Traveler's Anxiety
Life & travel are very much a balance between dangers we perceive, & the knowledge & experience that reduces those dangers’ risks.
Foreign travel means leaving the comfortable, confident security of our home for something often very unfamiliar: different streets, language, rules, mannerisms, foods, clothing, etc. 
Yet, ocean cruising is perhaps the most worry, risk-free, mode of travel once you are on board ship because your on-board ship experience is a luxurious, pampered catered version of ‘home’ with a mix of free and premium experiences not readily available elsewhere.
More like a Las Vegas vacation: endless free food, gambling & stage shows.
My ‘anxiety-reduction’ Strategy:
history, novels, & cash
A. Your Pre-trip Responsibilities:
1. Understand my Cruise Factors: enough to wisely
choose your ideal cruise package.
2. Book flights: to & from cruise ship unless traveling
further.
3. Book lodging: the night before & after unless
unnecessary.
On Board: Your Cruise
company intentionally tries to eliminate any
unnerving
circumstances.
B. My pre-trip history & culture immersion
The more you can learn about a country’s history & culture…. the richer your travel experiences & lifetime memories will be…. AND .… the less ‘travel anxiety’ I can almost guarantee you will have.
1. Study Country & Sites: After choosing your cruise package based on your desired sites & activities, online search (Google, Grok, etc.) go
a) country, region or city's history
b) each of your package's sites that interest you. This deeper dive will increase your excitement & appreciation of this foreign culture.
Anecdote: 5000 years of Chinese History” video: I watched & outlined Professor Ken Hammond’s, entire 18 part video lecture series. “From Yao to Mao: 5000 years of Chinese History” before my 3 month 'free independent travel' trip throughout China: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWVlOaO8gr0&list=PL-zm2mrr9onY5hrGya2DhgBn_-xUk51p3
My YouTube video of my walk along an unrestored, no-tourists Great Wall section in Eastern China, now used only by locals.
2) Read Country’s or Site’s Classic Novels: A country’s classic novels often reflect the country’s respect & love for its history & culture, kinda-like America’s “Gone with the Wind”. Such novels are a traveler’s fascinating insight into a culture & history.
Anecdote(s): Japan: Shimazaki Toson’s Before the Dawn including the Nakasendo Road. AND read 1 or 2 more classical novels
Australia: Tom Cole’s “Hell West & Crooked” about an early 1900’s ‘outback life & walkabouts’
Poland: Robert Michener’s “Poland”,
Florence, Italy’s Filippo Brunelleschi-built cathedral dome competition. Note: After 100 years without a dome, Brunelleschi finally designed & built the Duomo's 'dome-within-a-dome.'
TIP: ALWAYS carry Ship’s Name, port location and Ship’s phone number AND cash hidden carefully on your person. [pplk: Safety: Soft Crime ]
Ancedote: Really 'lost' in Rome: On my student trip to Rome, I temporarily got separated from my guide & group in a main square.
I panicked until after a while I looked far down a road leading from the square & saw them going away. Later I reflected I didn’t know our hostel's name or how to find it.
I still have bi-monthly dreams of being lost in a foreign city with no cash & no idea how to find my lodgings.
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