TLCOhio

Below is more from in and around this interesting village in India as we moved from Agra to Jaipur. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Summer 2019 Calgary, Jasper/Banff National Parks, Western Canada Rocky Mountaineer rail adventure, Vancouver, sailing up to Alaska on Silver Muse, post-cruise excursion to Denali, etc. Many visuals, Our firsts in these scenic areas! Now at 21,244 views. Live/blog: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2682584-live-terryohio-silver-muse-alaska-canadarockies-pix’s/ There was a mix of history, crafts and even agriculture in this small village. Like goats? Here are some visuals to summarize a group of them being herded and moved. Plus, an up-close view of a cute goat face only a mother would love.: (Open your screen/viewer wider to see these visuals larger/better!) Here are a couple more samples for the various crafts and items for sale in this village with its historic sites.: In traveling along this route, we saw a wide variety of motorcycles, vehicles, etc., that was used to the "max" to carry goods, people, etc.: Nearby to this village, there were a large number of "shops" along the roadways that specialized in carved stone and design pieces to be used architecturally. Interesting sights!!:

To share more from our visit to the village of Abhaneri in the Indian state of Rajasthan, it has the ruins of an ancient city as previously shown. This charming village is situated along the Jaipur-Agra Highway. We had a chance to meet and interact with several craftspeople, learn about their production means, see various finished items, etc. Hoping this weekend to complete final review of the many, many visuals taken during our "Golden Triangle" exploring and being able to get them posted here. Sorry for my delays and distractions (including to get our April 15 taxes done and filed). Don't be shy with any and all questions, comments, info needs, etc. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio From late 2018, see “Holy Lands, Egypt, Jordan, Oman, Dubai, Greece, etc.”, with many visuals, details and ideas for the historic and scenic Middle East. Now at 22,620 views. Connect at: www.boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2607054-livenautica-greece-holy-lands-egypt-dubai-terrypix’s/ In Abhaneri, here are two visuals of a craftsman using fire and his techniques to create a wide variety of colorful bracelets. Yes, my wife bought a few to take home as gifts.: (Open your screen/viewer wider to see these visuals larger/better!) These visuals show how my wife got to see "up close and personal" how weaving is done in villages in India. In the third picture, it shows the woven item we bought and that is now gracing a glass table in our family room. My wife liked how these colors would fit in that room for us at home. Plus, remember our exploring in fascinating India.: Here was a craftsman doing his pottery "magic".: Here is our skilled guide as we visited inside the home of the family who did the weaving crafts. Second is our guide with a friend of hers in this charming India village. Getting a good sampling for life in large cities and small villages was important to learn more about life in India.:

From CNN, the cable news network, and MSN News two days ago, they had this headline: “What to see at the 2024 Venice Biennale” with these highlights: “This week sees the opening of the Venice Biennale, an 8-month-long festival of art and culture staged every other year. A central show, housed in a series of sprawling industrial buildings; 88 national pavilions, most of which are located in the Giardini parkland area of the city; and finally, a series of satellite or “collateral” exhibitions and pop-up events dotted throughout the city. The main event is running from April 20 to November 24 2024. This exhibition showcases the works of over 30 emerging and established international artists (including Cindy Sherman, Louise Bourgeois, Sarah Lucas, Irving Penn) spanning the realms of painting, sculpture, photography, and film." Many artists featured during this Venice program are detailed in this article, including: "One of the most revolutionary and influential artists of the 20th century, Willem de Kooning is the subject of a major exhibition exploring his time in Italy in 1959 and 1969 and the impact it had on his work." Full story at: https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/other/what-to-see-at-the-2024-venice-biennale/ar-AA1ndX4r THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio India to Singaore 2024: Live/Blog with many visuals, including “Golden Triangle”, Japan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Malaysia: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2992045-live-terryohio-india-to-signapore-silver-moon-rising-pix’s/

From the Wall Street Journal late this afternoon, below are their charts for the most recent five days of trading. Interestingly, these three stocks moved in different ways and patterns during this past week. Especially for Royal Caribbean, it was a rather "rocky" and negative week. Not as much for the other two major cruise lines. Coming up May 1, Norwegian will be doing its quarterly report for the stock analysts. That might create some stories and headlines. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Love the Caribbean? Here are popular posts/links with around 29,000 views with much info for . . . . Barbados: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2179164-barbados-50th-birthday-our-pixs-experiences-feb2015/page/3/#comment-65530134Or, Dominica: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2169714-dominica-love-our-experience-pictures-etc/page/3/#comment-66637276 Here are the WSJ charts for the three major cruise stock during the most recent five days of trading. Is any trend clearly showing?: (Open your screen/viewer wider to see these visuals larger/better!) For added perspective, here is the overall S&P 500 index from the Wall Street Journal for the past one month period of trading. Looks like a fairly negative slide during this period, especially most recently. Right?:

Great to know you are in Manaus and sailing along the Amazon. Look forward to your keen insights, nice visuals, excellent sharing, etc. Keep it rolling!! Look forward to learning more and enjoying great entertainment. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Amazon River-Caribbean 2015 adventure live/blog starting in Barbados on the Silver Cloud for 26 days. Many visuals from this amazing river and Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, San Juan, etc.). Now at 74,904 views: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2076101-live-amazon-river-caribbean-many-pix’s-terryohio/

Nice to know, now, that their survey can and should be done on a mobile device. At the end of our late February Mumbai to Singapore Silver Moon cruise, I did "it" on the suite TV screen. Terrible, shallow and painful experience!! So much that I wanted to share to help Silversea's management fix and fine-tune their operations. Plus, salute some outstanding staff members. Wanted to give them some more, better options to complete our feed-back and help insure Silversea remains a "luxury" product. If, management wants to hear it and learn?? THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Agree 100% with Spins that this "interactive app" is terrible. Very hard on a silly TV screen to express substantive details compared to a more conventional print version. In late February 2024 in Singapore at the end of our cruise from Mumbai on the Silver Moon, I wanted to be highly detailed and very specifics. That was "MISSION IMPOSSIBLE" with this shallow, simplistic technology. Maybe the "bean-counters" in Miami and Monaco think they are so super smart and savvy with this type of technology. They can push buttons and get some data, but they are totally missing the opportunity to learn more, fix and fine-tune as needed, let customers know they are being heard, etc. Silversea management is changing, maybe, but do they really want to listen to customers who expect consistency with a promised "luxury" product at a premium price???? As noted on my live/blog, the Silver Moon is wonderful and the staff on the ship performed, overall, very well. But, a number of management decisions from the higher levels needs better focus and serious improvement. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio India to Singaore 2024: Live/Blog with many visuals, including “Golden Triangle”, Japan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Malaysia: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2992045-live-terryohio-india-to-signapore-silver-moon-rising-pix’s/

YES, in Manaus, their fish market is great and fascinating. Need to grab a couple items from there. Here is one of my visuals from being there in 2015 while on the Silver Cloud. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Amazon River-Caribbean 2015 adventure live/blog starting in Barbados on the Silver Cloud for 26 days. Many visuals from this amazing river and Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, San Juan, etc.). Now at 74,904 views: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2076101-live-amazon-river-caribbean-many-pix’s-terryohio/

While some are guessing and speculation, many, including me, have posted based on recent and actual Silversea sailing and observing in-person as to our actually experiences. As noted, most on the ship for us ranged good to excellent. BUT, other aspects show signs of management goof-ups and miscommunications from the higher administrative/finance sides of Silversea. I call it "bean-counter" errors. The stock, as detailed on another thread, for Royal Caribbean has been better than has happened with Celebrity and Norwegian. But, RCL is far from its peak three plus years ago. Still billions of debt to be recovered and much more in future new-ship costs to be financially covered, etc. Agree, much is TBD!!! THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Sydney to NZ/Auckland Adventure, live/blog 2014 sampling/details with many exciting visuals and key highlights. On page 23, post #571, see a complete index for all of the pictures, postings. Now at 249,855 views. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1896175-solstice-live-australianzhawaii-many-pix’s-jan-20-feb-3/

YES, Tokyo Station is an excellent location and handy for many options. Below is a picture from just a month ago when we were in front of this location with its nice, interesting architecture and many nearby hotels and potentials. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Canada 2022/2023: Scenic visuals, details from Canada Maritimes (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Cape Breton Island). Plus, new from Aug. 2023, exploring historic/charming Quebec City. Visual/Info Summaries: www.flickr.com/photos/196555480@N08/albums

Appreciate these above great comments and follow-up from our Bermuda friend. Well summarized!! YES, there are various pro/con, plus/minus factors involved. During our 18-days, Mumbai to Singapore experiences with Silversea and on the Silver Moon, many aspects were very good to excellent. But, there were aspects in the three-days in Mumbai where what was promised/claimed by Silversea fell significantly short. Way off and not good. Sorry to be so blunt. If you need specifics, I can provide them. Plus, some goofs in connection with the SS-provided tours during our cruise. The challenges are more with the "bean-counters" in Miami and Monaco. Those finance-types are out of touch with promised and expected "customer service" priorities. Their short-sightedness dictates policies that tarnish the brand. Overall, as someone following closely the finances of the three major cruise companies, Royal Caribbean has done better as viewed by the stock market compared to Carnival and Norwegian. BUT, RCL and the others are still far, far away from their past value peaks. And, most of the big billions of debt are still hanging over their heads. Plus, billions of dollars in new ship orders, etc. And, when does the next recession hit to affect future bookings? I understand the need to "pinch pennies", but how do they balance that with maintaining a high, superior level of service/quality. Not easy to make everyone happy?? THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio India to Singaore 2024: Live/Blog with many visuals, including “Golden Triangle”, Japan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Malaysia: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2992045-live-terryohio-india-to-signapore-silver-moon-rising-pix’s/

From the Wall Street Journal later on this Friday afternoon, below are their charts for the three major cruise lines. Overall, it was not a good week for either the cruise lines or the overall S&P 500. See the charts below. Also below is a look at Royal Caribbean during the most recent one month of trading. Not exactly a positive upswing after rising to 52-weeks high earlier in this month? Predictions for the cruise stock and/or the overall market during the rest of this month? Or, for later 2024? THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Athens & Greece: Visuals, details from two visits in a city and nearby with great history, culture and architecture. Now at 64,323 views. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1101008 Here are the WSJ charts for the three major cruise stock during the most recent five days of trading. Two of the five days for Royal Caribbean involved sharp, negative drops. Is this all about the overall market slide? Or, something else?: (Open your screen/viewer wider to see these visuals larger/better!) For the most recent one-month period, here is the RCL chart from the Wall Street Journal. Up the mountain and then, down, down?: Here is the WSJ chart for the past week with the wider S&P 500 group of stock values.:

Great above guess and speculation!! The "transition" from her husband as CEO to Barbara was fascinating and raising interesting questions. Now this?? Inquiring minds want to know more as to the "Rest of the Story"!! THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

WOW!! Big, surprising news. How much does the new CEO for Silversea understand and appreciate about "customer service" with and for a luxury brand. With a customer base of people with high expectations? Will he stand up to the "bean counters" at Royal Caribbean who want to cut corners, save pennies and not understand a different, more sophisticated audience than for the larger, mass brands? AND, what is the "rest of the story". The change was IMMEDIATE!! Barbara quickly gone in one day. The new guy from outside Silversea there instantly! No smooth transition period. Lots of unknowns and questions. Fair or unfair?? THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Next, we visited Chand Baori, a step well in the village of Abhaneri in the Indian state of Rajasthan. Extending approximately 100 feet into the ground, it is one of the deepest and largest stepwells in India. Its construction is dated back to the 8th-9th century. It has 3500 steps cascading 13 stories deep into a large tank at the bottom and has been constructed in an upside-down pyramid-style. Chand Baori is considered one of the oldest surviving step wells in the country. Also, an upper palace building was added to the site, viewed from the tabulated arches used by the Chauhan rulers. Part of that structure is shown in the first picture below. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Panama Canal? Early 2017, Fort Lauderdale to San Francisco adventure through Panama Canal. Our first stops in Colombia, Central America and Mexico, plus added time in the great Golden Gate City. Now at 33,037 views. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2465580 Here is a sampling from Chand Baori, a step well in the charming village of Abhaneri. Many interesting carved items are located at this historic site.: (Open your screen/viewer wider to see these visuals larger/better!)