Greek Islands Kosher Cruise

One of our most popular kosher cruises is the annual visit to the legendary Greek Isles. Departing from Venice, Italy, you'll see some of the most famous landmarks and towns of the Roman and Greek age. Here is a sampling of the destinations we'll visit - this kosher cruise is less than a month away!

Venice, Italy

St. Mark's Square is Venice's heart, with palatial arcades. Tour the exquisite Doges Palace, once home to the dukes of Venice. Ply the canals in a gondola or shop for exquisite Venetian glass. Sample shore excursions: Gondola Serenade; Islands of Venice: Leisurely Venice; Murano, Burano & Tocello.

Bari, Italy

A principal harbor for over two thousand years, Bari is a charming city on the Adriatic coast. The old town, Barivecchia, is cherished for its medieval characteristics and buildings. As one of Southern Italy's more prosperous cities, Bari offers a wealth of shopping options.

Katakolon, Greece

Gateway to Olympus, site of the original Olympic Stadium and host to some games of the 2004 Olympiad. Sample shore excursion: Ancient Olympia & the Village.

Santorini, Greece

Your harbor on this island was created by a volcano in 1500 BC., and the effect is still explosive: steep cliffs rise from sea level, cubist white houses glow in the Aegean sun. Sample shore excursion: Panoramic Santorini.

Rhodes, Greece

Fortresses flank your entrance to this most beautiful of the Ionians. Lose yourself in the Venetian old town or head north for dramatic seascapes. Sample shore excursion: Achillion Palace & Private Villa.

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Magnificent medieval walls protect this World Heritage Site and former naval city-state. VISIT ON OF THE OLDEST SHULS IN EUROPE, EXPLORE the Sponza Palace and graceful stone palazzi. Sample shore excursion: Dubrovnik & Croatia's Countryside.

Money Tips for World Travelers

CREDIT cards and A.T.M.’s may have eased the challenge of spending and exchanging money on a trip abroad, but that doesn’t mean we don’t occasionally find ourselves in a foreign country, fuming in front of machines that have just rejected our plastic cards. Fortunately, American banks have recently begun issuing credit cards that are more widely accepted around the world. Here are some tips on managing your cards and cash based on my recent trip to Japan and Hong Kong.

Otto Steininger

GET A CREDIT CARD WITH A CHIP
 Many globe-trotting travelers have discovered that American credit cards, with their outdated magnetic stripes, are not always accepted now that most of the world has shifted to cards that use a smart chip instead. While merchants in Asia, Europe and elsewhere are supposed to be able to swipe our vintage plastic, many automated kiosks can’t do that, which can be a problem at train stations and subways.

The future has finally arrived — or at least the first wave of progress. Just before I left on my Asia trip, I got a FlexPerks Visa card from U.S. Bank that has a chip and a magnetic stripe, one of a growing number of American credit cards that now offer a “chip and signature” option. This isn’t entirely a solution because the global standard is “chip and PIN” technology, meaning you enter a PIN, or security code, after a payment terminal reads the card’s chip.

When I called U.S. Bank before my trip, I was told that I could get a PIN, but that any purchase using this code would be treated like a cash advance with 21 percent interest — obviously, not an option! Fortunately, the card worked fine when I used it without a PIN to buy a train ticket from an automated kiosk in Hong Kong. As I later learned, even without a PIN, a chip-and-signature card will work at most automated kiosks around the world because a signature is not required for purchases under $50. And at payment terminals used by stores and restaurants, the chip essentially tells the machine, “This card doesn’t have a PIN, so spit out a receipt for the customer to sign.”

The annual fee on my card is $49. Other chip-and-signature cards with annual fees under $100 include three options from Chase — the J. P. Morgan Select Visa, the British Airways Visa and the Hyatt Visa — and Citi Thank You or Executive/AAdvantage MasterCards. For a more complete list, visit FlyerTalk.com and search for “chip and signature” cards; the frequent fliers who trade tips there keep a running list of these cards and their annual fees.

CHECK YOUR CARD’S FOREIGN TRANSACTION FEE
Another consideration is whether your credit card issuer charges a foreign transaction fee — usually 1 to 3 percent of every purchase, including the 1 percent Visa or MasterCard fee that banks pass along to their customers. But now that the government requires card issuers to disclose these fees clearly, some companies have gotten rid of them.

The personal finance site NerdWallet.com lists dozens of cards that do not charge a foreign transaction fee, including all of the credit cards issued by Capital One (which bucked this trend long before other banks). Alas, many of the credit cards that travelers use because they earn frequent-flier miles still impose this charge, like the American Express Delta SkyMiles card, and the ones that don’t often have high annual fees, like the Chase British Airways Visa ($95 per year). But unless you travel abroad frequently or spend a lot on your credit card, it’s probably not worth paying a high annual fee to avoid this charge. Since most of my hotels were billed in dollars with no fees, and I paid cash for most purchases, I paid only $10 in foreign transaction fees during my trip.

TELL YOUR BANK WHERE YOU’RE TRAVELING
 Before I left for Asia, I made four phone calls to let my bank and credit card companies know that I would be traveling abroad — a step banks advise customers to take so an unusual spending pattern doesn’t trigger a fraud alert. As I waited on hold after working through the automated phone menu, I wondered why banks don’t make this chore easier and offer a travel notification tool online.

It turns out, some do. Jim Bruene, who blogs at Netbanker.com, posted the results of an informal test he conducted, finding it took him about a minute each to register travel notifications online with Capital One and Chase, and 7 to 10 minutes to do it over the phone with Wells Fargo and U.S. Bank (which don’t offer online options). Citi is another bank that does.

Someday, Mr. Bruene predicts, banking apps will provide a better solution to this problem.

“Your mobile banking app will sense where you are and your card will be able to work there,” he said. In the meantime, look for a “travel notification” tool in the customer service area of your bank’s Web site before you pick up the phone.

LEARN THE EXCHANGE RATE BEFORE YOU LAND
 Every time I travel abroad, I stumble off the aircraft, find an A.T.M. in the airport, press the button for English and get stumped when I’m asked, “How many yen (or pesos, or Brazilian real) do you want?” You can’t tell the machine, “Give me the equivalent of $200.”

After landing in Tokyo, I had to cancel the transaction and find a billboard down the hall with the current exchange rate; since $250 is about 20,000 yen, I had panicked about entering such a high number in a fog of jet lag at the A.T.M.

Save yourself that anxiety by visiting a currency conversion site like xe.com before your trip and writing down how much you want to withdraw once you land. I’d also recommend reading the “money” section of a guidebook to see if the country you’re visiting has any financial quirks. For instance, in Japan, many A.T.M.’s don’t accept foreign bank cards, and the ones that do are scarce. At the main train station in Tokyo, an information booth attendant gave us a map and highlighted the route we’d have to follow (down the escalator, left at the second corridor, up the stairs, etc.) to find an “international A.T.M.”

We had 10 minutes before our train left for Kyoto, and after that sprint I learned to keep an eye out for a Citibank or the local version of 7-Eleven, the two main operators of international A.T.M.’s. Belatedly, I noticed that information was mentioned in my guidebook. But it’s good advice anytime you’re in a foreign country, especially if you’re heading off the beaten path: don’t wait until you’re almost out of cash to look for an A.T.M

Frequent Flier Tricks

Don’t fly enough to earn elite status on an airline? There are plenty of other ways to buy those perks and preferred treatment, either à la carte or through the right credit card. Here is how you can fly like an elite passenger, even for one trip a year, on several airlines. (Carriers without an elite program were not included.)

American Airlines
 

UPGRADES Passengers who buy a full-fare economy ticket can request an upgrade 24 hours before departure for $30 per 500 miles at AA.com if seats are available.

A BETTER COACH SEAT “Preferred seats” in the first few rows of coach can be bought at booking from $4 extra, depending on the length of the flight and the time of day. American is also beginning to sell Main Cabin Extra seats with 4 to 6 inches of extra legroom for $8 to $108, starting with its Boeing 777-300s.

LOUNGE ACCESS Free with an American Express Platinum or Centurion card; day passes are available for $50; $90, plus tax, for the Arrivals lounge at Heathrow Airport in London; 30-day memberships are $99; annual memberships are $500 or 80,000 miles for non-elites.

PRIORITY BOARDING AND SECURITY Preboarding is available for $9 each way; American offers expedited security lines along with other V.I.P. services like lounge access for $125 a person through its Five Star Service program.

CREDIT CARD The Citi Platinum Select/AAdvantage ($95 annual fee) offers priority boarding, double miles, and a first-checked-bag free for you and up to four traveling companions. In addition, the CitiExecutive/AAdvantage World Elite MasterCard ($450 annual fee) offers 10,000 elite qualifying miles when you spend $40,000, free access for you and two guests to Admirals Clubs, dedicated check-in and airport screening lanes, where available.

Delta Air Lines

UPGRADES First-class upgrades can be bought at Delta.com when booking online or when checking in, if seats are available. Prices start at $50 each way for customers who purchase a nearly full-fare coach ticket for a short flight.

A BETTER COACH SEAT Exit-row seats and bulkhead, aisle and window seats toward the front of the plane can be bought 24 hours before departure from $9 to $29 for domestic flights and $39 to $59 for international.

LOUNGE ACCESS Free with an American Express Platinum or Centurion card; day passes cost $50; 30-day memberships are $90; annual memberships are $450 or 70,000 miles.

PRIORITY BOARDING AND SECURITY Preboarding is available for $9 each way for several markets, including Las Vegas; Orlando, Fla.; Phoenix; and San Diego. Delta does not offer priority security lines for non-elite customers.

CREDIT CARD The Gold Delta SkyMiles card from American Express ($95 annual fee) comes with priority boarding and double the miles when you fly, and lets you and up to nine people in your reservation check a bag free. In addition, the Delta Reserve card from American Express ($450 annual fee) offers concierge consultants, elite qualifying miles and free access for you and two guests to Delta Sky Clubs.

Southwest Airlines

UPGRADES Southwest offers only coach.

A BETTER COACH SEAT With its open-seating policy, those who board first get the best seats.

LOUNGE ACCESS It doesn’t have lounges.

PRIORITY BOARDING AND SECURITY Passengers who buy a premium Business Select ticket are guaranteed to board first, followed by frequent fliers and passengers who bought a $10 one-way “early bird check-in” pass. Business Select ticket holders also have access to express security lines where available.

CREDIT CARD For every $10,000 charged to the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier card from Chase, you earn 1,500 tier qualifying points toward A-list status, which comes with priority check-in and boarding.

United Airlines

UPGRADES First- and business-class upgrades can be purchased from booking to check-in time, if seats are available. Prices are usually based on the difference between the fare the customer paid for coach and the lowest available first- or business-class fare at the time. For example, the cost to upgrade to first on a one-way coach ticket from New York to Chicago was $135 in a recent search.

A BETTER COACH SEAT Economy Plus rows, with 4 to 6 inches of extra legroom, cost $9 to $169 one way, depending on the flight.

LOUNGE ACCESS Day passes cost $50; annual memberships are $475.

PRIORITY BOARDING AND SECURITY United began selling a variety of perks a couple of years ago, including expedited security and preboarding (from $9), but has temporarily suspended the “premier travel” program. It plans to reintroduce most of the à la carte services later this year

CREDIT CARD The United MileagePlus Explorer card from Chase ($95 annual fee) offers a free checked bag, priority boarding and two passes a year to United Clubs. The United MileagePlus Club card ($395 annual fee) offers designated airport check-in lines; preboarding and express security lanes; United Club access each time you fly; and your first and second bags are free.

US Airways

UPGRADES Domestic upgrades can be bought 24 hours before departure for $50 to $500, if seats are available. International business-class upgrades are $600 to $750, depending on the length of flight and availability.

A BETTER COACH SEAT Choice seats, mostly window and aisle seats toward the front of coach, which may include exit rows, cost $5 and up, depending on the flight length, destination and time of day.

LOUNGE ACCESS Free with an American Express Platinum or Centurion card; day passes are $50 at the club or $29 at usairways.com; 90-day memberships are $120; annual memberships are $450.

PRIORITY BOARDING AND SECURITY PreferredAccess offers priority check-in, security lanes and boarding, where available, including most gates in 21 cities, for $10 a person.

CREDIT CARD The US Airways Premier World MasterCard ($89 annual fee) comes with first-class check-in privileges, priority boarding, double miles when you fly and discounts on award travel.

More travel tips on kosherica.com

Baltic kosher cruise!

Join Kosherica on our Baltic kosher cruise, departing June 24! One of the highlights is a side excursion to Moscow as one of our special Jewish Interest Tours. See the fascinating history of Judaism within Russia up close an personal - also on the itinerary are cities such as Helsinki, Stockholm and Berlin. Book today!