Cruise

Costa Cruises’ Costa Concordia ran aground off the island of Giglio, Italy, with more than 4,200 people on board on Jan. 13, 2012. After running into some rocks, the ship capsized, resulting in 17 deaths and, at press time, 15 people being listed as missing. The captain of the ship has been charged with manslaughter and abandoning the ship. Poor weather delayed searches and the pumping out of fuel oil to prevent a spill. It may take up to 10 months to remove the wreck. Costa has offered compensation to all passengers, and class-action lawsuits have been filed against the company.

My wife and I have traveled to almost all the countries in the world. We usually stay in hostels for $10 to $20 a night. In fact, if a Hilton or Sheraton were offered to us at that same rate, we would prefer to stay in a hostel, 15 persons to a room.

In the luxurious room in the Hilton we would be all by ourselves and looking at the walls, with no one else to talk to. Meeting people and making friends is part of what we enjoy about travel, so we would choose the dormitory-style accommodations in order to meet people from all around the world.

Nine-day/eight-night cruise-tour aboard 110-passenger SeaDream II, June 30-July 8, 2012. Highlights: In Pergamum, TURKEY, Temple of Trajan/Ephesus, where Paul preached/Myra, where St. Nicholas lived/Rhodes, GREECE, home to Paul/Hydra. Cruise, $9,900 (Deck 2) to $24,750 (Owner’s Cabin); limited availability “Book Today and Save” rate, $5,899-$13,639. Single supp., 75% of cruise price. SeaDream Yacht Club (Miami, FL; 800/707-4911, www.seadream.com).

At Singapore’s Maritime Experiential Museum & Aquarium (8 Sentosa Gateway, Sentosa Island, Singapore 098269; phone +65 6577 8899), visitors can explore five floating, full-size replicas of historic ships, including a Han Dynasty-era Chinese junk and an eighth-century Indonesian sailing ship.

Other exhibits include a replica of one of Admiral Zheng He’s 15th-century treasure ships, a gallery of maritime artifacts and objects from historic Asian trade routes.

The article “Will I Have a Medical Emergency Overseas?,” back in the August 2011 “Eye on Travel Insurance” column, discussed the likelihood of travelers needing treatment plus the types of coverage one might want. One key thing I felt the article did not place enough importance on was where one is going, such as Antarctica, Madagascar or Svalbard in Norway, to name a few of the more remote destinations, as opposed to visiting places like the major European capitals on a tour.

Narrow boating is the ultimate do-it-yourself activity. You not only run the boat, cook and housekeep but operate the locks and raise the bridges on the canal or river. And “narrow” means just that, as the locks are as little as seven feet wide, which calls for a boat that is long and narrow, like a horizontal Ichabod Crane. My wife, Carol, and I have taken narrow boat vacations in England, Ireland, France and the US.

For our 50th anniversary, my wife, Judy, and I took our children and grandchildren (11 people in all) for a two-week vacation in Italy.

I’ve cruised rivers in Europe, China and northern India with several companies, but my April 3-10, 2011, Rhine River cruise on Uniworld’s River Empress surpassed them all for style and elegance in an intimate and relaxed setting. Most of all, I loved being pampered!

The price for the seven-day cruise from Frankfurt am Main to Amsterdam was $1,999 plus $625 for an upgrade. The single supplement was waived on this sailing!