Today, we come towards the end of a week of profound sorrow as we mourn the death of His Royal Highness Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh, and a week of great joy as we celebrate the continuing success of our vaccine roll out programme with pubs and restaurants now open for outdoor service—for the first time in months. This positive step also keeps us on track as we count down to Monday 17th May, when all pubs, restaurants, hotels and B&Bs will be allowed to re-open! That will be a real red-letter…

Riviera River Cruises has announced that all guests boarding its ships when European river cruising restarts will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or present a negative test prior to travel. Guests who aren’t fully vaccinated will be offered a complimentary COVID-19 test to allow them to depart on their cruise. The requirements will also apply to crew members, who will have additional daily temperature checks and ongoing health…

I sure am looking forward to the return of cruising. I love the sea, a good meal, and a great mojito—topped off by some interesting entertainment and conversation. But, four weeks after being fully vaccinated and starting to travel again, I’m really just pining for some good old-fashioned customer service.

I’ve been following the typical post-vaccine travel pattern: Two brief land excursions with family, then one domestic airline flight, on Delta, my favorite airline, with the empty middle seats. True, I haven’t yet gone to a luxury hotel or one of the all-inclusives in Mexico and the Caribbean, where I hear staff has been jumping through hoops to make guests feel welcome. But here in the US, I’m feeling concerned that our customers, eager as they…