Koper, Slovenia, was one of our last ports on a May-June ’11 cruise aboard the Nautica of Oceania Cruises (800/531-5619). Most of our shipmates who stayed in town or went on the ship’s tours were disappointed in this port of call, but our group of seven had a wonderful day. I would say it was one of my favorite ports, but, with an itinerary that included Istanbul, Kus¸adası, Kotor, Dubrovnik and Venice, that would be a stretch.

My wife, Susan, and I normally go off on our own, hiring...

I had read about a taxi service in Bangkok, Thailand, owned by a woman, Rat Service (phone [66] 08 9108 2170, e-mail rat_bkk@yahoo.com), and decided to book her for my arrival transfer in November ’11. I contacted her a month ahead.

On our drive into central Bangkok, we talked, and I booked her for the following day for sightseeing and shopping.

Rat charges THB800 (about $25) for an airport-hotel transfer (she’ll wait for you in the arrivals hall with your name on a sign) and...

It was chilly in early May 2010 when I first visited Riva del Garda, Italy. It also rained almost the entire time. In 2011 I chose to arrive a couple of weeks later, May 19-21, and what I found was sunshine!

Rovereto is the train stop for Riva. From there, you take either a bus, which drops you in town (so you still have to get yourself to the hotel), or a taxi. I called efficient and English-speaking Christiano Toffola of Taxi 2 Taxi Rovereto (phone +39 33 88 445 445) and the ride...