Glacier Bay is often the highlight of a cruise through Alaska's Inside Passage.

Access to the ecologically delicate area has been strictly monitored, limiting ships during peak season to 153 with only two allowed in per day.

In 2008, a total of 416,703 passengers aboard 225 ships (72 off season) were able to see its glories.

The next 10 years worth of passengers will be aboard ships from Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Cruise West and Norwegian Cruise Line, according to Travel Weekly.

Princess had the greenest proposal, offering higher standards for minimizing air and watrer pollution and minimizing the impact of underwater sound on marine mammals. It also was cited for its educational program.

Cruises West, the small ship line, was awarded the most visits - 113 entries per year.

Tip: I'll tell you more about their Inside Passage cruise in a later post.

Curacao - that's pronounced CURE-a-sow - is one of the most interesting islands of the southern Caribbean (it's 38 miles from Venezuela).

It's not all flat but most of where you'll want to go is so it is a great destination for levelers. 

Willemstad, its capital, is split by the harbor but connected by the Queen Emma, a swinging passenger bridge, and continuously running passenger ferries. Punda, where the Dutch-style buildings look like a block of Amsterdam slathered in bright Caribbean pastels, is the most frequented; Otrobanda is more residential and less flat.

Tip: If you can handle a few uneven surfaces and elevation changes, Kura Hulanda in Otrobanda is a great place to stay. 

Walk through either side and around every corner is a vision to remember, a treat for the eyes and lens. Good shopping, too.

Tip: Don't feel like walking? there's a town tour by trolley train.

In addition to the expected exquisite blue water and sandy beaches, there are enough cultural layers to rival an onion.

The island, once a center of the slave trade where captured West Africans were sent to plantations to be "taught" to be slaves, is now a living example of tolerance. You'll find the oldest continuously operating synagogue in the Western hemisphere, the world's largest museum of slavery and a truly welcoming attitude.

Bon bini! - "Welcome!" in Papiamentu, the local Creole patois that blends English, Spanish and Dutch - is even on the island's license plates.

It's easy to take in both town and beaches. Better hotels in town provide shuttle service to beaches, beach resorts shuttle guests to town.

 Tip: All beaches here are public, including those developed by hotels and resorts. Buy a drink or a snack and you'll be welcome to use the facilities.

Speaking of which, the food is great. Don't miss the native dish Keshi Yena, kind of a meat and veggie pie in cheese, at Blues, the beach-front restaurant at the Avila Beach Hotel.

One new ammenity is medical tourism. There's a dialysis clinic near the Otrobanda waterfront where guests can spend the night, get their treatments while they sleep then enjoy a vacation like everyone else.

 Tip: If you want to see the mountainous part of the island there are tours by van, jeep, scooters and for those with a touch of daredevil, ATVs. (I ATV'd it and survived.)

While we're on Utah, let's not forget Capitol Reef National Park, north of Bryce on Scenic Highway 12.

The visitor center is near where Mormon's first settled, a pastoral spot on the Freemont River where they developed a 2,700-tree orchard of apples, peaches, osage orange, almond and walnut. They had a grape arbor and even produced wine which is why it was eventually named Fruita.

 You drive right to this flat area and can picnic under the Freemont cottonwood tree, the largest one you'll ever see. Catch a ranger talk to really make the area come to life.

If driving a high-clearance vehicle you can drive to and through many of the scenic highlights. Check with a ranger first though, because weather conditions can change rapidly.

Feel like walking a bit? Take in the first part of the Freemont River trail through the orchards then hit the road to other trailheads. I went to the Oyler mine, one of many where uranium was mined in the early 1900s. Ranger Riley Mitchell also recommended Capitol Gorge and Grand Wash Trails for us Levelers.

Tip: En route to Capitol Reef, Boulder Mesa Restaurant is a good place to eat. Beer drinkers should try a bottle of "Polygamy Porter." I got a kick just saying the name!

Towns and gas stations are few and far between so keep that tank full. One town you might consider worth a pause is Bicknell, especially if you like to chalk up firsts/leasts/mosts/etc. It is the smallest town in the U.S. to have its own movie theater. Population is 325, the Wayne County Theater seats 306.

Wayne County, by the way, has 2,500 square miles for its 2,500 residents.

You can go to Zion and look up at its scenic geological wonders but you won't get close without a bit of a hike. You can go to Bryce Canyon and look down at its hoodoos, but its easiest trail, Navajo, is a real huffer and puffer.

If you want to see Utah up close and touchable the easy way, do we have a park for you Levelers:

Kodachrome Basin State Park.

Tucked away a short jog off Scenic Highway 12 near Bryce, Kodachrome has a half-mile long, paved, handicapped-accessible trail that takes you through many of the state's geological formations and local flora.

Nature Trail - conveniently near the bathrooms - is self-guided; pick up a printed guide pamphlet at the trail head. It will identify the purple soil created by iron oxide, a red sandstone knoll with pot holes, chimneys and spires and an arch in the making.

With it you can spot Utah juniper and pinyon pine, lead bush/buffalo berry, Indian blue grass, prickly pear cactus, yucca, four-winged salt brush, snake weed, princess plume, needle and thread grass, ephedra (Mormon tea) and learn what it all does to and for the environment.

You probably won't spot the porcupine, pack rats or termites, but the guide points out their work.

When the economy tanks, travelers' deal antennae start twitching. My philosophy tends to the "Spend it today before the market can lose it tomorrow" school of thought, but most travelers have been holding off. Until now.

The cruise industry is doing everything it can to coax open our purse strings and it's working. Princess Cruises, Oceania and Regent Seven Seas all reported the busiest booking day ever after recently offering special promotions.

Deals range from balcony cabins for the price of standard ocean view on most 2009 Alaskan, European and Caribbean cruises (Princess) to free shore excursions (Regent).

Tip: Most of these are available only through travel agents. To find one who specializes in cruises, go to www.cruising.org., the website of CLIA, Cruise Lines International Association, Inc. Click on the vacation section on the left, enter your zip code and a list of agents/agencies will pop up. ACC status is good, MCC is better and ECC rated are the elite and most experienced of cruise specialists. See links above right.

 This is all great news for us "Levelers" because we love cruises. Ship decks are flat and are connected by ample elevators. Crew handles your luggage and delivers meals to your stateroom if you really don't want to - or can't - move around. There's even a physician on board. It's a classic no-brainer.

Tip: You can walk yourself silly on the new mega-ships if you don't plan ahead. Select a cabin near the elevator that will deliver you to the areas of the ship you will frequent. When in doubt, pick the elevator that arrives nearest where you expect to dine most often.

Luxurious Laziness

If relaxation tops your to-do list, consider making a transatlantic crossing.

Imagine, six days at sea, no demands, no phones, all the distractions you want and none that you dread. Planned activities galore if you want them, an ocean of waves to contemplate if you don't. Great entertainment and 24-hour food. Naps count as activities!

Cunard's Queen Mary 2 is the only liner making such crossings on a regular basis and she's a beaut. One of the prettiest libraries afloat or ashore, wonderful bands and tea dances and the kind of evening ambiance rarely seen anymore. 

Daytime is casual but dinner is an occasion. After six, you will dress for dinner: coats - no ties - for men the first and last nights out, cocktail attire or black tie all others. No shorts or jeans allowed outside of the gym and your stateroom. The Black and White Ball is a special night and passengers do follow the color code.

 An anachronism? Perhaps but when your days have been leisurely and relaxed you look forward to making an effort for evening. You are traveling in a classic, civilized mode; live it to the max.

Tip: Which is better, going west to east - New York to Southhamption - or east to west?

If you look forward to on-deck activities, go west to east. Ship and weather patterns move at about the same speed making for balmier conditions.

Prefer to cozy up indoors? Reverse it. Going into the weather patterns, ship and wind combine for 40-knot "breezes" on deck - real hairdo unravelers. Be warned, though. West to east, the weather you leave with you'll probably have throughout the voyage. East to west you'll encounter whatever is heading toward Europe.