We’re taking our first cruise that includes port visits to cities along Mexico’s West Coast. We love Mexican food, but friends warn us not to eat pre-cooked foods on sale from local carts. What’s your opinion? MAF, Troy NY

A: As a general rule, your friends are correct. You don’t know the ingredients nor how long the cooked food has been sitting out in the tropical sun. Don’t take a chance on illness that will spoil your cruise. If you want to dine on local ethnic food, look for carts that prepare it while you watch, or dine at a local restaurant.

New biometric advancements have already been tested, and soon make boarding your flight quicker. Several major airlines are testing advanced security check-ins with special electronic kiosks.

When in general use, you won’t need printed tickets nor passports to freely get through security without the usual slow inspections. Just pre-registration, a pleasant smile and pre-recorded image should do the trick.

The next lines of the Dylan Thomas poem are: “Old age should burn and rave at close of day. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” As your travel4seniors.com editor grows older, those words always inspire me. I’m often asked how and why I take two daily one-hour hikes and 30-minute swim, and still travel the world several times a year at age 92.

The expectation was that if not already a decade dead, I should be drooling mindlessly in my wheelchair in a nursing home hallway. Some of my survival may be genetic. My mom, sister and brother lived into their 90s. Luck is also involved, because I survived U.S. Navy service in two wars, several surgeries, marriage and raising my kids.

Many senior travelers complain about how some of the world’s most beautiful attractions are now over-run by clueless people and their kids. Whether it’s Hollywood Boulevard, the Eiffel Tower or Philly’s Independence Square, today’s annoying scene is the same.

Instead of enjoying the historical sights, they stroll aimlessly with eyes and ears glued to those little electronic boxes. They bump into each other and anyone else trying to walk and enjoy the views. Even more obnoxious is when they raise their selfie sticks. Not only is your body in danger from the mindless people bumps, but your face and eyes become targets. Advice: When in popular tourist spots, always be aware and wary of the poking stick.