Seattlest reader Anne asks, "Is Seattle the new Cozumel?" Seems because of the swine flu, cruise lines are giving Mexico a wide berth. Anne notes that Carnival cruise line's Cinco de Mayo cruise to Mexican Riviera has been rerouted--Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Cabo San Lucas have been replaced with San Francisco, Seattle, and Victoria, B.C., as ports of call. (This raises the question of which port we're analogous to. Cabo? Or is Victoria more that kind of fantasy tourist haven?) Same with Princess. Consumerist has the surprise cruise story, noting that the fine print covers the reshuffling. What it doesn't cover, of course, is the fact that the flu has already made it to Seattle and San Francisco. more ›

It was an interesting story, but Discover Magazine posted an even more compelling version, complete with horrifying medical details and a zinger of an ending. more ›

We have no idea what their customer service is like, because we long ago left them for WSECU and USAA. But a nightmarish account by one customer, Krissy, manages to make having a barcode stapled to your head seem like a relatively pleasant experience. Her purse was stolen in October, she contacted WaMu to safeguard her accounts -- and she's still dealing with multiple screwups on their end, three months later.:

I wrote my letter, faxed it and mailed it, and naturally, heard nothing. Then on December 31st, I signed online to check up on things. And that very day, there was a whopping credit-reversal in my late checking account, putting it into the negative for hundreds of dollars. I. Was. PISSED. No scratch that -- I *am* pissed, as here I sit on January 9th, 2008 and STILL haven't gotten my credit back -- despite calling Risk Operations and being told "Oh how funny! We received your letter the same day as the credit reversal. Sorry 'bout that. But don't worry, once they process everything they should reissue the credit to the account."

Not long after we linked to the Consumerist story on Karen's difficulties with Coinstar, we got an email from George White in their PR department. George wanted to give Karen her money back, but needed to get in touch with her -- something we, unfortunately, couldn't help with. However, George also wrote to Consumerist, who were happy to update the story today with a heartwarming conclusion: We've sent George Karen's email address. Big props to... more ›

Today Consumerist related a tale of woe from Karen, who fell victim to a technical gitch while using a Coinstar machine:

Karen emptied a sock filled with $33.04 in coins down the steel throat of a Coinstar machine. Coinstar allows her to funnel the change into an Amazon gift certificate: this would allow her to convert all of her cash without the usual percentage Coinstar takes from the top. more ›