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Cruises: Non-smoking rules get stricter

We grew up in an era when smoking was considered cool. As soon as we were teens, most of us were already hooked. Why not? Shills gave out free cigarettes on campuses. Ads proudly showed cowboys and movie stars puffing away. Even The Hit Parade, the favorite teen TV show that hyped our pop music, was sponsored by Lucky Strikes.

Then we suddenly realized cigarette smoke kills the longtime puffer and anyone else unlucky enough to have to breathe the smoke. Although cigarettes are now banned from many areas, we never thought cruise ships would join the campaign. After all, that’s why people sign up for a sea voyage, to relax and indulge in any doggone pleasure they want. Food, booze, sunning and puffing away.

Now, the major cruise lines, Princess, Carnival and Holland America will ban smoking in cabins on all the ships of all three lines by the end of the year. Princess will also include cabin balconies in the clean-air clean-up.

Dining areas on the ships will be smoke-free, but bars, dance areas and casinos will still be smoke-’em-if-you-got-’em areas. Other cruise lines already have some smoking restrictions in effect.

The rules on the three major cruise lines also come with punishment for offenders. Hey, smokers, if you’re caught sneaking a puff in smoke-free areas, they’ll tack a $250 cleaning fee to your bill. Sort of like being sent to the principal’s office after being nabbed smoking on the fire escape.

Camping As A Post-Retirement Lifestyle

Camping isn’t for everyone. Many seniors prefer the comforts of so-called civilization. They’re content to loll in air-conditioned bliss, just steps from fridge and TV. There’s no worry if a sudden thunderstorm strikes outside the window, nor a bear invading their house.

Committed senior campers enjoy the challenges of living in sync with nature, breathing the fresh air, hiking among the trees and preparing food as their ancestors did. The advantages of camping as a lifestyle are many and varied. For example:

It May Happen Soon ... Robots Fly Passenger Jets

According to Popular Mechanics, at a lab trial a robot actually simulated a successful flight and landing of a Boeing 737. Experts predict that it’s just a matter of time before you’ll travel on flights piloted by robots.

Could anything possibly go wrong when you’re a passenger on a real flight with a mechanical pilot? We can only imagine such statements that follow the announcement: this is your robot captain speaking:

We’re about to take off, so fasten your seat belts and get comfy while the flight attendant oils up my joints.

Please do not be concerned if you hear heavy metal music and loud breathing from the cockpit. The flight attendant has volunteered to welcome your robot pilot to the Mile High Club.

Will those drunken passengers in the cheap seats please quiet down. If you don’t, my robot cops will drag your sorry butts down the aisle and toss you off the flight.

In just a few minutes, we will be landing in Omaha. Oops, squawk, arp, clank. Or maybe Orlando. Squeak, clank, gulp. Or is it Oslo? Blick, crank, pop. I’m a bit rusty remembering names.

Senior Travel Tip: You're Never Too Busy to Exercise

The secret for getting enough exercise on the road is to take a moment to consider how you can fit it all in. When you believe your schedule doesn’t allow one spare moment, it's time to do something about it.

In an airport, in flight, waiting in line, riding the train, don’t just watch TV. Do you really need to sit there when the awful (are there any other kind?) commercials are blinking out at you?