Year-end travel deals and contests

One of Santa’s most popular gifts is travel deals and contests to help you fill your bucket list in 2017.  We like these deals, including waiving the dreaded solo surcharge and contests for free trips to somewhere special.

Ski Utah – Win a trip for two to ski or snowboard in Park City, Utah, from Rossignol.  The sweepstakes includes two round-trip airfaire tickets, Rossi boots and skis or snowboard, lift tickets, Obermeyer clothing, luggage and more.  The Ultimate Snow Experience contest is worth around $10,000.

Celebrity Apprentice Cruise – Now that Carnival Corporation will sponsor the upcoming season of The New Celebrity Apprentice, they’ve launched an online contest that combines the offer to win a free cruise, including a cruise a year for life, with supporting charities. Yes, of course, the contest is designed to drive viewership and cruising.  Throughout the eighth season of “The New Celebrity Apprentice,” which starts in January, anybody who visits ApprenticeCruiseChallenge.com to learn about the celebrities and charities involved in the show and votes in support of their favorites is elegible to win. “The New Celebrity Apprentice,” premieres on January 2 at 8pm EST on NBC. In addition to selecting contest winners each week for a cruise giveaway, Carnival Corporation also will donate to the charities of the celebrity contestants who were voted off the show that week, bringing further attention to the worthwhile organizations. Donations to all 16 of the contestant’s charitable groups as part of the Celebrity Apprentice Charity Challenge will total $145,000.

• Celebrities on the show this year include Laila Ali, daughter of boxing legend Muhammed Ali, rock star Boy George and Lisa Leslie.  Their charities are The Women’s Sports Foundation (Ali) which promotes girls and women in sports and fitness; Safe Kids Worldwide (George), a global network to prevent accidental injury in kids and teens; and The Semper Fi Fund (Leslie), which provides financial assistance to wounded Marines and their families while they recover.

Double points from the newly-merged Marriott Rewards, The Ritz-Carlton Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest – Link your loyalty memberships and get Elite status and perks faster with this new loyalty program merger that follows the recent corporate merger. Just register for the double points program before March 15,2017, and stay in one of  thousands of hotels and resorts, including Africa and the Caribbean, betweenJanuary 16 and April 15.   Points can be redeemed for free nights, flights, exclusive experiences on SPG Moments and Marriott Rewards Experiences Marketplace and much more.

• For Marriott Rewards and the Ritz-Carlton Rewards members, this promotion is applicable at participating JW Marriott®, Renaissance Hotels, Autograph Collection Hotels, Marriott Hotels, Marriott Vacation Club,Gaylord Hotels, Protea Hotels, AC Hotels, Courtyard®,Residence Inn, pringHill Suites and Fairfield Inn & Suites, TownePlace Suites, Moxy Hotels, The Ritz Carlton, EDITION and Delta Hotels that participate in the Marriott Rewards program.
• For SPG members, this promotion is available at all Aloft, Element Hotels, W Hotels, Four Points by Sheraton, Le Méridien, The Luxury Collection, Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, St. Regis Hotels & Resorts, Tribute Portfolio, Westin Hotels & Resorts and Design Hotels properties globally that participate in the SPG program.

Double Points from Choice Hotels –  Members of the FREE Choice Privileges loyalty program members from the U.S. and Canada who book between now and February 9, 2017, can get double points, up to 30,000 points, on every qualifying stay. The promotion is available at participating brands including Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Sleep Inn, Cambria and Ascend.  If you aren’t already a member of Choice Priveleges, join now – it’s free to join. Note that the double points deal is good only if you book directly from Choice Hotels, not from one of the booking sites like Expedia or Jetsetter.

Free Single Supplements from Overseas Adventure Travel – This tour group, which specializes in off-beat travel for Americans over 50, is waiving single supplements on five new trips for 2017, including “Chiang Rai to Malacca: Thailand & Malaysia Unveiled”; “South Korea & Japan”; India’s “Sikkim & Bhutan”; “China’s Inner Mongolia and Shanxi” and “The Stans of Central Asia.”  Single accommodations are limited, so travelers are encouraged to reserve early.