Well, we boarded the Viking Octantis, Pier 90, Manhattan.  Check-in was easy.  We thought maybe something went wrong, for we were among only a very few passengers at check-in. Had lunch on the ship. The ship departed at around 4:45PM. Crossed uner the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. After a while we walked over for dinner, but first stopped for some violins, In the main dining room, every night there is a sushi bar.  As our reserved meal tomorrow will be Italian, we had a Japanese dinner. There was also an adjacent bar of crustaceans. A portion of my meal, with hot sake and Glenfiddich on rocks, Walking away from the sushi bar, we saw a noodles bar, so overstuffed ourselves with a bowl. Stopped to listen to a duo. The Viking Octantis will be on a 12-day cruise to Toronto. As you know, this trip we're on features two cruises.  About that first one, I stumbled across a  video showing Cabin 333 on the American Melody riverboat,   This is a 350 square feet stateroom ...

 There seems to be a stalemate with Iran about war or peace.   The U.S. now has blocked the Strait of Hormuz, with the WTI price of petroleum stabilizing at around $93/barrel.   The Dow Jones Industrial Average shot up past 50,000 in February, but had already settled to around 49,000 just as the war began, dropped further to 46,500 at the beginning of April, but rose to 48,218 yesterday, and seems to be settling at around that number, awaiting further news. Gold hit an all-time high of $5,589/oz on January 28, dropped to $5,200/oz as the Iran war began, and has settled to $4,800/oz this month. Iran offered to delay nuclear development for five years, but the U.S. is demanding 20 years, I've long felt that invasion of Kharg Island was the key to disabling Iran into the future,   Watch this video ,  Why here?  Read  Wikipedia. The Marriott Marquis charges a lot because of its location at Times Square,  However, we are provided free se...