With holidays approaching, many seasoned citizens will be traveling for local shopping as well as flying to visit families hundreds of miles away. Especially at this festive time of year, they’ll be carrying credit cards and cash for buying gifts and other seasonal spending. Unfortunately, this makes them prime targets for fake drivers who are actually thieves on the prowl.

If you plan to visit this beautiful west coast Canadian city, consider enjoying a night or more at the iconic Hotel Zed. The creative staff plans all kinds of special holiday events during the coming months, but any visit, especially by nostalgic seniors, can be loads of fun.

It may begin with your pick-up at the airport by a vintage 1950s Volkswagen camper vans when your flight arrives for a free ride to the downtown hotel. Then, as you go through the lobby, you’ll encounter rows of ...not the latest laptops....but 1960s electric and manual typewriters.

The hallways and room decor also reflect the bright, happy vinyl and Ikea memories of many readers of travel4eniors.com. To keep the mood, instead of the little smartphones, guests can call anywhere on the vintage rotary phones. There are also free bikes to pedal when exploring the beautiful streets of Victoria. For more info, go to www.hotelzed.com

Touring travel4seniors.com editor captures a colorful scene.

Cruise prices these days are advertised in the same way airfares, hotel rooms, rental cars and other travel-related offers. The quoted ads are designed to attract customers with the usual come-on bargains, such as $99.99 a day, when actual out-of-pocket costs are inevitably 20 or 30 percent higher.

The same applies to cruises. For example, you’re attracted by an ad with a bargain price, but when booking, you’re hit with all the add-ons that make it much more costly. One way for first-time senior sailors to lower cruise prices is to be sure to take advantage of all discounts and other deals. For starters, there may be a savings just because you’re 55 or older.