As you know, usually my posts are short. I try to refer you to useful on-line destinations. This one is longer because I am importing something I found in print.

Many clients of our website are travelers. Many are specifically cruisers or want to go on their first cruise. But, how to get the best experience ...

Well, one of life's lessons is, "Pay attention to the experts." And Arthur Frommer is a genuine travel expert. When I read what follows in a major newspaper, I knew I wanted to pass it along. So, naturally, I looked on-line to see if I could give you a hyperlink to get you there. Unfortunately, until now it has existed in print only. It is my honor to make available what I am sure will become classic advice from Arthur Frommer. Read on.

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September 24, 2006, St. Louis Post Dispatch, page T2

"And still they come:
"Ever larger cruise ships

"By: Arthur Frommer

"The stubborn, headlong rush toward the creation of more absurdly large ships continues without letup. Last month, Norwegian Cruise Lines announced that it has contracted with a French shipyard to build at least two -- perhaps three -- 150,000-ton vessels, each capable of carrying at least 4,200 passengers.

"In a statement accompanying the release, the president of NCL, Colin Veitch, strongly implied that henceforth, all of the company's new ships will be of at least that size.

"Several passenger liners carrying 3,100 passengers apiece are already in existence, and they are soon to be eclipsed by the "Genesis" project of Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, a ship planned to carry upwards of 6,400 passengers. Increasingly, the would-be cruise passenger looking for a moderately priced sailing will have no alternative but to book aboard these immense structures filled with crowds. Ships of 150,000 tons are so large that they will not be able to dock in about half the port cities of the world. They will need to park themselves far out to sea and take their passengers ashore on small barges navigating choppy seas. They will be packed with such crowds that you will rarely find a quiet deckchair where you can simply sit and gaze at the ocean or quietly read a book. Most of the modern ships have only two or so open decks, and those blessedly airy spaces are covered with people.

"The new, humongous ships present their shows in auditoriums the size of the largest of metropolitan movie theaters. Their passengers rarely know a moment that is free from crowds. They dine with crowds, join long cafeteria lines for breakfast, swim with crowds, shop in enormous malls and join crowds in fitness rooms and bars.

"If you prefer, instead, the traditional quiet pleasures of a cruise -- including intelligent lectures, high-quality cultural performances and the absence of crowds -- in all probability you'll have to book one of the far more expensive smaller ships, those of the so-called premium lines like Regent, Silversea, Seabourn or others of a far more costly type. The wealthy traveler will enjoy the maritime experience, while the medium-income American will be aboard ships so large and enclosed that you might as well be on land and not on sea. Indeed, why will it be necessary for these gigantic ships to leave the dock or their home port? How many of their passengers would even realize they are not at sea?

"Increasingly, over the years to come, smart travelers will heavily depend on those cruise brokers who ferret out the bargain-priced unsold cabins and other "distress merchandise" of the expensive, smaller ships -- and let me point out that a ship carrying fewer than 2,000 passengers is now a smaller ship! Even the most upscale of the smaller ships have occasional vacancies, and thus the need to discount many of their cabins. A number of cruise brokers, like Vacationstogo.com, Cruisesonly.com, Cruisewizard.com and Cruisebrothers.com make a point of bringing such values to your attention.

"If you agree with my own aversion to the new gigantic megaships, then you'll vote with your feet. You'll make every effort to avoid the 3,000-, 4,000- and 6,000-passenger liners, and give your patronage to those of sensible size."

Write to Arthur Frommer in care of King Features Syndicate, 888 Seventh Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10019, or e-mail afrommer17@aol.com.

On our website, we have a page containing a list of ten things that can go wrong on a trip. Here is your chance to tell us of other things YOU know of that can go wrong.

Our list includes things that can be helped by having travel insurance from a leading company (naturally). Some problems are directly helped by the insurance policy. Some of them are helped by extra services provided by the insurance company free of charge as part of their cutomer service ethic.

But your additions do not have to have that constraint. Please share your wisdom; if you propose a problem that is not helped by having insurance or that customer service I mentioned, please tell us how to avoid it altogether or how to reduce its effect. Also, if you have a suggestion of another way to help solve or prevent one of OUR problems, please post that too.

Here is our list (compliments of Travel Guard International, one of the companies we represent):

1. You could lose money you've invested for your trip, such as nonrefundable deposits, if bad weather conditions cause delay or cancellation of your trip.

2. You may have to cut your trip short and return home for an emergency such as an unexpected illness or death in the family forcing you to lose the remaining pre-paid portion of your trip and pay a ticket change fee for your return travel arrangements.

3. Your luggage could be lost, delayed, or stolen, forcing you to purchase additional clothes, essentials, or even prescription medications.

4. The airline, cruise line, or tour operator with which you're scheduled to travel suddenly ceases operation or goes on strike leaving you with no option but to cancel your trip with no recourse for reimbursement.

5. Many major health plans in the U.S., Medicare, and Medicare Supplements offer little or no medical expense protection outside the U.S. (Medicare and Medicaid provide no coverage outside of the U.S.)

6. Due to an accident or a sudden illness, you or a family member may require emergency medical evacuation while traveling. Over 70 percent* of U.S. health plans, including HMOs and PPOs will not cover emergency medical evacuations.

7. You could run into major travel delays forcing you to miss a portion of your trip or cruise and be forced to pay additional lodging expenses while you wait.

8. You could be forced to evacuate your resort due to a predicted hurricane or other weather conditions, cutting your trip short with no recourse for reimbursement for the remaining portion of your vacation.

9. You could lose your important travel documents, stranding you while traveling abroad.

10. You could be involved in an accident with your rental car and be responsible for thousands of dollars in damages.

As you have gained life experience, like me you have probably discovered that there are some things you should not skimp on. Among them are these:

Don't skimp on expressing affection to those you love - like you, they need to hear it ... often.

Don't skimp on the tip you give to servers at breakfast - think of what they must get up early to endure.

Don't skimp on tires and brakes - they are your car's only connection to the road and your only way to avoid accidents.

Don't skimp on medical insurance - hopefully your premium payments will be a total waste of money because you won't ever need to use the coverage. In that case, you win!

BUT!!! If you do need to call on the coverage, you need GOOD coverage. Good coverage will let you make choices that allow you to get immediate care from the very best providers and get treatment early so that a real cure can be obtained without bankrupting yourself or your family. Believe me, you never want to even vaguely have this thought, "I think I'll wait and avoid the out of pocket expenses. Doctors (or hospitals or prescriptions) are so expensive and we don't have any extra money."

On our web site, we only offer GOOD coverage from industry leaders because we don't want you to wonder if you should make a purchase here. And we don't want you to worry.

Get yourself covered!

I know that writing this post is a bit like shooting myself in the foot. I found this site and value its ability to get really low, "unadvertised sale" seats for me. Annnd, the more people who know about it, the more difficult it will be for me to act quickly enough to snag the seat.

Nevermind. These folks deserve the publicity. It is a great concept and a flawless execution by them. This link will take you to a special page explaining why they AND I feel they are different and worthwhile http://www.airfarewatchdog.com/AboutOurFares/tabid/145/Default.aspx

After you read that, you'll want to go to the home page and sign up just as I did.

Years ago, as a serving member of the US Army, I had the priviledge to be assigned to Thailand. The Thais were terrific to us, always treating us with kindness, respect, and SMILES that were genuine. I think about them fondly and often.

I found myself today wondering about how the Thai recovery from the tsunami of December 26, 2004 was progressing and I found myself visiting a favorite resource http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/

At this site is a wealth of background information about most, if not all, of the countries around the world. As a website that helps people with travel insurance, alot of our visitors are in the early stages of planning a trip. I thought I would point you to a good place to benefit from American-taxpayer funded information.

It is even fun to go there and look around just out of curiosity.

Hello, I am glad you are reading this. Writing it feels a bit like engaging in a handshake in a room of strangers who share a common interest -- you know, kind of "distant" but "hopeful".

It is my intention to use this means to bring you and me closer together by sharing with you some good solid information as well as some of my personal beliefs. I want you to get to know me and learn that you can rely on me for honest, forthright insurance advice and on-line purchase opportunities that fit your needs.

As suggested by someone who has been helping me to feel my way into blogging, I have been writing since June, 2006 as "hurricane_0_8" and you may have seen some of what I have posted on Yahoo! Answers. If we can figure out how to do it, my website team and I will try to give you access to those comments too. Until then, please check back here as often as you find convenient.

And, if you agree that it is a worthy effort, please pass the word to your friends that purchases on this website result in on-going humanitarian contributions to aid victims of tsunamis (including the BIG one) and hurricanes (including Katrina).