Trips, Tips & Deals: Cruise news — save on airfare — and more

Cruise lines like to get bookings for their offerings far in advance, so they’ll often throw in perks to get you to commit to a cruise that’s a year or two off. Scenic Luxury Cruises Tours is dangling the offer of free airfare for some of its 2018 Asia river itineraries, which is worthwhile given the cost of flying to Southeast Asia. The deal applies to departures from the top 25 U.S. gateways, including Chicago and most East and West Coast metro airports. It’s good for itineraries of at least 13 days, which includes the company’s Treasures of the Mekong from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, to Siem Reap, Cambodia, or Mystical Irrawaddy, which explores the Irrawaddy River in Myanmar. These aren’t inexpensive tours. For 2018, the Mekong River trip is priced from $6,680 per person, double occupancy. But Scenic’s river craft are five-star, and all cabins are balcony suites. Also, all tours are included in the price, and in Ho Chi Minh City and Siem Reap, hotel accommodations are thrown in. Among the tours in Siem Reap, of course, is the spectacular Angkor Wat temple complex. Info: 857-216-7703, tinyurl.com/yccec5lj

Travelers’ thoughts

Seventy-four percent of travelers taking part in a recent survey say that they believe actions by the Trump administration are making travel more difficult, and a little more than one-third think the travel bans and potential laptop restrictions are discouraging Americans from traveling out of the country. The survey of 2,170 adults in the U.S. was commissioned by Helpshift, an online customer service company. The survey also looked at travelers’ views on smartphone apps offered by airlines and whether these apps improve the travel experience. Live customer support from within an airline app got an enthusiastic response from those surveyed. An infographic with other survey results is at tinyurl.com/yb3akr4k.

Holidays on the water