Protect your travel photos by backing up to a small portable storage device.

This issue has always been a dilemma for me. My compromise has been a large capacity compact flash card that will get me through the day, a laptop onto which I upload my photos and then a flash drive for back up. It works well but is a bit time consuming.

The flaws of my system are the bulk created by the laptop and the time spent transferring. The double back up is an absolute necessity for anyone that is really serious about their photos. It is really easy to lose a card or a flash drive. On a recent trip Windows Vista did us in by managing to complicate the process to the degree that a couple days photos were lost by my husband. It bolstered my case for the double back up. Some years ago before I was wise enough to know better, I had a power surge on a cruise ship fry my hard drive on my laptop and all the photos downloaded to that point were lost. Now I always carry a CyberPower small surge protector when I travel and back up my computer while traveling.

The dream situation for me would be to carry only a small PSD (portable storage device) that uses a direct transfer from my camera but also has a USB port for my flash drive.  Unfortunately for me, I need my laptop for business when traveling so the purchase of a PSD would be extraneous.

There are some great PSDs available, some with multimedia capabilities, LCD screens and huge capacity. Epson, Archos and Wolverine make them as well as many other companies. They are expensive but probably worth it if you have the same concerns as I do. My photographer friends rave about them and won’t travel without them. I have PSD envy.

No Gluten for Me Please

No Dairy Products for Me Please

Sneaking up like an atomic bomb, my newly identified gluten and casein (milk protein) intolerance places me in the cautious traveler category. Eating in a restaurant has become a difficult proposition. Watching me eat a fast food hamburger without a bun brings up memories of a year old kid eating baby food. Oh yes, the ketchup, mustard and mayo are all over my face, hands and sometimes clothes.

How to avoid getting sick because of your food allergies or intolerances? In the year of dealing with a serious issue, I have learned a few solutions. If you read my blog, you know I travel as much as my life allows. My recent 14 day transatlantic on the Celebrity Summit was a real eye opener to the apparent prevalence of gluten issues. In my earlier blog article http://www.zippyreviews.com/travel_blog/cruises-and-cruising/celebrity-cruises-handles-gluten-free-diet I reported that Celebrity did an outstanding job of accommodating my eating quirks. It still amazes me how well informed they were right down to the assistant waiter.

Because of an upcoming trip to Italy, my apprehension caused me to do some research to find some help in Italian. I need to communicate my concerns in any Italian restaurant. Would you believe there is a company www.selectwisely.com that prints small laminated cards in a multitude of languages detailing different food allergies or intolerances or will even custom print one if their standard offerings don’t cover the language or allergy needed? They are very responsive and plainly nice people to deal with.

More hints:  Call your airline if meals are to be served and ask for a special meal. Carefully explain and emphasize the severity of your food issue Talk to the cruise line before you go. You will be surprised at how well they can deal with food issues. Tour companies might be less helpful due to less control over menus in a variety of restaurants. Carry some back up foods you can tolerate. I can always eat Larabars for a quick meal. They are a gluten free company and their bars are delish. They are small and don’t weigh enough to impact your baggage allowance.

Carrying digestive enzymes can lessen the blow if something sneaks through the safety net. It doesn’t totally remove the impact but certainly helps. Let me know if you have any more hints to share.

The Nook is only 12 ounces and 1/2 inch thick - perfect for travel.

Being able to consolidate some of my packing into smaller devices is incredibly helpful in dealing with weight limits and sheer bulk when traveling. It was one of the reasons that I was excited about my new Nook. It turns out there are many more reasons that the Nook is a great travel device.

While planning a trip, I establish many files including one for each hotel/car/air/cruise reservation. I also have a file for each destination that gives information on walking tours, restaurants, sights and anything else of interest. Now I can load all these documents on my Nook and carry it with me as my one source for everything. I foresee it being useful in cities as we take a walking tour or scope the territory for a restaurant. The Nook will easily fit in my backpack, my Scottevest or in a handbag. I will be able to leave my travel guides at home.

The Nook isn’t compatible with Word docs so I convert them to PDF files easily and then load them on my Nook. Go to Microsoft.com and download “Microsoft Office Add-in: Microsoft Save as PDF.” After you download the add-in, open your file, click Save As and then click PDF. Follow the instructions on the Nook website for side loading the PDF file to your Nook and you will be ready to travel.

With the Nook’s capability to increase storage with a microSD card, I can use my Nook’s as my travel MP3 player. The Nook is a multi-tasker: you can read your books or use your files while listening to your music.

I am amazed at how little battery drain there is with the Nook. A very long flight – no problem. Often my Nook only needs recharging every couple of weeks. If you are traveling with a laptop, you can charge your Nook via the USB cable. If you want to plug it in, attach the wall plug to the USB cable and plug it in. Don’t forget if you are traveling internationally to take a converter and transformer.

Load your ebooks before you go, download your music on your microSD card and install it in your Nook and side load your documents on your Nook. Now you have a great travel device!

No telling how many onboard the Summit are affected since the crew is quite tight lipped about the matter. However, 3 days ago there was an obvious attempt to prevent people from entering any dining venue until they had received a squirt of anti-bacterial gel. Throughout the cruise the crew had been stationed at the entrances to the dining rooms, but were not very insistent about the gel.

All self serve beverage stations have been closed or now are manned by crew. Salt and pepper shakers have been removed in most dining areas. All buffet items are now served by crew. See my article below on swine flu, which addresses cruise health issues. It is known to be a tricky situation because of the close living/dining/entertainment quarters of hundreds or thousands of people. I have long been an advocate of buffets aboard ships that are manned by crew only.

The Summit is offering complimentary consultations and treatment if a passenger becomes ill with a gastrointestinal illness. From the obvious extraordinary efforts to disinfect everything onboard, one could assume that the medical facility is quite busy.

Personal efforts to stay well aboard a ship are important. Washing your hands each time you enter your cabin, use a bathroom, before and after you eat and after visiting a venue where you contact surfaces that have been touched by many people such as elevator buttons, door handles, casino machines, etc. A demonstration of effective hand washing is shown on one of the ship’s television channels.

Damian de Lorenzis today said that “1% of passengers have been ill from the norovirus.” He went on to say that the CDC in the US would be notified, as per standard operating procedure. A skeptic might wonder why the ship is going to such extremes if only 20 people have become ill.

Our Berber guide in Morocco's Paradise Valley

It couldn’t have been scripted better. Our day guide in Agadir was booked through Originally Morocco along with a driver and van for 4 of us. Upon our disembarkation from the Summit we spotted our name on the windshield of a fairly new van with our guide standing next to it. Our guide was straight out of central casting. He is a Berber from a village in mid Morocco, a graduate of the University in Agadir, a licensed tour guide and was decked out in full Berber regalia complete with turban. Talking about picture opportunities throughout the day! Idris Ouarmassi, our guide, speaks perfect English right down to the idioms. He had never met or guided Americans before.

We headed off to Paradise Valley in the High Atlas Mountains, which is arid, rocky and scarcely populated. The dry river bed in the base of the valley is full of palm trees and a few clear to the bottom pools. Idris took us hiking in a few spots, one of which netted us a visit to a small mud and rock house where the owner treated us to mint tea and snacks. It would have never happened if we had been on our own or on a cruise excursion. It was one of those travel moments that causes me to pack again and again.

The turnaround point of our day was in Immouzer, a distant village with a nice hotel and a killer view overlooking the High Atlas Mountains. The farthest point visible was about 50 kilometers. Lunch was bistilla or a choice of other enticing entrees and fabulously delicious on the terrace with the view.

Photo opps of the day were remarkable. The mountain landscape, the picturesque valleys, the people along the way and our guide filled our compact flash cards with plenty of material for a slide show. We certainly were tantalized enough to wish for a more comprehensive tour of Morocco, which we would trust to the capable people at Originally Morroco and Idris Ouarmassi.

Rarely is a cruise ship shore excursion a relative bargain. After doing way too much work to find an independent day trip from our port of call, Malaga, and finding them all to be at least $100 more than the 9 hour trip offered by Celebrity, we bit the bullet and booked it. There is something really distasteful to us about following a guide with a canned tour complete with corny jokes. However, sometimes it does make sense.

The brand new motorcoach hit the highway in Malaga and got us to Alhambra in less than 2 hours. The lunch for about 180 of us was a 5 course meal complete with wine, sherry and entertainment. The food was great local fare and the service was terrific.

Alhambra is pretty much jaw dropping, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Built by the Moors starting in the 1200s during their 800 year dominance in the area, it has an Arabic architectural style that is ornate and a marvel for the time. As an avid amateur travel photographer it is a challenge to capture the beauty of the complex.

Alhambra is the 2^nd most visited site in Spain. Only the Prado in Madrid eclipses it. If your travels take you to the coast of Spain, I would highly recommend that you detour whatever plans you have to include Alhambra. The historical significance is evident when seeing the structures. Once the Moors were banished from the area by the Catholic Monarchs in 1492, there was a distinct change in use and construction on the site.

If you are determined to visit as many UNESCO World Heritage sites as possible, Alhambra would be a great site to put near the top of your list.

Do all the usual things: stock up on Bonine, try Seabands, buy some ginger tea, take along some candied ginger, stay in the middle of the ship at all times if you feel queasy and head for the onboard clinic for a shot as a last resort. He was lucky that they had an inside cabin meaning there would be a little less rolling motion to feel. I also advised him to have room service deliver food first thing in the morning and constantly keep some food in his stomach, which always helps me.

This is an issue that is old and never resolved for some travelers. Just remember to book your cabin on a middle deck in the middle of the ship forward to aft. It does help.

Our web designer came back with a great report of calm seas and no seasickness. Jeremy had a great time as a result!

Upon boarding the Celebrity Summit this week in Barcelona, I approached one of the assistant maitre‘ds and asked about the lunch buffet. He offered to walk the buffet line with me to assure that I would know what was dairy and gluten free. It was my first inkling that Celebrity understands the nature of special diets and isn’t intimidated by them. At dinner our waiter made certain that everything that I ordered would be prepared according to my needs.

Here is the essence of the level of care and service that Celebrity provides: the dining room maitre’d brought me the menu for the next evening, told me to choose whatever I wanted and assured me my choices would be made to order – gluten and dairy free. Indeed they were and I have been accommodated in a royal fashion every evening. I am impressed.

Always trying to maximize my credits and discounts in travel, the purchase of about 100 shares of cruise line stock to receive online credit is a win-win situation. Because of our upcoming transatlantic cruise on the Celebrity Summit (watch here for blog reports on the cruise – great itinerary and great ship) we purchased 100 shares of parent company Royal Caribbean’s stock. It was trading for a little over $19 that day. We purchased it online from Scottrade and only paid $7 for the trade. Notification to Celebrity required a fax and a phone call – easy. Because our cruise is 14 days, we have received an onboard credit of $250. Here’s the real kicker: we made $110 on the stock!

This is also available from Carnival Corporation and applies to their family of ships, including Carnival, Holland America, Seabourn, Princess, P & O, Costa and Cunard. A couple of years ago we made a purchase of their stock and received a $250 onboard credit from them.

The onboard credit amount is determined by the length of your cruise. Go to the corporate site of the parent company and look for investor relations/shareholder benefit. Don’t miss this easy opportunity for a freebie. Maybe you will make money on the stock trade like us as well!

Oh, oh. We thought those CDC inspection numbers were the final word on ship cleanliness. Not so.

The public bathrooms on 56 ships carrying 1,258 to 3.600 passengers from 9 major cruise lines were inspected over a 7 day period by a team of researchers from Boston University, Carney Hospital, Cambridge Health Alliance and Tufts and then reported in the medical journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Flush handles or buttons, stall inner handholds and door handles, restroom inner door handles, toilet seats and baby changing tables were the areas the researchers targeted. Guess which of these was the best cleaned? The toilet seat! On some ships these objects were not cleaned at all during a 24 hour period. That’s enough time for a lot of bacteria to accumulate. In some cases some of the objects tested were not cleaned at all during a 5 to 7 day period. Surgical gloves anyone?

What to do about this? Wash, wash, wash. Sing Happy Birthday to yourself while you wash those hands to assure you do the job well. Use a paper towel on the door handle while exiting. There should be a waste receptacle near the door as it is mandated by the CDC for ships, as I understand it.

By the way, the average CDC inspection score for the 56 ships tested?   97