Q: We’re planning our first cruise to celebrate my spouse’s retirement. We’ve been looking forward to it for a long time, but all the recent news about passengers getting sick and onboard sanitation problems is causing us worry. Should we cancel?

A: First of all, incidents of illness on cruise ships are no more frequent than what happens in hotels, resorts, restaurants and airline flights. It just gets more news coverage because the problem happens to travelers confined together for a week or more.

Although you can’t prevent seasickness or sanitation problems from happening while on a cruise, there are simple ways to try to avoid the worst of them. Here are just a few hints:

Now that the Mardi Gras hoopla is past, the Crescent City can settle down to its usual not-so-quiet self with other exciting attractions. Among the most popular is the National World War II Museum, formerly called the D-Day Museum, and it has now expanded its ever-growing collections into three buildings.

On our last visit, we were taken through the exhibits by guides who were veterans of that historic war. It was exciting to hear about their personal experiences, as well as see the thousands of artifacts from that important period of American history.

There are many actual relics of the era there for visitors to see close up, including assault landing craft, airplanes, tanks, jeeps, weapons and uniforms from participating nations, both friend and foe. There’s also a U.S. Navy submarine that can be boarded, offering the experience of how it felt to serve under the ocean in wartime.  

The museum complex is just a short walk to the French Quarter, and located at 945 Magazine Street. It’s open daily from 9 to 5. Admission is $21 for adults, $12 for students and kids 12 and under, and free for children 5 and under. For more information, go to ddaymuseum.org

Many of our senior travelers have slowed down physically over the years. As tourists in some cities, they're too often the most vulnerable to fast-moving pickpockets. They need to find ways to avoid being victims of these crimes.

The thieves, male and female, kid and adult, sometimes operate singly where people are crowded together, such as in city squares, tour groups, airports, concert halls and bus stations. There are also gangs, often kids who surround a tourist asking for money. Then, in the confusion swipe wallets, pocketbooks, cell phones and other easy-picking items.

Think winter snowfall in your hometown was deep? Some eons-old, permanent snow pack areas of the Mendenhall Glacier in Western Canada are nearly a mile thick.