Candyce H. Stapen

Choosing the right ship for you makes a big difference in sailing the cruise of your dreams. Cruise Critic's 2017 Cruisers' Choice Awards ranked the Disney Dream as the best overall large cruise ship and the Viking Sea as the best overall small to mid-size ship. Find out how the other major cruise lines ranked.

Go to the beach for less. These three deals offer you more for your money at popular all-inclusive properties in Mexico, a luxury resort in Nevis and a trendy hotel in Miami's South Beach. But you need to act quickly. Each of these ideal summer vacation deals has an expiration date.

Lucky for beer aficionados who happen to be attending the AAO 2017 Annual Session, San Diego ranks among one of the leading U.S. destinations for craft beer. While you're in town for the conference, you'll want to make time to explore this craft brewing mecca. Popular breweries, tap houses and brew pubs include Blind Lady Ale House, Ballast Point and Hamilton's Tavern, among others.

Savor San Diego has a burgeoning food scene one that attendees of the AAO 2017 Annual Session will want to make some time to enjoy. Tasty fare can be had at fine dining establishments but also at the local taqueria or pizza place that imaginatively melds traditions and features fresh, California ingredients.

It's hard to argue with savings on airfare. But cheap tickets come with other less obvious costs, such as poor service. That's where the number-crunching gurus at Wallethub come in. The analysts there created a systematic ranking of the best and worst airlines in their annual report. When you have a choice of carriers, use this report to pick wisely.

The American Association of Orthodontists 2017 Annual Session is a little more than a week away. If you haven't figured out what you'll be doing in your down time while in San Diego, here are a few ideas. Beaches, boardwalk, baseball and Balboa Park, with its many museums, are just some of San Diego's draws. SeaWorld, LEGOLAND, and not too far away Disneyland add to the regions allure.

On the heels of the incident aboard a crowded United Airlines flight that ignited a firestorm of controversy, you need to know your rights as an airline passenger. Yes, an airline can bump you. And yes, they often intentionally overbook flights. But you are entitled to a certain amount of compensation for being inconvenienced under the law.

There's no need to leave your furry friends at home. In time for National Pet Day, discover the chain properties that are truly paw-friendly as well as the only cruise line to sail with dogs and cats onboard. These chains are as welcoming to pets as they are to their humans.

Forget about official star ratings to get the low-down on top hotels. Booking websites such as Hotels.com tout their guest-generated reviews as more genuine and telling than those created by professional and secret lodgings appraisers. Find out what real travelers like by discovering who won Hotels.com's Loved by Guests Award.

Crystal River Cruises adds luxury to the river cruise experience. Its first ship, the Crystal Mozart, plies the Danube, offering great food, well-appointed cabins and immersive shore excursions. Crystal River Cruises is scheduled to offer a few new river lines in the comping months, including the Crystal Mahler in September and the Crystal Debussy in 2018.

Add another level of entertainment to your getaway plans. Celebrate spring and summer by joining in a festival. From light shows to Native American dancers, rock bands, to barbecue and ethnic food, festivals and celebrations add fun to your vacation or getaway.

If you're looking for a scenic, outdoor adventure this summer, visit the Canadian Rockies. Zip down an Olympic bobsled run in Calgary, ride a gondola to the summit of Sulphur Mountain in Banff, and explore the trails in Banff National Park and around Lake Louise.

Stay at a tent and breakfast camp in the Alaskan wilderness, go on a guided canoe trip through Minnesota's Boundary Waters and stay in a resort in Panama the gives you rainforest adventures, and kayak trips on the canal as well as comfortable rooms.

Royal Caribbean Cruises is the latest large company to launch a tour booking site. GoBe doesn't just target cruisers. The site aims at land-based travel. Booking experiences for travelers is big business.

If you're heading to the Hinman Dental Meeting this week, drink to trendy Atlanta's southern charms at craft breweries and bars. From the more than 20 breweries and bars with beer on tap in town, pick your ambiance from rooftop gardens to brick-lined pubs and industrial decor bars. There's a brew or a cocktail for every taste in Atlanta.

Add some comfort to your airplane travel by choosing to fly from or layover at a top-ranked airport. Munich International Airport's terminal 2 is rated the best airline terminal in the world for 2017. Enjoy diverse dining, including a beer garden, as well as showers, sleep pods and quiet areas for recharging.

Take advantage of Costa Rica's eco-adventures. You can watch sea turtles nest on a moonless beach, admire scarlet macaws in the rainforest, hike through a mist-shrouded cloud forest, bike at the base of a volcano, and soak in natural hot springs. You might also see howler monkeys, sloths, flocks of parakeets and crocodiles.

Southern fried chicken with Indian spices and a dim sum style Brazilian churrascaria are just some of the tasty finds that make Atlanta a food-lover's town. If the Hinman Dental Meeting brings you to town, you're in luck. Culinary delights await you. Here are a few dining suggestions for your down time.

Buoyed by a strong dollar, the number of Americans who traveled internationally increased over a 10-month period in 2016, compared to the same time frame in 2015, according to Hotels.com. Europe continues to be popular. Hotel prices decreased significantly in London by 11 percent, in Milan by 15 percent and in Paris by 12 percent, making those destinations budget-stretchers.

Get travel inspiration for spring and summer getaways in the U.S. from Travel & Leisure's list of the Best Affordable U.S. Cities. Plentiful urban parks, plus free concerts, low-cost historic attractions, tasty cheap eats and good beer make the cities low in cost but high in fun.

A cruise is a great vacation, provided you choose the right line and ship for you. Looking for luxury plus value? U.S. News & World Report rates Celebrity Cruises as the best for the money. Traveling with kids? Disney tops the list for family cruises and U.S. News ranks Crystal Cruises as the best for couples.

The Fountain of Rings' light water and music show in Centennial Olympic Park is just the beginning. Atlanta's spirit comes through in its museums, including the top-rated High Museum of Art, and its only-in-Atlanta exploration of Civil Rights that includes the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site and the city's Center for Civil and Human Rights. Check out these sites while you're in town for the Hinman Dental Meeting, March 23-25.

Explore Alaska's wildlands via a cruise. Voyages provide easy access to the state's wild places that lack roads. Before sailing, spend time in Anchorage to learn about Alaska's Native nations and to discover Alaska's artists. Along the scenic highway from Anchorage to Seward, admire the snow-capped mountains and Arctic terns. At the Conservation Center, see eagles, black bear, bison and even a grizzly. In Seward, go dog sledding even if there's no snow.

Cruise vacations are booming, especially premium, luxury and river cruises. As a result, don't wait any longer to search for voyages for this summer. To get the cruise lines, ships, itineraries and cabins, you want, think about booking your 2018 sailings soon.

Discover the top 10 beaches in the world, according to TripAdvisor's Travelers' Choice Awards. Only one beach, Siesta Beach, Siesta Key, Florida was in the U.S. TripAdvisor rated Florida's Siesta Beach as the number one beach in the U.S. Brazil's Baia do Sancho, Fernando de Noronha, came in as the best beach in the world.

Find out which domestic airlines took off as winners and which ones were grounded as losers. The study compared airlines based on factors that included price, comfort, route size, involuntary bumping as well as baggage and change fees. Do low-cost carriers rate high and do airlines with pricier airfare rate low?

Get travel inspiration for spring and summer getaways in the U.S. from Travel & Leisure's list of the World's Best Awards. Charleston, South Carolina, ended up among the top-ranked cities, as did several other Southern destinations. Find out where your favorite destinations landed on the list.

Stretch your travel budget by taking advantage of airline and cruise deals. The deep discounts apply to spring and summer travel. The caveat: You must book almost immediately. The reward: a flight to Europe for $65 or a 7-day Mediterranean cruise for $549.

Discover the top 10 beaches in the U.S. according to TripAdvisor. The booking site recently released its Travelers' Choice Awards for beaches. Florida features seven of the winners, Hawaii has two, and Maryland has one.

It's not too late to take advantage of great deals for spring travel. This spring, Cancun, Orlando, Las Vegas, New York and Paris are among the most popular destinations for Americans, according to Expedia. The travel booking site offers an array of spring travel package deals.