Of the three border crossings between Israel and Jordan, the southern crossing, located in the desert between Eilat, Israel, and Aqaba, Jordan, is generally regarded as the quickest and easiest. It’s known in Israel as the Yitzhak Rabin Terminal and in Jordan as the Wadi Araba (previously Arava) crossing.

If you are visiting both Israel and southern Jordan (e.g., Petra), it is highly recommended that you cross the border there instead of at the far busier and more daunting Allenby (...

A friend and I were on the Azamara Quest during the fire at sea that occurred the evening of March 30, 2012.

The ship had left Hong Kong on March 26 for a 17-night sailing to Singapore, with calls in the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia. We were heading through the Sulu Sea to Sandakan, Sabah, East Malaysia, when, hundreds of miles off the coast of Borneo, a fire broke out in the engine room. It was contained there and extinguished after a few hours.

Five crew members...

My wife, Charlotte, and I took a wonderful trip to the Middle East and Europe, Nov. 8-30, 2011, that included a 16-day cruise from Safaga, Egypt, to Barcelona, Spain, on Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ Seven Seas Voyager. Although we were in Cairo when the demonstrations in Tahrir Square ramped up again and we were in Israel when two Qassam rockets were launched into the western Negev from the Gaza Strip, the event that caused us the most concern on our trip happened the day we left our home....