Mrs. Claypool

Yes, I freaked out when I first experienced the name mash-up, and spent pointless time trying to separate them— to no avail! But now I just ignore it and they always let me on the,plane anyway. 😄

Not to sound like a delicate little flower, but in 50 years of taking long-haul flights across the Pacific, I have never found any way to sit comfortably or sleep peacefully in Economy class. All I could do was put up with the discomfort until we finally landed. I just couldn’t make it happen until we started booking Premium Economy or Business. See if you can find a decently-priced Premium Economy flight to your destination. I think EVA’s Premium Economy class is just great. They fly to all points East, generally with a stopover in Taipei. Emily

We had the same experience on a Seabourn voyage last spring, and I had the same thoughts as you. it’s sad to hear that there have evidently been no improvements during the intervening year.

Parisi Udvar is beautiful, the food is excellent and the staff was very kind when we stayed there several years ago. If you watch the “Vienna Blood” PBS series, which take place in Belle Epoque Vienna, the two detectives often have tea in the public rooms that greydog has pictured above, as they discuss the gruesome psychological murders that they are investigating!

We have used Welcome Pickups several times to go to and from the Athens airport to Piraeus port. They provide an excellent service. Many people also recommend George’s taxi for Athens and Greece in general.

As an example, we were on the Serenity last month and we used our on-board credits to buy: 1. A lovely hat for me in the shop, 2. A bottle of connoisseur wine for my husband from the sommelier, 3. A ship’s excursion into the capital city for us both. No problems whatsoever. Emily

Definitely do your research before you leave. As pontac rightly pointed out, international business is funny. When I am eyeing an item in a foreign land, my dear husband generally says “Don’t bother. We can get the same thing cheaper at home.” And he’s usually right! Don’t even get me started about the Birkenstock sandals that I bought in Germany for $120, and then found at Costco for less than $50 when we got back home.

You can’t do better than Xuan! An excellent guide and an exemplary person. His one-day tour of HCM City was the highlight of our SE Asia cruise last year.

Mrs. Roosevelt is a personal hero of mine, but I reminded myself that I didn’t come on a European cruise just to defend her honor. So I raised my eyebrows and said “Ah!” in a noncommittal way. And then I hid behind my menu. But the good thing about the encounter was that it set the bar pretty low for all future conversation openers for first night meals. 🤣🤣🤣

I once sat down at table with an elderly woman who looked at me and snarled, “I hate Eleanor Roosevelt!” I still get twitchy, thinking about that encounter.

I just finished booking the specialty restaurants online for our Serenity June 24 sailing, and there was no Beefbar option.

We were on deck 8. Our butler brought us a bowl of potato chips at around 4 pm and left a plate of truffles for us when we came back from dinner. Since we had already had plenty of sweets, we asked him to withhold the chocolates and just bring us the afternoon chips. Which he did.

We recently came off Serenity’s 17-day voyage through the Panama Canal. We had 9 sea days during that time. A few days before the end of the cruise, and still no sign of the Grand Buffet, either on the Cove or in the Marketplace. So I asked the Hotel Director when it was scheduled to be held? ”The Grand Buffet is history,” he replied. “The present owners have no intention of reviving it.”

Uniworld. Best guides on the river!

The Classic Aquamarine also has a bathtub, I believe?