TLCOhio

Great, Randy, that you are planning a full transit of the Panama Canal. As detailed below, we did that FLL to SF sailing in 2017. It was not on a Silversea ship, but we found the Panama Canal "adventure" to be very fascinating. In preparation for this journey, I did a significant amount of prior history research and reading. Happy to share more if that background for how it "ALL" happen with this canal building would be of interest to you. Of importance, the Panama Canal was built under the supervision of the United States War Department at that time. During that period, building the Panama Canal was considered a "Wonder of the World". Not an easy project then in our construction history, plus with the challenges of that terrain and the health issues in those days for that swampy region. We also loved San Francisco at the end of our cruise and spent three extra days there. Now, however, I am not sure how enjoyable time will be there in the Golden Gate City. Things keep changing in the world. Right? 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 31,843 views. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2465580

Appreciate this potential as to what drove the sale of the Seabourn ship. On the CC Seabourn board, one of their cruise veterans suggested that parent Carnival, needing funds to pay down their huge debts, grabbed this chance to pick up some CASH. Rocky! Is that the famous movie about the Philadelphia boxer? Or, how this past week happened with cruise ship stocks? Maybe, both?? From the Wall Street Journal below are the charts showing how very challenged it was for the three major cruise ship companies. Several days of big, big drops and negative movements. Why and how? What will be next? From the New York Times late this afternoon as the lead story on their website, they had this headline: “Banking Crisis Hangs Over Economy, Rekindling Recession Fear" with this sub-headline: "Borrowing could become tougher, a particular blow to small businesses — and a threat to the recovery’s staying power.” Here are some of the top highlights from this Times reporting and analysis: “The U.S. economic recovery has repeatedly defied predictions of an impending recession, withstanding supply-chain backlogs, labor shortages, global conflicts and the fastest increase in interest rates in decades. That resilience now faces a new test: a banking crisis that, at times over the past week, seemed poised to turn into a full-blown financial meltdown as oil prices plunged and investors poured money into U.S. government debt and other assets perceived as safe. Markets calmed somewhat by the end of the week. But even if that happened, economists said the episode would inevitably take a toll on hiring and investments as banks pulled back on lending, and businesses struggled to borrow money as a result. Some forecasters said the turmoil had already made a recession more likely.” Yes, lots of questions as to the upcoming economic trends and as to how they impact consumer confidence and spending that could affect the cruise lines. Here is more from this NYT story: "The turmoil in the financial world comes just as the economic recovery, at least in the United States, seemed to be gaining momentum. Consumer spending, which fell in late 2022, rebounded early this year. The housing market, which slumped in 2022 as mortgage rates rose, had shown signs of stabilizing. By early March, forecasters were raising their estimates of economic growth and marking down the risks of a recession, at least this year. Now, many of them are reversing course. Mr. Bryson, of Wells Fargo, said he now put the probability of a recession this year at about 65 percent, up from about 55 percent before the recent bank failures." Anyone owning a good Crystal Ball to predict accurately what happens next with our challenged economy? Full story at: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/17/business/economy/economy-banks-recession.html THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Dubrovnik! Visual samples, tips, details, etc., for this super scenic and historic location. Over 49,456 views. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1439227 From the Wall Street Journal, here are their charts of the three major cruise line for the close of trading late Friday/today. Why are not things moving in the right/best direction? Today/Friday was not a positive day of trading. Cruise stocks down much, much more than what happened with the overall market.: (Open your screen/viewer wider to see these visuals larger/better!) But, it was not a just a wild week for the cruise stocks. Below shows the rocky week for the overall S&P 500 Index. Clearly the bank stock stirred the "pot" and made things very difficult. Right?:

Interesting thread, comments and follow-ups. From travel guru Gene Sloan yesterday, they had this headline: “The coolest rooms at sea? This cruise line is converting a helicopter hangar into super suites” with these highlights: “They will be suites with such commanding views that being in one will feel like being in a helicopter. Which is fitting, since the space they will occupy originally was designed for a helicopter. Luxury line Silversea Cruises on Thursday announced that it would add six super suites to the top of its new luxury expedition ship, Silver Endeavour, in a soaring space with a prime location that until now has housed a helicopter hangar. Facing the ship's wake with views in several directions, the two new master suites will measure a whopping 1,163 square feet. This doesn't include the massive balconies that measure 312 square feet.” No mention on pricing? Will I need to win the Lottery to afford these new luxury suites? Here more from his report: "With the Antarctica season now winding down, the line is moving forward with a significant overhaul of the vessel designed to make it even more luxurious than it was before." Full story at: https://thepointsguy.com/news/silversea-endeavour-cruise-ship-master-suite/ THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise from Copenhagen, July 2010, to the top of Europe. Scenic visuals with key tips. Live/blog at 246,501 views. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1172051-livesilver-cloud-norway-coastfjords-july-1-16-reports/

Appreciate all of these great comments and follow-ups. Keep it coming! From Time magazine yesterday, they had this headline: “Cruise Industry Is Back—and Breaking Pre-Pandemic Travel Records” with these highlights: “The pandemic sent the cruise industry into a 15-month shutdown. But it has gradually recovered in the time since—now ships are fully back in business, with new protocols in place. The Cruise Lines International Association forecasts that the number of passengers this year will surpass 2019 numbers—with an anticipated 31.5 million passengers embarking on cruises in 2023. For those still hesitant, Richard Simms, staff writer for Cruise Radio, notes that many lines are investing in a 'ship within a ship' concept, like 'The Haven' from Norwegian, where travelers can pay a premium for more secluded amenities like a pool, bar, and dining area. 'Those were always popular before the pandemic, but I think they might be even more popular now because you’re removed from the rest of the ship,' he says.” Here is more: "Simms says cruise lines have returned all ships to service, and many have plans to expand to attract younger customers and first-time cruisers. 'A good sign for the future of the industry is how many new ships are in the works,' says Simms. 'The industry knows it can recover.' " Full story at: https://time.com/6263225/cruise-covid-19-protocols/ THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise from Copenhagen, July 2010, to the top of Europe. Scenic visuals with key tips. Live/blog at 246,501 views. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1172051-livesilver-cloud-norway-coastfjords-july-1-16-reports/

Appreciate, J.P., you sharing ALL of these amazing details about your sailing from Bali to Singapore. Love the food, wine, adventure, etc., details and visuals. Clearly, you are "suffering" so very, very much. Such challenges?? Will you survive? Look forward to any and all details from your visit to Singapore, what you loved most there, etc. Keep up the great sharing!! THANKS! Enjoying! Terry in Ohio

Appreciate, J.P., you pointing me in the right direction to access your amazing collection of world-wide visuals, plus your latest updates for this adventure in an amazing part of the world, including Bali, Indonesia, etc. Look forward to any and all details from your visit to Singapore, what you loved most there, etc. Keep up the great sharing!! THANKS! Enjoying! Terry in Ohio

What is really happening with one of Silversea's top luxury competitors? It's shrinking Seabourn!! From MSN News and key travel website writer Gene Sloan this afternoon, they had this headline: “One of the world’s best-known luxury cruise brands to shrink in size with ship sale” with these highlights: “Another major cruise line is downsizing in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Luxury line Seabourn on Thursday announced it had sold one of its six vessels — the 458-passenger Seabourn Odyssey — to a Japanese company that offers cruises aimed at the Japanese market. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines will charter the vessel back to Seabourn for the next 17 months. Seabourn can continue offering all the departures that are currently on Seabourn Odyssey’s schedule. No sailings will be canceled. Seabourn Odyssey’s last voyage for Seabourn is now Aug. 22, 2024. First unveiled in 2009, Seabourn Odyssey is the oldest of Seabourn’s six vessels. It has sailed for the line for all its 14 years in service.” Surprising? Seabourn is owned by Carnival, the biggest of the BIG. But, do they have too many ships and/or do they see competition getting tighter with several new luxury lines starting up, plus Silversea adding more new ship, etc.? Any speculation? Full story at: https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/one-of-the-world-s-best-known-luxury-cruise-brands-to-shrink-in-size-with-ship-sale/ar-AA18Izfa THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Kotor/Montenegro: Various visual samples, tips, details, etc., for this scenic, historic location. Over 50,448 views. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1439193

As detailed earlier this morning, today ended up being a very negative day for the cruise ship companies from Wall Street's perspective. From the chart below for Royal Caribbean, it shows their stock was down nearly 4% today. As one point today, RCL dropped down to only about $60 a share. Carnival finished down 3.8% and Norwegian dropped negative 3.3%. Yes, the overall market was down today, but it was not nearly as big of a drop as hit the cruise stocks. Then, most surprising to me, the overall travel/leisure/hospitality group of stocks were down -6.1%. Ouch!! Investors see things over the horizon that they do not like?? Right or wrong? But, maybe, here's good news from this web financial website analysis with this headline: "Royal Caribbean Upgraded to Buy: Here's What You Should Know." Here are some of their highlights for why: "Investors might want to bet on Royal Caribbean, as it has been recently upgraded to a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). This rating change essentially reflects an upward trend in earnings estimates. The Zacks rating relies solely on a company's changing earnings picture. This cruise operator is expected to earn $3.30 per share for the fiscal year ending December 2023, which represents a year-over-year change of 144%. Analysts have been steadily raising their estimates for Royal Caribbean. Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company has increased 13.7%." Is this good speculation? Or, not? Full report at: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/royal-caribbean-rcl-upgraded-buy-160004360.html 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 50,769 views. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1101008 From the Wall Street Journal, here is their RCL chart for the close of trading late Wednesday/today. Are things moving in the right direction?: (Open your screen/viewer wider to see this visual larger/better!)

From the Arizona Republic newspaper this morning, they had this headline: “St. Barts: Idyllic Caribbean hideaway isn't just for the rich and famous.” with these highlights: “This chic and sophisticated French island in the Caribbean 110 miles east of Puerto Rico isn’t just a playground for the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Jeff Bezos, Paul McCartney and the Kardashians. It’s also emerged as a travel destination where the not-so-rich and famous can experience a little taste of French joie de vivre without crossing the Atlantic. Nothing matched the charisma of St. Barts. The island offers some of the best white-sand beaches in the Caribbean, gourmet dining, a downtown full of luxury boutiques and upmarket jewelry stores and dozens of multimillion-dollar superyachts anchored in its harbor — evocative of the French Riviera.” Here is more from this story: "St. Barts doesn’t attract hordes of tourists like some of its neighboring islands. There are no direct flights from the United States or Europe, no high-rise hotels and its harbor is too small for mega-cruise ships. Just how small? St. Barts is only 8.5 square miles. It takes just over an hour — without stops — to circle the entire island via car. " Full story at: https://www.azcentral.com/story/travel/destinations/2023/03/15/st-barts-oceania-cruises/69994469007/ THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio AFRICA?!!?: Fun, interesting visuals, plus travel details from this early 2016 live/blog. At 53,792 views. Featuring Cape Town, South Africa’s coast, Mozambique, Victoria Falls/Zambia and Botswana's famed Okavango Delta. www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2310337

Yes, the NE got hit hard with the snow this week. Below is a picture from yesterday morning here in Central Ohio for what I observed from our family room door. We had the "snow look", but it was only, fortunately, a "frosting" so we did not have the more serious challenges that happen with inches and inches of the white stuff. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Appreciate the great funnies and follow-ups this week at the Cooler. Keep it coming! Great posts, pix's and details from Chris and JP from your exciting Asian sailing. Seems exciting. Look forward to see more, including about the food on your ship, details for Ponant, etc. Yes, the NE got hit hard with the snow this week. Below is a picture from yesterday here in Central Ohio. We had the nice "snow look", but it was only, fortunately, a "frosting" so we did not have the more serious challenges that happen with inches and inches of the white stuff. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Appreciate the kind follow-ups from R&T, etc. From the Wall Street Journal in the first hour+ of stock trading this morning, the three cruise line companies are all down 3-4%. Lots of other questions and challenges with stocks this week, especially focused on the banking sector. Right now, the lead headline at the Wall Street Journal is: "Market Stress Snarls Treasury Trading" with this sub-headline: "Traders say it is as hard to make a deal as it was in the early stages of Covid." Here are some of their reporting highlights: "The markets for the world’s safest and most liquid assets, the government bonds issued by the U.S. and other rich countries, are coming under immense stress on Wednesday following a week of worries about the health of global banks. Liquidity, the capacity to trade quickly at quoted prices, has fallen sharply in two of the keystone markets, those for U.S. Treasurys and German bunds, traders said." Full story at: https://www.wsj.com/articles/market-stress-snarls-treasury-trading-a84a5417 This thread is now over 100,000 views. Glad there is interest for keeping an eye on these various issues and questions related to the major cruise line operators. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Amazon River-Caribbean 2015 adventure live/blog starting in Barbados. Many visuals from this amazing river and Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, San Juan, etc.). Now at 71,109 views: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2076101-live-amazon-river-caribbean-many-pix’s-terryohio/

Appreciate ALL of these various comments and follow-ups. Agree with highplanesdrifters about the lack of these areas having no-one in charge of and responsible for watching "RISK MANAGEMENT"! Huge failures!! In the first 90 minutes of trading today, the three cruise stocks have rebounded a little. But, the markets are still trying to figure out of these challenged economic factors. Who knows what is next??? From the New York Times this morning, they had this headline from a media source that is not considered as very conservative: “Was This a Bailout? Skeptics Descend on Silicon Valley Bank Response." with this sub-headline: "The government took drastic action to shore up the banking system and make depositors of two failed banks whole. It quickly drew blowback.” Here are a few of their analysis/reporting highlights: “A sweeping package aimed at containing damage to the financial system in the wake of high-profile failures has prompted questions about whether the federal government is again bailing out Wall Street. And while many economists and analysts agreed that the government’s response should not be considered a “bailout” in key ways, many said it should lead to scrutiny of how the banking system is regulated and supervised.The reckoning came after the Federal Reserve, Treasury and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation announced Sunday that they would make sure that all depositors in two large failed banks, Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, were repaid in full.” Yes, as an editorial today in the Wall Street Journal details, former Congressman Barney Frank is on the board and highly paid by the failed Signature Bank. He was the co-author of the Dodd-Frank Bill that was supposed to stop these abuses, etc. Also in this NY Times analysis, they detailed: "While the definition of 'bailout' is ill defined, it is typically applied when an institution or investor is saved by government intervention from the consequences of reckless risk-taking. The term became a swear word in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, after the government engineered a rescue of big banks and other financial firms using taxpayer money, with little to no consequences for the executives who made bad bets that brought the financial system close to the abyss. Monday’s action by the government was a clear rescue of a range of financial players. Banks that took on interest-rate risk, and potentially their big depositors, were being protected against losses — which some observers said constituted a bailout." There is one absolute fact for sure: The cruise lines will not get bailed out by the Federal government and/or the banking system. They have their billions of dollars in high-interest debt and will have to dig out slowly. And, hope any future, upcoming recession is not too deep or long. Having big deposits and advanced payments with cruise companies carries certain risks and questions. We all have to be our own "risk managers". No Federal bail-outs for us as the "little people". Remember what happened with certain Crystal customers? Right or wrong? Full story at: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/13/business/economy/svb-bailout-questions.html THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Venice: Loving It & Why??!! Is one of your future desires or past favorites? See these many visual samples for its great history and architecture. This posting is now at 101,759 views. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1278226

For what it is worth in the first hour of the NY stock market being open, the value of Royal Caribbean dropped down to $63.98. That is a -4.31% decline. All three of the cruise stocks fell in a similar pattern, a much deeper decline than hit the overall market this am. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Appreciate these great comments, follow-ups and sharing from the smart and savvy R&T. Very good and helpful. From that Wall Street Journal editorial this morning, they had some of these key points and highlights: “A nationwide guarantee for uninsured deposits, even for a limited time, means this will become the default policy any time there is a financial panic. There’s also a question of the legality of such a guarantee. The FDIC created a 'transaction account guarantee' program amid the 2008 panic, but Congress explicitly let it expire in Dodd-Frank. Congress set the $250,000 insured limit to protect average Americans, not venture investors in Silicon Valley.” There is a "claim" that this current action does not involve taxpayer money. Even on MSNBC this am, they were saying that hopeful policy statement stretches the "truth" somewhat. Also, if hedge funds, tech risk artists and crypto firms with potential losses above $250K per account at these banks are bailed out, is that really legal and/or smart longer-term? Lots of serious questions and uncertainty that will probably drive down the stock market for the future? How will cruise stocks and their shaky finances be affected. Customers at these failing banks above that $250,000 limit knew their risks!! At a time when the Fed were raising interest rates, that failed bank was borrowing short-term from its. depositors. But, then they were lending long-term, without any interest-rate hedging. Who pays for that lack of supervision and poor management? Full editorial at: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-silicon-valley-bank-bailout-chorus-yellen-treasury-fed-fdic-deposit-limit-dodd-frank-run-cc80761e?mod=hp_opin_pos_1 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 242,419 views. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1896175-solstice-live-australianzhawaii-many-pix’s-jan-20-feb-3/

Ouch!! Agree that Silicon Valley Bank failure hurts the overall financial confidence and raises more serious longer-term questions. Not Jim Cramer's finest hour, nor his best tip!!! A Wall Street Journal headline late today noted: "Bank failure is second biggest in U.S. history, rattling investors." Here was one of their reporting highlights: "The bank is the 16th largest in the U.S., with some $209 billion in assets as of Dec. 31, according to the Federal Reserve. It is by far the biggest bank to fail since the near collapse of the financial system in 2008, second only to the crisis-era collapse of Washington Mutual Inc." Full story at: https://www.wsj.com/articles/svb-financial-pulls-capital-raise-explores-alternatives-including-possible-sale-sources-say-11de7522 From the Wall Street Journal late Friday afternoon, below are the charts for the three major cruises lines. Clearly, things finished in a down, DOWN manner. With the chart shown below for the S&P 500 during the past five trading days, it was an overall negative trend. When and if will things starts to turn around? THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise from Copenhagen, July 2010, to the top of Europe. Scenic visuals with key tips. Live/blog at 246,401 views. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1172051-livesilver-cloud-norway-coastfjords-july-1-16-reports/ From the Wall Street Journal, here are the charts for the three major cruise ship lines during the past five trading days. It was not a "roller-coaster" week of ups and downs. It was just a straight slide downhill!! Right?: (Open your screen/viewer wider to see these visuals larger/better!) For the past month, here has been the movements, mostly negative, affecting Royal Caribbean.: During the past five trading days, this WSJ chart shows the negative slide for this major sampling for broad-based stock market values.:

Very good posts on charts, curves, etc., from R&T, highplanesdrifters, Mr Luxury and Catlover54, Keep it coming!! From the Wall Street Journal late yesterday, some "things" has been happening that is not good for the cruise ship stocks since Monday morning. Later today, I will have a more complete weekly summary with charts for all three cruise companies. . As example that you can see below is the WSJ chart for Royal Caribbean. Since Monday at $75.60, RCL has gone, down, DOWN to $68.25 late yesterday. That's a three and a half day drop of nearly 10%. Kind of like real money? The other two major cruise lines suffered accordingly. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Great family history and enjoyable follow-up from Randy. Yes, as we get older and money is now always flowing as quickly, we get a little more "conservative" as to what we book, like and/or can afford. For us a verandah is nice, but not always "worth it" for the added costs. On smaller, easy-to-navigate-quickly ships such as with Silversea, we can do a Vista and have some added money to re-allocate towards certain excursions in a better, more creative manner. Funny and true history from Mr. Luxury about "Can you put your phone down I need to make an urgent call." From a financial news website and MSN News early this afternoon, they had this headline: “Here's What Royal Caribbean Has Cut Since Its Covid Restart” with these highlights: “Royal Caribbean has made some big cuts that passengers may not be happy about. Royal Caribbean made some major dining cuts and some that were more subtle. The smaller changes include minor cutbacks like using smaller shrimp in Chops and cutting the size of the sushi roll portion in half when passengers order the fixed-price menu at Izumi. The biggest dining change, however, was a massive overhaul of the cruise line's main dining room menu. This wasn't a tweak or cutting the size of portions. Royal Caribbean basically got rid of its past menus and created new ones. Now, each night has a theme like 'Italian,' 'Mexican,' or 'American Favorites.' That's a change, but it's not the big one. Along with offering nightly themes, Royal Caribbean also got rid of its 'Classics' selections. It removes some passenger favorites from the nightly menu and offers fewer choices on a nightly basis. Royal Caribbean has also now charges for a second lobster tail (and any after that). Guests will pay $16.99 plus an 18% gratuity for each lobster tail they ask for after the first one.” Here is more from this report: "Royal Caribbean room attendants no longer leave a printed copy of the 'Cruise Compass' daily schedule in your room. On some ships copies can be requested while on others no printed edition exists at all." Hopefully with Silversea does not follow too closely these food cut-back and less selection/quality trends as are being tried/done with its parent Royal Caribbean's mass-market sailing lines. YES, I am kind of "old-fashioned" in liking to have that printed summary for the next day to review and soak-up after returning in the evening after dinner and entertainment. Plus, I like to save those daily summary to do up any live/blog summaries, answer future questions, etc. Full story at: https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/heres-what-royal-caribbean-has-cut-since-its-covid-restart/ar-AA18kDkF THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Barcelona/Med: June 2011, with stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Great visuals with key highlights, tips, etc. Live/blog now at 256,133 views. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1362155-solstice-livefirst-timer-reportspix’s-italycroatian-june-7-19/

Appreciate the great photographic background and follow-up from Dave about the challenges with sports photography. Saturday, we were down in central Virginia for a soccer game with our ten-year-old grandson. FORTUNATELY, it was a super sunny Saturday and we were not inside with those high ISO challenges. Lighting was great and makes such an amazing difference. Could shoot at a good ISO setting and benefitted from the ability of better cameras to shoot multiple frames with quick auto-focus helping much. Below are some of the soccer game visual results. Also, for those who have not learned the top photo rule. Shoot lots of pictures and only share the "good ones". In shooting sports with fast action, you must anticipate what happens next and capture lots of images to find those few "magic moments" that are good and exciting. Used my Nikon D7200 with 55-300 mm lens, many shot at ISO 640, f11, 1/800. Doesn't bright sunshine help so much? THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise from Copenhagen, July 2010, to the top of Europe. Scenic visuals with key tips. Live/blog at 246,401 views. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1172051-livesilver-cloud-norway-coastfjords-july-1-16-reports/ From a soccer tournament in Fredericksburg, Va., Saturday, below are a few examples of our ten-year-old grandson in action wearing green during two different games. They won both games and went on to the Sunday championship game.: (Open your screen/viewer wider to see these visuals larger/better!)

As add proof that Spring is coming early for this part of the U.S., I have some visual "evidence" as shown below. Here in Central Ohio, for a Midwest location, the weather continues mild and very nice. Mostly sunny!!! Can you believe two days above 70F in the past six days!!! How are things in Canada and the Northeastern U.S.? We are not Florida in our part of Ohio, but doing well for early March. 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 242,419 views. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1896175-solstice-live-australianzhawaii-many-pix’s-jan-20-feb-3/ As an example for how Spring has arrived so early here in our part of the Midwest, below are some of our daffodils in full bloom in early March. You can also see that part of our front lawn is fairly green for this time of the year. Amazing weather?: (Open your screen/viewer wider to see these visuals larger/better!) Over this past weekend, we were down in central Virginia for visiting with our grandsons, family there. It was great, this early, to see so many trees fully flowering. Another sign to prove an early and nice Spring!!:

Appreciate this excellent dining tip for Singapore. Am looking seriously at a Silver Moon February 2024 Mumbai to Singapore, 18-day sailing. Would stay a little extra at the end for an our first time in Singapore. Have saved this Dr. Ron suggestion for Singapore. Look forward to J.P. providing details and visuals from that dining experience. Have the sense that many on these Silversea boards will be able to share many great suggestions for such exciting locations as Singapore, in India, etc. As add proof that Spring is coming early for this part of the U.S., I have some visual "evidence" as shown below. 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 242,419 views. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1896175-solstice-live-australianzhawaii-many-pix’s-jan-20-feb-3/ As an example for how Spring has arrived so early here in our part of the Midwest, below are some of our daffodils in full bloom yesterday afternoon in early March. You can also see that part of our front lawn is fairly green for this time of the year. Amazing weather?: (Open your screen/viewer wider to see these visuals larger/better!) Over this past weekend, we were down in central Virginia for visiting with our grandsons, family there. It was great, this early, to see so many trees fully flowering. Another sign to prove an early and nice Spring!!:

Super congratulations to Dr. Ron and very much appreciate the wonderful French dining pictures. Excellent all around. Lovely and very tasty. Making me hungry. Here in Central Ohio, for a Midwest location, the weather continues mild and very nice. Mostly sunny!!! Below is the AccuWeather chart for the current week and showing the previous week, too. Can you believe two days above 70F in the past six days!!! How are things in Canada and the Northeaster U.S.? We are not Florida in our part of Ohio, but doing well for early March. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio From AccuWeather for Central Ohio, here is our weather for the current period and upcoming. Look good for the Midwest in early March?:

Appreciate these great comments and follow-ups from highplanesdrifters. Good to look at historical data and then try to guess and speculate for future trends. Maybe? From the Wall Street Journal today, below is the three-year summary chart for the broad-based S&P 500 stock index. On March 18, 2020, this key index was down to 2305 as the start of the Covid shut-down that depressed the overall market. Things came back, but then flattened out during 2022. At the end of December 2021, this S&P 500 index peaked at 4791. That has been a 15% loss/drop during the most recent fourteen months. Where for the rest of this year? Will cruise ship stocks be riding that future trend, up or down?? THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio AFRICA?!!?: Fun, interesting visuals, plus travel details from this early 2016 live/blog. At 53,792 views. Featuring Cape Town, South Africa’s coast, Mozambique, Victoria Falls/Zambia and Botswana's famed Okavango Delta. www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2310337 From the Wall Street Journal, here is their chart for the past three years for the trends and movements of the S&P 500 Index.: (Open your screen/viewer wider to see this visual larger/better!)

For Mr. Banjo, the "GOOD NEWS" is that we can remember those details and specifics from the past in our "Way-Back" memory brains. Really loved Catlover54 saying: "Having an inside cabin with no window, and very little room to move about, much less room to let DH set up his cruise photography and computer equipment, and my small pharmacy, would not be very enjoyable." The good news for me is that I can do it "ALL" on my laptop. I can get up early, go elsewhere on the ship, open my laptop and being quickly set-up to edit pictures, post, write on Cruise Critic, surf the web, etc. Like Silversea as the ships are smaller, easier to quickly move around, have many comfortable locations to sit down and enjoy, etc. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

From the Wall Street Journal, below are the charts for the three major cruise lines during this past week. Especially on Tuesday, it was a "weak week" for Norwegian as their release of fourth quarter and year-end data disappointed the financial experts and stock market players. See below. From the Wall Street Journal this morning, they had this headline: “Cuts at Amazon, Other Tech Companies Don’t Spell Recession Yet" with this sub-headline: "Slowing corporate profits, rising rates are warnings signs amid a slump in tech and property activity.” Here are a couple of their reporting highlights: “Amazon.com Inc.’s halt to construction of a new headquarters, on top of a parade of high-profile tech layoffs, looks ominous for the economy. But the damage will need to spread much further to signal full-blown recession. When the U.S. has entered recession in the past, weakness has often started in one sector and then spread like brushfire, pulling down a widening array of industries and the people who work in them. Downturns in 2001 and 2007-09 were apt examples.” The stock market and consumers are on "Recession Watch". Hopefully, it will not happen and/or be short and shallow. Any good predictions and guesses? Here was a positive point from this WSJ article: "A close read of recent history is more reassuring. Some industry fires don’t spread. In 2015, a fracking bust took down the energy sector but the economic expansion went on to become the longest on record." Full story at: https://www.wsj.com/articles/cuts-at-amazon-other-tech-companies-dont-spell-recession-yet-244c992c?mod=hp_lead_pos2 THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Amazon River-Caribbean 2015 adventure live/blog starting in Barbados. Many visuals from this amazing river and Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, San Juan, etc.). Now at 71,083 views: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2076101-live-amazon-river-caribbean-many-pix’s-terryohio/ From the Wall Street Journal, below are the stock charts for the three major cruise lines during the past week. Tuesday was a bad day, especially for Norwegian!! Then, some recovery came later in the week as the overall market was lifted. Correct?: (Open your screen/viewer wider to see these visuals larger/better!) Since the start of 2023, here has been the trend for Royal Caribbean during the past two-plus months. Mostly upward and overall positive?: