THIS JUST IN
Cruise refunds for layoffs
Are you too worried about the possibility of losing your job to book a vacation? Cruise companies are hoping to offer travelers a little extra assurance with refund plans that can be used in the event of a layoff. Norwegian Cruise Line's new BookSafe Travel Protection Plan refunds cancellation fees for cruises departing after May 1. To qualify, passengers must be involuntarily terminated from a job they've held for at least one year. CruiseOne and Cruises Inc., the nation's largest cruise retailer, also announced a CruiseAssurance plan for passengers who purchase entry-level travel insurance. The plan covers any cruise on any line booked between March 1 and May 2. Passengers need to present termination letters to qualify.
ELIZABETH LARSEN
OPENING
Aztec culture hits Chicago
If you are headed to Chicago, check out "The Aztec World," the Field Museum's comprehensive survey of Aztec culture, which for more than two centuries held sway over some 10 million people in what is now Mexico. The exhibition, which includes more than 300 objects, highlights Aztec achievements in art, agriculture, trade and cosmology. Open through April 19 (1-312-922-9410; www.fieldmuseum.org).
BOSTON GLOBE
BOOK BRIEF
Beat plane boredom
If you're the kind of person who likes to distract yourself during flights, "747 Things to Do on a Plane" (Adams Media; $10.95) will come in handy. As the title promises, author Justin Cord Hayes lists 747 things you can do to keep yourself occupied. They range from writing a screenplay (really, how hard can it be?) to playing a game of solitaire to listing every book you've ever read to listing every song you've ever heard to memorizing one of Shakespeare's soliloquies to reading "The Canterbury Tales" in Middle English. Now there's a real and fun challenge.
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
TRENDSPOTTING
Airstream goes camping
Three campgrounds across the United States have gotten new tenants, but campers need not be jealous of their shiny silver neighbors; the Airstream rigs are for rent. Kampgrounds of America Inc. and Airstream Inc. have placed 25 of the company's most popular model trailers at KOA campgrounds in Las Vegas; Bar Harbor, Maine, and Key West, Fla., letting travelers rent the trailers like hotel rooms. The rentals come stocked with linens and kitchenware. For more information, visit www.airstream.com.
ASSOCIATED PRESS