Q: I’ve never been on a cruise and was wondering if there are any that are truly all-inclusive and include alcohol in the price, similar to all-inclusive resorts.  A: According the cruise expert Stewart Chiron, the answer is yes–but it will cost you. That’s because the only true all-inclusive cruises are also the most expensive luxury lines, including  Seaborn, Crystal, Regent and Silversea. The good news, according to Chiron, is that these cruise lines are currently offering dramatic discounts to try and get passengers back on the high seas. For more information, check out his website, The Cruise Guy.

Q. A reader called about a trip she is hoping to take to Scotland. She was wondering if it would be cheaper to travel as a passenger on a cargo freighter than fly.

A. The short answer is no. Booking a passage on a cargo freighter averages just over $100 per night. Because the freighters are working ships, a trip to Europe from North America can take between 7 and 13 days each way. But freighter travel is usually cheaper than traditional cruises and often offers a more adventurous way to experience the sea. Travelers report that because there are so few passengers (many cargo ships have room for no more than 12 guests), they get to know the crew better.

If you like to have a lot of unstructured time to read, write and look at the stars, a freighter cruise could be for you. Again, because they are working ships, you also have to be open to the possibility that your end destination could change depending on weather or business conditions.

A few resources to get you started include freighter-travel.com and Freighter World Cruises.

Are you fantasizing about a vacation but too worried to book tickets in case you lose your job? Some cruise companies are hoping to offer travelers a little extra assurance with refund plans that can be used in the event of a layoff. Norwegian Cruise Line’s new BookSafe Travel Protection Plan refunds cancellation fees for cruises departing after May 1, 2009. To qualify, passengers must be involuntarily terminated from a job they’ve held for at least one year. CruiseOne and Cruises Inc., the nation’s largest cruise retailer, also announced a CruiseAssurance plan for passengers who purchase the entry-level travel insurance. The plan covers any cruise on any line booked between March 1 and May 2, 2009. Passengers need to present termination letters to qualify.

The annual Conference of the Society for Environmental Journalism in Roanoke, Va., last month was not a wellspring of happy news. In panel after panel, scientists reported on the negative impacts of human development on our fragile life support system (the planet, in other words). It has never been more important to live conscientiously, with an eye toward how your actions affect the web of life. Travel is no exception. Many of the steps the casual traveler can take are simple, and one of the easiest ones was outlined by Crawford Allan, the erudite director of TRAFFIC North America, a wildlife trade monitoring program that is part of the World Wildlife Fund. The trade in wildlife is huge business. About 96 million animals from the wild were imported legally into the United States in 2006 and 2007, Allan said. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service confiscated about $35 million worth of illegal animals and animal products between 2000 and 2004, but the service has only 114 inspectors at 38 ports in the United States, according to Salvatore Amato of the FWS (who also spoke at the conference). Where do tourists come in? On cruise ships. “We found that out of 650 tourist stores in the Dominican Republic, 90 percent were selling sea turtle products. Those things are being sold to you and me on a cruise ship vacation,” Allan said. The turtles weren’t even from the Caribbean. They were being captured and processed in Southeast Asia and then sold to Caribbean nations to be sold as knick-knacks. Allan said that after his group’s investigation, the Dominican government cracked down on the sale of the items (combs, jewelry, etc.) but that the trade continues. One sure way to stop the trade is to end the demand. If it looks like coral, turtle shell, fur, claw or tooth, don’t buy it.