News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. August 25, 2023: Here are the top Caribbean travel news and deals this week in 60 seconds.

Tropical Storm Franklin unleashed heavy floods and landslides in the Dominican Republic on Wednesday after making landfall in the country’s southern region, killing at least one person and leaving two others missing. The news comes as Canada is warning nationals to exercise a high degree of caution if travelling to the Dominican Republic due to crime there.

Canada is also warning nationals to avoid all travel to Haiti due to the threat posed by kidnappings, gang violence and the potential for civil unrest throughout the country.

A man who was stranded for three days on an isolated Bahamas island has been rescued after he fired flares from his sailboat, the US Coast Guard said. The Coast Guard received an alert from its aircrew of a “disabled sailboat firing flares near Cay Sal,” a tiny island which no longer has anybody living on it. It is Bahamian territory, but is closer to Cuba and Florida than any of the major Bahamas islands.

American Airlines will be ramping up its service to both Anguilla and St Maarten in January. Between Jan. 8 and April 3, 2024, American will be expanding service to three daily flights to both destinations out of Miami.

Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves has knocked the service offered to St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) by the Turks and Caicos-based InterCaribbean Airways as “absolutely terrible” even as a Guyana minister issued a stern warning to the carrier about potential sanctions following prolonged flight delays and cancellations.

Residents of Grenada, Haiti and Jamaica must now apply for a Turkey e-Visa, also known as the Turkey Visa. People from more than 100 countries can obtain electronic visas through the Turkish government at turkeyonline-visa.com/.

Make plans to be in Barbados this October for the 12th edition of the Barbados Food and Rum Festival. The event will take place from October 19th to 22nd 2023 under the theme “Feed the Future.” Get more details at foodandrum.com.

If you are an educator, get ready to book a $49 cruise. Margaritaville at Sea is offering the affordable way for their teachers to take one last vacation. The cruise line is running a “Back to School, Back to Sea” sale, offering $49 fares for educators and their guests on Bahamas cruises. Educators can sail for free, while the discounted fare applies to one guest in the same stateroom. Other travelers including current and former U.S. military service members; government employees; and police, fire and EMS personnel are also eligible for the deal. Travelers must book by Aug. 28th.