Europe: Day 4, Copenhagen

PART TEN: TIPPINGIt's good karma In a perfect world, you wouldn't need to tip if you were already paying a service charge (as is the case with coat-check clerks and room-service waiters). Too bad the world ain't perfect. When in doubt, you should err on the side of generosity. It's more common to regret undertipping than overtipping. Customs vary from country to country If you read only one part of a guidebook before arriving someplace, make it the part on tipping. Then flag it: You'll be revisiting it. Tipping the boat On most cruise ships, tips are automatically added to your bill. There's leeway to tip more or less--but if you'd like to reduce the service fee, you'll probably have to explain your reasons to the purser. Don't be afraid to have that conversation: The cruise line should want to know when its passengers are disappointed. General rules for tipping in the U.S. Bellmen: Figure $1 or $2 per bag. It's fair to show yourself to the room if you'd rather not deal. Housekeepers: Some folks think you don't have to tip; some believe you should tip daily to make sure the money goes to the person who cleaned your room; some wait until the end of the stay. A couple of bucks per day won't mean as much to you as it will to the housekeeper. (But don't tip at B&Bs if the maid is also the owner.) Concierges: Giving you directions is part of the job. Snagging a theater ticket or restaurant reservation merits at least $20. Waiters: Under 15 percent means you didn't like the service. Don't worry about the sommelier; let the restaurant determine how to divide up all the tips. Taxi drivers: Tips should be 15 to 20 percent, or around one dollar for every five dollars of fare. Round up to the nearest buck. No one likes to deal with change. Be nice The previous 104 rules are all well and good, but ultimately, the quality of your travel experience depends a lot on who you deal with. Treating everyone--even the crabbiest crabs--with kindness and respect can be more powerful than any strategem. You never know: In your next life, you may come back as a TSA agent.

PART NINE: ON THE GROUNDTake a photo of everything Buy a digital camera (it'll change your life) and a big memory card (minimum one gig). Snap pictures of where you parked your rental car, the ferry schedule, how full the gas tank was when you returned the car to the lot, and so on. You can always delete the photos later. ATM? Credit cards? Traveler's checks? All of the above. To get cash, use an ATM. Your bank may have agreements with foreign banks; Bank of America, for one, belongs to the Global ATM Alliance, which means its customers can make free withdrawals from over 30,000 ATMs in eight countries. Use credit cards to make purchases (if you have more than one, figure out which has the lowest conversion fee). In some countries, they'll print your account number on the receipt, so don't blithely toss it in the trash. For emergencies, it helps to bring a few hundred dollars in traveler's checks. Don't call home There are ways to place calls cheaply from abroad, both with a cell phone and without (such as Skype). But unless you're traveling around the world for months on end, you don't really need to call. Create a Web-based e-mail account--such as the ones from Yahoo and Google--and keep in touch that way. You can go online at an Internet café for about $3 an hour. In the U.S., also look for libraries, which tend to have free access. Almost every city has a transit pass And it's always a better deal than buying á la carte. Know your rights If you're bumped from a domestic flight and you get onto another flight within one to two hours, the airline pays you the equivalent of a one-way fare ($200 max); more than two hours and you get up to $400. Vouchers are an option, too. If your checked bag is delayed, the airline covers expenses for toiletries and clothing until it delivers the bag to you. For a lost bag, the carrier must reimburse you, up to $3,000. If your hotel is overbooked, the hotel must find you a room at a comparable or better property nearby, at no extra charge. The new 411 Send a text message to 466453 ("Google") from your cell phone and you can get all kinds of info. You just need to know the shorthand; there's more at sms.google.com, but here's a quick tutorial: For flight arrival/departure info, type in your flight number Send a text message of "w [city name]" to get a four-day weather forecast Get translations of foreign words by sending "t [word or phrase] in [language]" For local listings, text "[what you're looking for] [place name or zip code]"--such as "bbq denver co" Text "[amount and currency] in [new currency]"--such as "2000 mxn in usd"--to do a currency conversion For basic driving directions, text "[place or zip] to [place or zip]"--for example, "phoenix az to 86336" Don't save the best for the last day What if the weather turns crappy? What if you get sick? What if a giant meteor falls from the sky and lands right on your room? You'll wish that you had gone snorkeling earlier in your trip. Nothing kills the fun like a long wait For most major attractions, you can buy tickets online in advance. Also, in many cities there are passes that can be a great deal, especially because they let you skip to the head of the line. The big U.S. pass companies are CityPass and Go Card. The New York CityPass, for instance, costs $53 for adults--a smart value even if you're only going to three of the five attractions offered: the regular price for the Guggenheim Museum is $18; Circle Line Sightseeing Cruise, $24; American Museum of Natural History & Rose Center, $14; Empire State Building, $18; and Museum of Modern Art, $20. Jet lag is inevitable Human beings were not designed to fly halfway around the world. All you can really do is not drink alcohol on the plane, keep hydrated, get in synch with the new time zone as soon as you can, and exercise after landing (the last one is crucial). "See you inside!" Some popular museums--such as the Louvre in Paris--have more than one entrance; the lesser-known ones often have shorter lines. And for some attractions, you can buy tickets at places other than the end of a long line at the front door. Tickets for Versailles are available in advance at Fnac record stores in France and at fnac.com; in Rome, tickets purchased at the Palatine museum also let you walk right into the Colosseum. A tax loophole for hunter-gatherers When returning to the U.S., Americans may bring $800 of goods for personal use without having to pay duties or taxes. If you buy more than that, ship it home: You can send $200 of goods per day to yourself at a U.S. address. You can also send duty-free gifts worth up to $100 per person per day to people in the U.S. Bear in mind that shipping companies charge based on bulk or weight, whichever costs more, so pack efficiently. Basic training If the airport you're flying into is served by a train, take it if you're heading anywhere near the city center. Unless, of course, you're traveling in a group of three or more people, when a taxi is probably more cost-effective. If you're going to complain, do it right 1. Speak up as soon as you have a problem. The longer you wait, the more the company will assume it wasn't that big of a deal. 2. Unsatisfied with the response? Politely ask for a supervisor. Never take no from someone who isn't empowered to say yes. The corollary is: Don't bitch to anyone who can't help you. All that you're doing is ruining their day. 3. Even--or especially--if someone promises you the world, get it in writing. 4. Build a case! Take notes, keep receipts, get names. Your goal is to show that you really mean business. 5. When corresponding, do it by letter or e-mail. It beats calling, getting passed around, and telling your story over and over. But make copies before you send any originals.

PART EIGHT: CAR RENTALSReserve the least expensive model Once you select a model, no rental-car company will ever let you leave with a cheaper one. When the car you reserved isn't available, they'd rather give you a better car for the same price than a lesser car for a lower price. If you're inclined, you can negotiate an upgrade at the car-rental counter. Prepaid gas is for people traveling on expense accounts You know who you are. Do ask, do tell Laws vary by state and rules vary by company, but unmarried couples can often skip the extra-driver fee (and the paperwork) simply by telling the clerk that they're domestic partners. Don't wait for the clerk to ask what your relationship is. Other ways to try to get around the extra-driver fee: joining the loyalty club (what on earth are you waiting for?), saying that you're coworkers or that you're members of AAA, AARP, or Costco. The point is to ask. Grab the keys and go Join the free loyalty club and you won't have to wait in what can be a cruelly long line, or tell the agent your address, or listen to the upsell on a bigger model or on insurance. You can get off the lot and into your vacation in a matter of minutes. Think globally, browse locally It's a little-known fact that some car-rental companies have different websites for different countries, and the rates for the same rental can vary. The prices quoted at Budget.com, for instance, won't necessarily be equal to the rates at the sites for the United Kingdom (budget.co.uk), Germany (budget.de), Ireland (budget.ie), and South Africa (budget.co.za). It's worth poking around. Don't pay double for insurance Insurance is a big profit generator for car-rental agencies, and they don't mind that it's confusing. If you own a car, however, your owner's policy will cover you no matter what car you're driving, including a rental. Also, most credit cards cover the Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) automatically, so there's no need to give the rental agency that extra $10 to $20 per day.

PART SEVEN: CRUISESGo fishing for deals Consolidators such as CruisesOnly.com, CruiseStar.com, and Cruise411.com basically act as travel agents, but they sell cruises at steeper discounts than are found elsewhere. Recently, cruise lines have prevented these brokers from advertising their best offers--but that doesn't mean they don't have 'em. Ask about unadvertised deals and upgrades. Arrive at the port the night before The cruise line doesn't care if the traffic was bad or your flight got delayed because of the weather. The ship will leave without you, and the responsibility to catch up with it is yours and yours alone. Walk right off the ship and head home At the end of the cruise, if you carry your own bags, you can often disembark before everyone else. Don't forget your passport Travelers returning to the United States by sea after visiting Mexico, Canada, the non-U.S. Caribbean, the Bahamas, and Bermuda don't need a passport until January (at the earliest). But anyone sailing before then should bring it anyway. If something unfortunate happens and you need to fly home, having a passport will make things considerably easier. Book your own excursions You can save money by finding out who's running the shore excursions or similar outings and booking directly with them. It's not without risks: If you book an excursion with an outside operator and don't get back to the ship in time, you're out of luck; but when you book through the cruise line, the ship will wait. Let cruise brokers fight over you CruiseCompete.com is a website where you post info on the cruise you want to take, and then agents bid against each other to get your business. You're under no obligation to buy anything if you don't like what you see. Make the first day count Your bags won't arrive at your cabin for a few hours after you board, so pack everything you might want in the interim (a book, swimsuit, sunblock...) inside your carry-on bag.