It happens! With the friendly skies becoming more and more crowded, weather delays and other unfriendly glitches, your expected journey of a couple of hours can stretch and stretch.

Recently an American Airlines flight from Barbados to New York lasted 14 hours for what usually takes four. Even after all the delays and landing schedules, it finally missed its destination by 90 miles. It landed in Philadelphia, and took most of the unhappy passengers another four hours to get home in the New York City area.

Recently, a casino bus crashed in the Bronx NY, killing 15 passengers, mostly seniors. Several weeks later, in a sting operation, Federal officials stopped other privately-owned buses on the same highway, tested them and discovered almost every bus was mechanically unsafe.

Further, the Feds reported that half the drivers should not be driving buses or anything else. The driver in the Bronx accident had a criminal record and got his latest driving license fraudulently.

Before you take that free ride to a casino, make sure the bus line meets all Federal safety requirements and hires only qualified drivers with clean driving and police records. If you’re a regular customer of one or more of the casinos, contact management there to voice your concerns. If they cry about the cost, tell them to charge customers something like $10 each way and use the money for decent maintenance and sober drivers.

The food is there and everywhere on a cruise, all very attractive and available nearly every hour of the day and evening. You’re on vacation. Live it up! The brisk sea air enhances your appetite. So why not enjoy it all, plus more, and then some?

According to travel statistics, the average adult gains a pound a day on a cruise. Think of what you’d drag home after a three-week voyage. Despite the temptations, there are ways to keep from gaining weight on a cruise.

1. It’s OK to try the buffet, and you can enjoy all the delish varieties. Just take small portions of healthy salads, vegetables (including Popeye’s cooked or raw spinach), lean meat, seafood and poultry. Stay away from deep fried anything. Go easy on fatty meats, gravy, bread, butter, cookies and cakes. Make it a fresh piece of fruit for dessert and between-meal snacks.

We firmly believe cruises can be the most economical way to enjoy a relaxing, luxurious vacation. Everything is within a few steps of your comfy cabin: food, pool, spa, entertainment, ocean breezes, casino. And all-inclusive for one bargain price of from $50 to $100 a day!

Well, not quite. The beancounters who work for cruise lines calculate to make the all-inclusive prices so attractive, because passengers will spend extra money on booze. It’s the same reason why Las Vegas makes room rates so low, knowing visitors will lose money gambling.

There’s nothing rip-off about it, just common sense ways to insure profits. Here are some tips for managing your booze spending on your next cruise.  

1. Prices for alcoholic drinks and sodas are very high on cruises and keep getting higher. A Coke costs $5 or more, while mixed drinks and beer are $10 plus. If you order them at a ship’s bar, you’re expected to leave a 20 percent tip.

2. If you order bottles of booze, champagne or beer for your cabin, the price is at least 50 percent higher, with the obligatory 20 percent tip added.

3. When you’re checking aboard before the cruise begins, ask at the info desk about the booze and soft drink policies. On some ships, you can buy an unlimited refillable soft drink bottle for $10. It’s a bargain if you drink two or three a day during a week or more at sea.

4. If you’re permitted to bring bottles of champagne or wine aboard, when you open any in a dining or bar area, you’re charged up to $25 “corkage” fees.

5. Tipping for booze, wine or beer service at meals or anywhere else on the ship is on each order you get. It’s always separate from the other end-of-cruise tips you’re expected to give for dining and cabin service.

On your next sailing, enjoy all the wonderful ways to have fun, but expect to pay more when you add booze to the cruise.