Columns

STEVE, for the last two years my husband and I have been wanting to take our granddaughters, ages 16 and 17, to France, but due to my husband’s health we can’t do it. Are there any organized and chaperoned tours to France for teens? — Marian Gregoriante, San Mateo, CA

DEAR MARIAN, yes, there are. First, I’d check with their school. Local teachers are often recruited to promote and escort tours during the summer months, and you might find a tour that’s ideal. A tour through a local school would offer your granddaughters the added advantage of traveling with friends. The website www.us....

Cruising is looking good for 2006 and 2007. The cruise industry appears set to boom over the next two years, due to continuing economic prosperity worldwide; the aging of the world population and the resultant disposable income and time, and the creativity of the cruise lines in developing new, attractive ships and shipboard attractions.

I will discuss this topic by forecasting shipbuilding for the next two years, then describing the really fun stuff: the new attractions that are coming on line in the cruise fleet.

Shipbuilding forecast

Positive demographics and...

by Mary Beltran, Assistant Editor, ITN

Paying for purchases overseas has gotten complicated.

If you exchange your U.S. cash for currency overseas, you may lose some value depending on the exchange rate, and you may also pay a fee for the transaction.

If you take travelers’ checks, you may be able to use them at hotels and sometimes in shops, but small shops or restaurants often don’t accept them. That means you’ll need to cash the checks into the local currency, paying the transaction fee as mentioned above.

If you use your ATM (automatic teller machine) card...