Cruise Ships

Get ready to gorge yourself on more legalized gambling.With keno now firmly in place in the Schaefer administration's galaxy of games, state port and tourist officials have set their eyes on another wager: cruise-ship casino betting. And behind that new venture is another legislative proposal to bring riverboat gambling to Maryland's rivers.Will it never end?Apparently not any time soon. General Assembly leaders, with a handful of exceptions, displayed little backbone as Gov. William Donald Schaefer rammed keno through without any legislative input.

Can you explain the service charges that are collected on cruise ships? I thought it was up to the passenger to tip. Most cruise lines allow passengers to tip at their own discretion. If a cruise line puts an automatic tip or service charge on your bill, you can go to the purser's desk and request that it be removed. This will allow you to tip individually. There is some confusion with Norwegian Cruise Line, which adds a fixed service charge of $10 per person per day ($5 for children ages 3-12)

Want to spend a mere $10,000 to be pampered royally for 45 days while cruising around with a few thousand tons of earphones, potato chips, aspirin, plastic shoes, microwave ovens and automobile parts?Why not try the Americana, a one-of-a-kind passenger freighter that combines luxury accommodations and a modern-day container ship. This maritime hybrid docked at the South Locust Point terminal here Wednesday during its final stop on a 45-day ** round-trip from New York to South America.For Maryland port authorities, it was a classic two-fer.

So you finally booked that Caribbean cruise. Splurged on a sexy new bikini. Picked up a paperback of that steamy best-seller. While you're shopping for sunscreen, you also may want to consider a few items to help keep you on deck instead of in the sick bay: in particular, antiseptic wipes and anti-diarrheal medication. Winter marks the height of cruise season, and coincidentally, a time when gastrointestinal illnesses make their rounds among people in close quarters. After years of battling the problem, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

While other cruise ship passengers lounge in deck chairs, Douglas Ward is peering under his bed, running a finger along a deck to check for dirt, making a mental note at lunch that -- horrors -- the butter is in packets, not in "proper little iced dishes." "I'm not really snooping," he says during a phone interview from his home near Southampton, England. "I'm observing." That's his job. Ward is author of the Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships 2006, which evaluates 269 ships, large and small, budget and luxury.

In today's tough economy, cruising can offer travelers a good value - lodging, food, entertainment - all for a pre-set price. But the "not-included" fees and onboard "extras" add up fast onboard cruise ships. Soda and cocktails, shore excursions, gratuities, photos, spa treatments, tuxedo rentals, Internet access and more are available at sea - for a charge. Passengers who research and plan before embarking on their cruise vacation can help themselves have fun and avoid a shocking bill at home port.

Travelers with disabilities have never had it easy, and a flurry of recent cases provides further evidence of that. But these cases may well improve access to airplanes, buses, hotels and perhaps even foreign-flagged cruise ships. In the last five months, United Airlines and Greyhound Lines settled claims alleging that they mistreated passengers using wheelchairs. In December, after complaints prompted a federal probe, Days Inns of America agreed to improve access at its new hotels nationwide.

If you are new to cruising, nothing could be finer than a three- or four-night Caribbean sailing. Prices can be low - sometimes as little as $300 or less - and you will get an excellent introduction to what cruising is all about. But what if you have taken a few cruises and those sunny Caribbean ports are beginning to blur in your mind? Fortunately, today's cruise ships ply most of the world's waters. You may pay more than for a Caribbean trip, but your cruise could still be a bargain. Radisson Seven Seas has a "What a Fare Deal" on its July-August weeklong Baltic cruises, in which you get to choose your bonus: free round-trip economy air from 86 North American gateways, a $499 business-class air upgrade (with purchase of an economy air add-on)

As the snow and temperatures fall, the minds of residents in the Northeast go south, and the phones start ringing at the offices of travel agents who book cruises. But this year, many passengers are worried that taking a cruise might get them more than R&R. They fear they could get sick. Thousands of passengers aboard several cruise ships have contracted a gastrointestinal illness in recent months, ruining many vacations and leaving travelers to wonder whether they should climb aboard.

Forestation bill advancesThe Senate overwhelmingly approved yesterday an administration bill aimed at preserving Maryland's forests by regulating how many acres of trees must be replanted to make up for those lost through commercial or residential development.The bill's passage in the Senate was virtually guaranteed because 33 senators had signed on as co-sponsors. The final vote was 42-5.The bill now moves to the House of Delegates, where it died last year on the final day of the legislative session.