Another excellent site for browsing for cruises is Cruise Ship Center & Cabin Exchange. Among many other features, it points toward cruise discounts in specific regions. Check Mediterranean Current Discounts.

Visit any store with a big travel book section and you'll probably find half a dozen or more cruise titles, including "Fielding's Worldwide Cruises," "Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising and Cruise Ships" and "100 Best Cruise Vacations" (Globe Pequot, 2000), which includes a section on the Royal Olympic Cruises' Stella Oceanis and Windstar Cruises' Wind Spirit, both of which sail the Greek islands and Turkish coast.

A number of companies offer white-water tours through the Grand Canyon. Since they're all approved operators from the National Park Service, can you pick any of them and be assured a quality trip?

Those white-water companies operate under license and the business is competitive enough that standards are generally high. But there are differences in craft -- oar-powered rafts, motorized rafts, dories, kayaks and so forth -- and it's worth examining several companies to see what would appeal most to you. The companies also may have trips that vary in length, cost and amenities. It's also worth asking a few questions about the experience of the crews.

Safety is a big consideration, of course, and experience can be a reflection of how safe an operation is. Ask how long employees have been on the river and how long they have been employed by the company. River men and river women tend to stick with companies that are well run and treat them right.

If you call individual companies and casually ask about their competitors, you can sometimes get candid appraisals -- particularly after it's established that you won't be able to go with the company you've called because of timing, price or some other reason.

A general description of the different trips available is at the Grand Canyon National Park page. Click on "River Trips" in the upper-right menu.

A good source for tracking down river trips is the Grand Canyon River Outfitters Association, phone (520) 556-0669. At the site you'll find 17 companies listed, most of them with links.

An unusually authoritative source for checking out river-running outfitters is a book called "Top Rated River Adventures: Canoeing, Kayaking & Rafting in North America" by Maurizio Valerio (Picked-By-You Guides, 1999). This series asks outfitters to supply client lists, then surveys the clients. The first edition includes only two Grand Canyon outfitters, but it's likely others will be included in later editions. Look for the guide in stores, or visit the Top Rated site.

My kids are fascinated with the idea of swimming with dolphins, especially wild dolphins. A quick check of the Web shows a number of companies offering these trips, most of them in Florida. I assume these companies are not all created equal. Any suggestions?

Most of the dolphins you'll find in the dolphin-swim programs in Florida aren't exactly wild -- when you're charging people $75 or more a pop you usually have to guarantee a predictable level of contact. Most of the basic programs run $75 to $120 and include some educational instruction. Some are fairly short, in-and-out swims; some are therapeutic. Still others are good for children and people who'd like to explore working with dolphins.

Until recently there were only a handful of dolphin-swim programs in the United States, where regulation and controversy over the propriety of confining dolphins had a chilling effect. But there's been a spurt of interest -- and options -- that's likely to continue with the opening July 1 of SeaWorld's Discovery Cove, an Orlando theme park that will offer a dolphin experience as well as other aquatic diversions.

Also riding the dolphin wave is "Dolphins -- The Ride," a short film making the rounds at Imax theaters.

Among the longest-established U.S. programs are: