Travelers' Intercom

On Oct. 18, 2010, four of us left the US for an 11-day Mediterranean cruise on the Costa Cruises liner Costa Mediterranea, sailing from Savona/Genoa, Italy, to Rome and on to ports in Egypt, Cyprus, Greece and Turkey before returning to Savona on Oct. 31. My longtime girlfriend and I had a suite for $8,400.

At the beginning of the cruise, the butler who was assigned to our suite was supposed to help us get our luggage unpacked. He wasn’t there.

After the butler fouled up our first excursion in Rome, I didn’t use him anymore. I found out at 11 p.m. that an excursion he was...

Great article by Lew Toulmin in the June ’11 issue! My wife and I have crossed the Atlantic and Pacific oceans numerous times. We are in our 60s, and she usually gets motion sickness the first full day out.

I purchased Stugeron® at one place not mentioned in the article: on the ship. While sailing from Lisbon to Funchal on the Seabourn Pride in November ’09, I purchased the medication at the front desk. Even I needed it on that first day out. Stugeron® 15mg was most effective!

We always carry it on cruises, and it will be with us aboard the Seabourn Quest this October from...

In October ’08, I flew to Sydney on United and then immediately connected to a flight to Canberra on Qantas. My bag was checked “through” to Canberra, though I had to claim it, of course, and go through Customs at Sydney.

After asking three people, I discovered that there is a “Qantas domestic transfer” desk hidden away in a corner of the international terminal. I expected I could drop off my bag there, but, after waiting in line, I was told that I’d have to travel with my bags on an airport shuttle bus to one of the domestic terminals. I suppose the domestic transfer desk is only...