Perhaps this blog post should be titled, "Why You Should Always Pay for Airfare With a Credit Card Unless You Buy Financial Default Travel Insurance."

CNN and the Herald Sun are reporting that Air Australia went into voluntary receivership yesterday, leaving passengers stranded in various places and rendering tickets for future travel valueless.

According to Air Australia's website, passengers who hold Air Australia tickets will become creditors of the airline. The only way to get your money back is to either file for a credit card chargeback (if you paid by credit card) or file a travel insurance claim, provided you purchased travel insurance that offers financial default coverage.

Unfortunately, this does not help travelers who are stranded as a result of the Air Australia shutdown. They are paying for new tickets on other airlines so they can get home.

More About: Financial Default Insurance

If you truly want to learn about the fight for racial equality and civil rights in the United States, you need to head south. Georgia, Louisiana, Alabama and the rest of the Deep South saw the worst of slavery, the joy of emancipation and the struggle for true equality - a struggle that continues today. Southern African-American heritage sites include museums, national parks, national historic trails and educational institutions. There's no better way to understand the complexities of the Civil Rights Movement than to go to the places Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., John Lewis, Rosa Parks and other civil rights leaders lived and worked.

The Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site, pictured here, is just one of many important African-American heritage sites in the southern United States.

Photo © Carol Highsmith / Buyenlarge / Getty Images

This is the highest high tide you'll ever see.

Canada's Bay of Fundy experiences two high tides and two low tides per day, six hours and 13 minutes apart. The bay's shape and the pull of the moon's gravity upon the Earth combine to create the world's highest tides. For example, this morning's high tide (5:31 A. M. Atlantic Standard Time) at Hopewell Cape was 41.3 feet, while the low tide at 12:06 P. M. will be 4.6 feet. That's a difference of 36.7 feet! The tidal differences are even higher further up the bay, at Nova Scotia's Minas Basin.

The islands you see in this photo are Hopewell Rocks' famous Flower Pot Rocks, shown here at high tide. When I returned to this spot six hours later, the view was quite different.

Visiting Hopewell Rocks is a jaw-dropping experience. The Bay of Fundy is one of the true natural wonders of the world. Take our photo tour and see for yourself.

See more Pictures of the Week at About.com.

Photo © Nancy Parode

In the aftermath of the Costa Concordia disaster, cruise industry associations have changed their rules concerning lifeboat drills, according to CNN.

Cruise lines must now hold lifeboat drills (also called "passenger musters," "muster drills" and "passenger safety drills") before a ship pulls away from the pier. In the event that passengers embark after the drill has taken place, they will receive group or individual safety briefings.

This rule change has been adopted by the Cruise Lines International Association, Passenger Shipping Association and European Cruise Council. Prior to the change, cruise lines could hold their lifeboat drills any time within the 24-hour period after embarkation.

If you are new to cruising, you may hear fellow passengers complaining about the tedious lifeboat drill experience. The drills are not that bad, especially when you think about what could happen if no one knew what to do during a cruise ship disaster.

Still concerned? Find out what to expect during your lifeboat drill.

Photo © Martin Boulanger