What Cruise Lines and Tour Operators Don't Want You to Know

 

I know tour operators don't want you to know because I posted some of the following information in a popular FaceBook cruise travel group, and the piece, after garnering dozens of comments, was removed by an administrator with a hand-slap for me — I was told never to supply such information again. Of course, the reason cruise lines and tour operators don't want you to have this information is because it affects their bottom line. When you buy travel insurance from them, they get a kickback from the insurance company.

Travel insurance, according to Ms. Mehta who is the chief executive of Squaremouth, a popular travel insurance company, said in The New York Times on 9 January 2025, that travel insurance costs 5-10 percent of the cost of the cruise or tour. So, a $5,000 trip might cost $250-$500 for insurance. That is, in my opinion, a totally unnecessary expense.

The tour and cruise industry would prefer I not tell you that you may not need travel insurance. But that is the truth. Let me explain why.

The Barbie Movie

 

 

The Barbie movie would have you believe that the world of little girls was changed when the Betsy-Wetsy doll was replaced with Barbie in March 1959. No longer were little girls destined to be mothers caring for, feeding, and diaper-changing baby dolls when they could use all their talents and become  grown-up Barbies who could be astronauts, Pulitzer prize-winners, or even presidential candidates — AND mothers.

That's a lovely dream — a pat on the back to Mattel for their prescience and feminine foresight. The problem is, it's not quite accurate.

Vehicle Blessing or Cheap Road Repair? The Choice Is Yours!

 While I love my Lincoln Zephyr, a model only made for one glorious year in 2006, I have never had it blessed as is the routine for new taxis in Mexico. That was undoubtedly my mistake. Maybe the "check engine" light would not have been flashing furiously last week if only I could have counted on a little divine intervention.

                  Blessing of the Taxi in Queretero, Mexico.

Tantalizing Travel Tips

Dinan, France

This blog, Brent and Michael Are Going Places, is packed with tantalizing travel tips that may actually lure armchair travelers out of their La-Z-Boy recliners. But even if you're not ready to leave the country yet, you'll be happy to follow along in Brent and Michael's footsteps!

It's a friendly, well-written, and personable blog that contains anecdotes as well as practical travel advice. Take a look. I think you'll like it.

Travel Tip for Using Phone's GPS in a Rental Car

 

Last time I was in North Carolina, I noticed that my son had this clever cell phone holder that mounted to his car's air vent. That seemed like a great idea, so when I was in the 99 cent store here in Tucson I found this one for just a dollar. 

It works really well and is small enough to be portable so I can take it on trips when I have car rentals that are not equipped with GPS. It's hard to go wrong with a dollar investment that, at just four inches long, takes up next to no space in my suitcase!

 

Flying into the Heart of a Pandemic

 

ORD Airport in Chicago has restrooms that encourage social distancing. Each sink faucet is flanked on the left by a soap dispenser and on the right by your own private hand dryer!

* (See update at end of article.) Being a human cork at the end of a bungee cord holds no appeal for me. I'd sky-dive only if someone blindfolded me and shoved me out the airplane door. Even being on a stepladder produces a frisson of fear these days. The only courage I ever exhibit is when I "forget" to balance my checkbook each month and simply hope for the best. So, it was with trepidation that I decided to fly on one of the busiest weekends of the year, July Fourth, during a pandemic when doctors reported skyrocketing cases of Covid every day.

Alaska or Mexico?

 Since the only traveling I'm doing during the pandemic of 2020 is virtually, I'm rereading some early blog pieces and publishing ones I think are worthy of a second look.This was my first visit to Alaska when I could not help but compare it to my newly adopted home in Mexico.

A rare sunny day in Alaska.

I leaned from the bed and stretched a hand towards the window to pull back the “darkening” shade, then plucked apart the slats of the blind with two fingers. Would I find rain or sunshine? My cousins and I planned a trip to Glacier Gardens, but it wouldn’t be much fun in a cold rain.

“You might get one day of sunshine a week,” a wizened sourdough told us when we first arrived in Alaska, “if you’re lucky.” I guess the Weather Channel web site hadn’t made a typo when the ten-day forecast for Southeastern Alaska predicted rain every single day.

I knew this part of Alaska was a rain forest, but I was hoping the rain always fell at night the way it does in Ajijic. Mexico. Actually it always did fall at night. And in the morning and in the afternoon and in the evening.

Death on a Sunday Afternoon

Since the only traveling I'm doing during the pandemic of 2020 is virtually, I'm rereading some early blog pieces and publishing ones I think are worthy of a second look.

The bull that will die this afternoon must have thought he’d survived the worst that could happen. He’d lived on a ranch for three years with no human contact. Yesterday, when he was forced into a truck, the men using metal prods remained hidden. Being shoved into a truck after a life on the open range is frightening. Bulls resist. One died yesterday as a result of the manipulation and another lost one of his horns.

Phoebe's Fun Finds

One of Phoebe's and my favorite stores in Florence, Italy!

My friend Phoebe seldom sits still. She divides her time between her two houses—one in Mexico and the other in Maryland—but doesn't like to spend too much time in either one if she can be traveling instead.

NM Vignettes--Beyond the Middle of Nowhere

If you want to truly get away from it all, I think you can't do better than Silver City, New Mexico, a surprisingly metropolitan gem of a town where fewer than 10,000 people make their home.The walk-friendly historic downtown has only one flashing red light to monitor traffic, no stoplights, and lots of friendly shop owners ready to welcome you to their antique shops, thrift stores, two used bookstores, artists' galleries, and bars and restaurants.