1. To some clueless tourists, common sense may not be a good enough reason to learn the language when traveling in a foreign country. However, the reason is simple. If you expect courteous treatment, knowing the basics of a language proves you’re reaching out to show consideration. It will help very much when meeting local people, shopkeepers, hotel employees, cabbies and everyone else you encounter.

Even the most simple good mornings and a few other language pleasantries can make a great difference in attitudes of the local people toward foreign visitors. Often, knowledge of the language means savings in prices of goods and services.

2. The old phrase describing some foreign cities as “tourist traps” was probably coined by arrogant Engish-only-speaking visitors who dressed and acted in such outlandish manners that prices immediately jumped everywhere they made their fussy presence felt.

We've been on a dozen or so cruises since our retirement, and have some suggestions on how to do it more comfortably and economically. You may not agree with our opinions, but we enjoy our cruises much more by following these rules:

1. Travel lite. After the second or third cruise, we stopped dragging suitcases and needing to check them everywhere we went. We each take a wheeled carry-on bag, sometimes adding a knapsack, and never again check anything. Suitcases on flights and cruises must be checked, and now airlines are charging extra for them. Also, the waiting and wondering everywhere if you’ll ever see your suitcase again just adds to the the stress. Also, on several occasions, we felt sad for fellow cruise passengers who’d lost luggage on flights and had to buy entirely new outfits on board.

Springtime flying can be the most troublesome of all. No, not from pilots setting the plane down in the Hudson River. It’s getting germs from fellow passengers and from the recycled air flowing throughout the cabin.

How do you keep at least some of those little unseen bugs from getting at you on a flight? You've gotta be kidding. Just ask anyone who has flown from New York to London or similar hours-long air journey squeezed into a five-across row of sardine-can sized seats. They'll know that Murphy's Law always kicks in for the haplessly trapped until-then healthy flyer.

While in London, your not-too-upscale hotel could cost you 400 U.S. dollars a night and restaurant meals may go for a mere $70 each. You’ll then believe there’s nothing you can do in the old town that doesn’t cost you a bundle of money. Maybe not.

1. If you’ll be traveling to London, you’ll be happy to know there are many things you can do there that won’t cost you a ha’penny. If you’re tired of TV reality shows, boring movies and bad news from Wall Street, walk over to Hyde Park, a beautiful patch of green in the middle of the bustling city.

Find a comfortable bench near Speakers’ Corner, and soon you’ll see some free live entertainment. You may not agree with what the guy up on the soapbox is saying, but you can either sit back and enjoy it, or get up and add your two cents of opinion.