We booked the “Circle South America” cruise aboard the Seven Seas Mariner of Regent Seven Seas Cruises (Ft. Lauderdale, FL; 877/505-5370), Jan. 9-March 16, 2010, and one of the optional excursions offered was a two-night, three-day trip to Machu Picchu in Peru.

The excursion cost $2,600 per person, with only six hours actually at Machu Picchu. That seemed expensive, and I found a similar tour on the Internet for much less, but, in the end, we thought it might be safer to take the ship...

I took the “Holland & Belgium in Springtime” cruise with Grand Circle Travel (Cambridge, MA; 800/959-0405), April 7-17, 2010. With air from Des Moines, the 11-day cruise plus a four-day precruise extension in Brugge cost $3,720.

We had fine weather, comfortable quarters aboard the M/S River Aria and great meals impeccably served. We saw wonderful old buildings, windmills, tulips, flower auctions and chocolates. It was a great trip.

As we were packing to leave, the volcano...

My husband and I took the eight-day “Paris & the Heart of Normandy” cruise with Viking River Cruises (Woodland Hills, CA; 800/304-9616). Excluding air, we paid $5,211 for two plus, for a three-day pretour in Paris, $1,398.

On shore excursions, passengers each had a portable receiver so we could hear the guide wherever we were standing. I have walking limitations, so the earphones made it possible to keep up.

The cruise was supposed to end April 18, 2010, but on our...