[shudder]. No really, a little EQ - managing attitude, and using ole noggin' can make it almost pleasant!

1. Pack your patience and your Emotional Intelligence.

Turn down emotiong, turn up forethought. Example - research your destination on Internet prior for websites where individuals (not paid interests) can tell you what you can ^anticipate^.

2. Pre-arrange everything you possibly can – air, hotel, car, restaurant, attractions, plays.

3. Make copies of your passport, traveler’s checques, credit cards, itinerary, and airline tickets. Carry one copy with you and leave one copy with your designated emergency-contact.

4. Carry with you address and phone number of your country’s embassy (consulate) for each country you’ll visit. if you should need them, you won't want to be looking.

5. Take any regular medication in your hand luggage and be sure you have more than enough for your trip. (Remember needles and scissors can’t be in hand luggage.)

6. Check US State Dept. advisories, www.travelstate.gov, before your go for immunizations, hazards and other pertinent information; Overseas Security Advisory Council, www.ds-osac.org, and Transportation Security Administration site, www.tsatraveltips.us.

7. You'll know you'll be eaiting, so use your EQ and figure out how to make it A Good Thing.

Many of us who take cruises think that’s true. I haven’t been able to find any documentation, but ocean passage has long been considered traditional cure for anything from heartbreak to consumption.

There’s something about staring at ocean, and being rocked to sleep at night (barely noticeable with today’s stabilizers, but it’s happening), and xtreme quietude of well-chosen inside cabin. If you’ve never cruised, you’ve probably heard lots of rumors. Here are some myths about cruising, and facts. 1. It's too expensive. How about 4 days from Galveston to Caribbean for $299? And because it's a package, you can budget. Included in base price are all meals, your room, and all activities on board, and you can calculate tips (and to me, recommended gratuity is at least half what they should get). It is NOT cheap to drink and gamble (that's how they make their money - doh) and expenditures on shore excursion and personal services such as massages can mount. You can find cheaper shore excursions negotiating yourself with cab drivers who line ports waiting to offer you a better deal. There are also “serendipities” such as massages for $20 an hour on a Russian River Cruise (Uniworld). Cheapest rates BTW are between end of August and up to Christmas, but also many “last minute” deals. Get your passport ready so you can take dvantage of these specials. 2. Takes too long. Cruises come in all lengths, frm 2 days (the Cruise to Nowhere) to months. 3. They don't go anywhere I'd want to go.

That's hard to believe. According to ACLI, cruises visit 1,800 ports worldwide and go practically everywhere accessible by water. The Caribbean, Bahamas, Alaska, Bermuda, Europe, Hawaii, Tahiti, Orient and more. And don’t forget River cruises – Volga, Danube, Mississippi… 4. I'm not free during month of ____. Cruises go out all time! The Caribbean is wonderful year ‘round, but some locations have restrictions. According to Cruise Line International Association (CLIA), you can only cruise Alaska between May and September; to Europe between April and November; to Bermuda between April and October; Panama Canal, between September and April.