Regent's Seven Seas Mariner expected 150 people to board each lifeboat in case of emergency. They seemed overcrowded when far fewer than that number boarded for shuttle tender service ashore.

Another destination to keep in mind for great diversity of scenery and attractions at a comfortable price is North America. Both the US and Canada offer good dollar value, especially away from big cities.

With an ever-growing number of moderately-priced chain suite properties, there are many choices.

And if you do it slightly off-season, prices are even more reasonable, often including breakfast and in some cases a complimentary evening cocktail hour.

Those who rent a car will find US gas a bargain compared to Bermuda. Americans spoiled by unrealistic rock-bottom fuel prices started going into cardiac arrest when it reached $2 a gallon and now at more than $3 they're in shock.

But because we've been travelling in Europe for years, it's always seemed a remarkable bargain in the US.

Isn't there anything to complain about? All our car rentals were excellent. We seemed to concentrate on Hertz and Alamo on this year's travels and every vehicle from Mercedes to a Chevy Trailblazer SUV had no problems whatever and got good mileage.

However, there is one bad apple in an otherwise tasty bushel and it involved hotel frequent stay programmes. The kind that take your membership number and never credit your account. That's a subject we'll cover on the New Year when we resolve to abandon most of them.

On a happier note, we'll soon take readers to Switzerland where the franc exchange rate is one dollar and nine to the US dollar. June 7-29 UEFA European Championship football matches will lure sports fans there and it's a wonderland worth attention.

There's so much to see and do, it could be the perfect vacation. So much, in fact, one can barely scratch the surface of Switzerland's beauty spots on just one trip.

Next year's football feast will be co-hosted by Switzerland and Austria with games set for the Swiss cities of Basle, Berne, Geneva and Zurich. Austrian games will be held in Innsbruck, Klagenfort, Salzburg and Vienna.

Next week: More best and worst