After being evacuated from the chaos of Lebanon to the island of Cyprus last year, an American woman on her first vacation to the Mediterranean was asked what she thought about her involuntary place of refuge. “I think Cyprus is heaven,” she said unequivocally. “I should have come here in the first place.”

For more than three millennia, Hellenic wanderers, Egyptian Ptolemies, Crusading Knights and Ottoman Kings have regarded Cyprus as both paradise and playground.

Joining up with a Mercy Ship cruise may not be your typical vacation, but it could be a very rewarding one… Mercy Ships are cruise ships unlike any others.

They are non-profit floating hospitals that sail around the world providing free medical and emergency care to port residents. Once docked, Mercy Ship teams fan out into local communities to help with a variety of tasks.

If you’re not a doctor or nurse, this is where you come in.

Mercy Ships encourage volunteers to join the international crew to help out for periods of two weeks up to a year in any number of positions, from teaching English or computer skills to helping locals build wells and latrines.

In other words, there is a …

Air travel is way up again, with a record number of travelers expected by the end of the year, despite insane security lines and fuel prices.

However, so are the incidents of the airlines losing checked luggage; especially since last August, when a ban on carry-on liquids resulted in a 30 percent increase in checked bags.

In fact, nearly four million bags last year were either lost or damaged, making it the number three complaint by passengers, after flight delays and cancellations.

And while a few airlines are worse than others, this is a situation that is costing all of the airlines dearly — not just in claims, but also in installing new bag technology …

Travel website Expedia and Accor Hotels’ Sofitel chain have recently launched “Best Price Guarantees.” But does that mean you’re guaranteed to get the best price with them?

Expedia’s “Best Price Guarantee” sounds like a great deal: find a cheaper price on anything they sell within 24 hours of purchasing it from Expedia, and they’ll refund your money, plus give you a $50 credit.

But read the fine print — it’s riddled with exceptions, including: “Expedia reserves the right … to modify or discontinue the Guarantee or to restrict its availability to any person, at any time, for any or NO reason, and without prior notice or liability to you.”

With fine print like that, it could be impossible to actually claim that $50 …

February 20, 2007

By now, you’ve all probably heard a number of horror stories concerning the JetBlue meltdown last week at JFK. As it turns out, a friend of mine, Los Angeles-based public relations executive Diana Bianchini, was on one of the delayed flights bound from JFK to the West Coast.

Here’s the email she sent me when she finally got off the plane ten hours after boarding her flight — right back at JFK:

I arrived at the airport at 6:30 a.m.; my flight was to leave at 9:05 a.m. We boarded the flight [around 5 p.m.]; and then they kept us on the plane for ten hours. …

Want to know the cheapest way to get Internet access while cruising? Here’s a hint: get off the ship.

Most cruise ships charge at least 50 cents per minute — and sometimes up to one dollar per minute — for Internet access.

But at the Rx Cyber Cafe near the cruise ship pier in Cozumel, for example, it’s just 10 cents per minute.

And other Internet cafes in the Mayan Riviera can be even cheaper. Online lists of these cafes can be found at Net Cafes.com or Net Cafe Guide at World 66.

But even on board, there can be other options. If you’re cruising the Aegean or are staying close enough to the coast, Cell Hire …

You booked your table weeks in advance and you’re wearing that gorgeous new designer jacket, but when you show up at the restaurant with your companion(s), you are ushered to the worst table, rushed through your dinner, and largely ignored by the staff.

Or… you purchased your plane tickets a month in advance, were first in line with your upgrade certificates, yet you and your travel mates are given seats in the back of the plane.

What heinous crime did you commit in these two scenarios that would warrant such abuse?

It’s quite simple: you brought your children.

If you don’t believe that this can happen, it’s possible that you either don’t have kids, or you …

It’s probably not news to travelers with mobility problems, but unfortunately, “historic” often equals inaccessible.

Older structures simply weren’t designed with accessibility in mind, and adding features like ramps and elevators is often difficult — or even impossible — without severely degrading the historic nature of the building.

Fortunately, though, America’s heritage is becoming increasingly accessible.

So this week, to celebrate President’s Day, PeterGreenberg.com presents a guide to the most accessible cities of our American heritage — and gives you a heads up on which landmarks are more accessible than others.

PHILADELPHIA

William Penn may have laid out much of the city long before anyone considered the needs of the less mobile, but today, Philadelphia offers a …