Cruise Screen

Dogsledding on the Mendenhall Glacier, offered by Royal Caribbean, is a new adventure in Alaska.

Cruise fares have fallen so sharply in recent months that travelers waiting for their ship to come in may find that it’s just on the horizon and sailing toward them at full speed.

Stephen Kirkland was too nervous to get much sleep Friday night. Saturday would be the first time a cruise ship would dock at the city’s new cruise terminal that he oversees.

The new cruise terminal in downtown Norfolk is setting sail for the first time. The multi-million dollar, state-of-the art Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center is now open for business.

Where to look: Caribbean Cruise fares have fallen so sharply in recent months that travelers waiting for their ship to come in may find that it’s just on the horizon and sailing toward them at full speed.

Q: I’m interested in seeing the Panama Canal, but don’t want to do a lengthy cruise. Are there any cruise lines that offer a segment of a cruise through the canal?

There was some rough sailing for the cruise industry at the end of 2006. When the Carnival Liberty journeyed from Rome to Florida in early November, gastrointestinal illness afflicted 536 of 2,804 passengers and 143 of 1,166 crew members.

How hard is it to fall off a cruise ship? “It is so hard to fall overboard that when someone does go over the side, it’s either because, sadly, it’s a suicide attempt or it’s because they’re being incredibly foolish,'’ said Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor of the Web site CruiseCritic.com.

Paul Pazdera and his wife, Marguerite Ann, are still trying to look forward to their trans-Atlantic cruise even though only Paul has so far received his new passport. They began the renewal process in February in preparation for their May 3 departure.

OK, so I am not a religion scholar and I have no idea how long it took God to come up with the Ten Commandments for us mortals to live a good and moral life. But over the years, I have learned a thing or two about travel, and — believe me — the airlines, cruise lines, car rental agencies and the hotel industry are not always the devils in the travel realm. The devils are often the travelers …