Q: I’m a 65-year-old widower who just retired, but don’t feel like sitting around in the park with the other old guys or dragging around the golf course. I’m not totally independent, so I need a job that pays something. For years, my late wife and I enjoyed cruising, and am also an old Navy guy. I'm in good shape, so I’m thinking of signing on for a cruise ship job. Do cruise companies hire old guys?

Unhappy about sign-on-quick pitches for cruises

Q: We’re long-time retirees and love to travel. We plan for a trip weeks or months ahead, and need the time to consider all the prices, destinations and other options. However, we’re getting tired of those ads that offer travel deals if you grab them within 24 or 48 hours.

Many seniors, both retired and still working, don’t want to be conned into booking a so-called bargain trip somewhere right now just because it offers all kinds of alleged discounts. Has the travel industry become one big used car lot, with deals and prices blaring out just to entice you to buy?

Q: On several recent sailings we’ve wandered into the scheduled art auctions that seem to be a feature of every cruise. The art displayed is usually very colorful and splashy, often obvious copies of the styles of Picasso, Van Gogh, Matisse and other impressionists. From education (BFA, Philly Museum College of Art) and experience, we’re a bit suspicious of the deals. Are those shipboard auctions OK or a bad deal?

Q: I travel for business and add up lots of frequent flyer points. However, lately when I try to get the free flights the airlines promise all the time, it seems there are never any FF seats on the flight I want. What can I do about it?

A: Frankly, we wonder about that all the time. Sometimes we’ve been lucky to get the exact flight we want with our FF points for free. Other times, if we had to change our flight schedule on a free flight, we were charge $50 or so to get on another flight that day.

And the most frustrating times were when we were told that FF seats on a flight were a limited number and we couldn’t use our credits for a flight of our choice. Then, when we paid and boarded the flight, it was half full.