Travel Briefs

If you’re taking a cruise, make sure to wash your hands.

That advice comes from the International Council of Cruise Lines in response to concerns about outbreaks of norovirus aboard ships. Cruise ships – like day care centers, hospitals and other environments where germs are easily spread – are susceptible to outbreaks of the highly contagious norovirus and other gastrointestinal illnesses. The Centers for Disease Control reported 36 outbreaks aboard ships in 2004, compared with 29 in 2003. Seven shipboard outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness have been reported for 2005.

Cruise ships are required by the CDC to have sanitary protocols in place to prevent and limit the spread of norovirus, but the International Council of Cruise Lines wants cruisers to know that they can protect themselves and others through simple personal hygiene.

“The most preventive measure people can take is washing their hands frequently,” said Michael Crye, president of the ICCL.

Experts say you should wash for a full 15 seconds to get rid of germs.

Symptoms of norovirus include diarrhea, vomiting and stomach cramps and may last from one to two days. The illness is by no means a cruise ship disease; the CDC estimates that some 23 million Americans come down with it each year. Most people call it “stomach flu” and stay home from work a day or two without stopping to think about whether they picked it up at the office or a restaurant.

For more information on how to stay healthy on a cruise, visit the CDC Web site at www.cdc.gov or the Vessel Sanitation Program’s at www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp.

Kids in Aspen

What does Aspen, Colo., have for kids? Try tubing, cooking classes, family concerts and sledding, among other activities.

The winter issue of Aspen Magazine lists places and activities children will love in the Colorado skiing mecca. They include:

The Aspen Recreation Center, which has a climbing tower, skating rink, sports classes and pool.

Tube Town, on Snowmass’ Assay Hill, where kids over the age of 4 can tube all day for $15. For evening recreation, Snowmass offers barbecues, storytelling and marshmallow roasting. There’s also sledding at the Snowmass Cross-Country Center.

The Aspen Music Festival’s free family concerts at Harris Concert Hall, with shows Feb. 11 and March 4.

The Cooking School of Aspen’s “Real Cooking for Kids” classes.

The Kolor Wheel, where kids can paint and decorate pottery.

Movies at the Isis or Stage 3 theaters.

Art programs for children at the Aspen Art Museum.

A “Winter Wild Things” wildlife tour, led Fridays by the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies, which also leads family snowshoe trips.

Skiing and snowboarding lessons and camps at the Aspen Skiing Company.

Two-hour dog sled rides offered by Krabloonik’s.

For more information about visiting Aspen, call 888-290-1324. For Aspen Magazine, visit www.aspenmagazine.com.

Boat swaps

It has become common for strangers to use the Internet to swap houses or apartments for vacations.

Now there’s a way for boat owners vacationing in foreign waters to swap yachts.

The new Web site, www.boatswop.com, was the brainchild of two British sailing enthusiasts, Andy Holliday and Crispin Ellison, along with Crispin’s wife, Ilana Richardson. Ellison and Richardson came up with the idea after a successful home-swap for a September vacation using an Internet connection. Boat owners can register their vessels and search for other boat owners, either in their own countries or in other parts of the world. Swapping boats saves the cost of chartering a boat far from home, and owners can also advise each other on the best local harbors and marinas, as well as share concerns about local conditions and hazards.

Nonmembers can search the Web site to see where boats included in the service are moored, but only members can get details and contact other owners.

To promote the Web site, the first 200 people who register their boats will be able to do so for free. After that, membership in the British-based service is about $92, with an annual subscription fee, also about $92.

Cultural excursion

Discover the Old World charm of Ljubljana, Slovenia, and Zagreb, Croatia, on an eight-day independent tour of the two Central European cities, available through March 31 from Continental Journeys.

Travelers can tour unusual museums and historical architecture in these medieval cities. They’ll also find sophisticated shops and chic restaurants serving local organic produce.

Cost: $1,574 to $2,004 per person, double occupancy ($359 to $699 single surcharge), depending on hotel. Includes accommodations, round-trip airfare from Los Angeles, train to Zagreb, transfers, guided tours, daily breakfast, hotel service charges and taxes.

Contact: Continental Journeys, Sherman Oaks, Calif.; 800-601-4343 or 818-995-8643, www.continentaljourneys.com.

Travel classes, seminars

Everett Cultural Commission presents a free presentation with Dave Bruels of Interlake China Tours at 7 p.m. Feb. 9 at Everett Public Library auditorium, 2702 Hoyt Ave., Everett. For information, call 425-257-8000.

Rick Steves’ Europe Through the Back Door hosts free travel classes most Saturdays at 10 a.m. at the Edmonds Theater, 415 Main St., Edmonds.

Feb. 6 – Tour alum reunion party and “Test Drive a Tour Guide,” features free travel classes.

Feb. 19 – Italy’s art treasures.

Feb. 26 – Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

March 5 – France.

March 12 – Village Italy.

Classes are free, reservations recommended. Call 425-771-8303 ext. 298 or visit www.ricksteves.com/seattle.

The Savvy Traveler offers free travel seminars at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. most Saturdays at 112 Fifth Ave. S., Edmonds.

Feb. 12 – 10 a.m. Maasailand safaris in East Africa.

Feb. 12 – 1 p.m. England and Ireland’s B&Bs.

Feb. 26 – 10 a.m. Greece and the coast of Turkey.

Feb. 26 – 1 p.m. France.