the most visited ports in the western Caribbean, and a disaster, such as the one encountered by Hurricane Dean, is hard for both Costa Maya and the cruise lines to swallow.

Westin Hotels & Resorts announced its new global personalized in-room spa experience, which will bring the elements of a full-service spa to a guest's hotel room.

The in-room spa experience is currently available at 64 of the company's properties and will continue to debut at Westin hotels worldwide. The program includes a massage on a portable spa bed, which is 31 inches wide (larger than typical portable massage tables) and has heated AeroCel padding topped by double layers of fleece.

White Westin signature Heavenly Bed linens and a fully padded face cradle complete the bed, which is fully adjustable and has been dubbed the The Heavenly Spa by Westin Nova bed. About 40 minutes before the massage appointment, guests receive a spa basket with water, a flower, a CD of relaxation music, a healthy treat, aromatherapy oils and room-sprays, and a letter explaining what to expect from the treatment along with tips for getting the most out of it. For more information, visit www.starwoodhotels.com.