THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO STREAMING SERVICES

We boarded our ship on March 9.  This is now Day 51 on our Seabourn Odyssey cruise.  We left Honolulu on March 5, but lost a day.  Then we gained it back only a few days ago.

We are moored off Lahaina.  Tomorrow, Kailua- Kona, with a return to Honolulu on Sunday.  How many of you have been on a cruise for more than 50 days?  In January of 2021 we were signed up for a 111-day around the world cruise, which was cancelled by the company.  I don't think we will ever be doing that in the future.  The worst part is the cost, aggravated by the additional $40,000+ we would need to pay 15 Craigside just to be away.

Before the pandemic, I regularly went to movie theaters and ate out at restaurants.  Television was the normal local channels, plus of course we've long had cable, so we had hundreds of choices.  I also subscribed to Netflix and Amazon Prime, and for many years paid their monthly fee, but rarely streamed.   I largely wasted more than a thousand dollars.

The pandemic drastically changed my life.  There is something about a real movie theater experience.  But for one or two films per month, you can watch ten times more of decent films and an assortment of international series.  All in the comfort of home, where the popcorn is ten times cheaper.  Then, of course, you can drink all the wine or scotch you want, at a much lower cost, and don't need to worry about any DUI arrest.

Time magazine had a recent article on the streaming wars.

• 
  Streaming firms have entered the chaos era.
• While these channels once had no ads, you more and more will need to pay more and more to keep them out.
• 
  Consumers are wondering what to do.  
• Amazon.com provides a free Prime channel for the $15 monthly fee you pay anyway.
• Netflix began in 2007 and became popular after 2010.  I think I've been paying them $10 to $15 per month for at least a decade now.  Some early years I might have watched only 10 films.  I was afraid to unlink because by connection skills are minimal.
• Their biggest draws are those series.  Many from countries like South Korea, Spain and others are fabulous.
• Not too bad with free original movies.
• Will soon make subscribers pay for sharing.
• 
  15 Craigside, where I live has free Showtime.
• But there are a lot more services out there, and I miss a lot of films and specials these days because, after they leave the movie theater, they go on to far too many sites.
• 
  Some day, when it is clear where ESPN ends up, I'll probably add that channel.  For $13/month, Disney Plus has Hulu and ESPN+.  
• 
  HBO Max, owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, is becoming a force, and has more recently broken into live sports.  On May 23 Max will have three pricing tiers, and could cost $20/month for the ultimate.  
• 
  Peacock is linked to NBC (guess what their logo represents?), a subsidiary of Comcast, and only began in 2020.
• 
  Then there is Apple TV+.
• Theoretically, you can get this for a cheaper price if you pay for Amazon Prime.  Haven't tried this yet.
• 
  Thus, when you add all the Apple and Amazon offerings (the Amazon ones are in bold print):
• Acorn TV
• A&E Crime Central
• all blk
• AMC Plus
• BBC Select
• BET Plus
• BFI Player Classics
• BritBox
• Carnegie Hall Plus
• Cinemax
• CJ ENM Selects
• Comedy Central Now
• Curiosity Stream
• Epix
• History Vault
• Lifetime Movie Club
• MGM Plus
• MTV Hits
• Mubi
• OutTV
• Paramount Plus
• PBS Living
• Showtime
• Shudder
• Smithsonian Channel Plus
• Starz
• Sundance Now
• Tastemade
• Urban Movie Channel

• 
  Mind you, you will need to pay an extra charge for most of them, including Apple TV and Prime, but accessibility is the attraction.
• A complication is that you can link to Disney+ through Apple, but not Prime.
• Ted Lasso is on Apple.

• 
  In short, Netflix and Prime were once adequate, but Disney and Apple are giants, and will more and more begin to dominate.  Ah, pay the $60/month and get all.  But why, for you don't have enough time in your day as it is.
• There are dozens more streaming channels, but I'll stop here.

Who leads?  According to this source:

• Netflix is #1 in revenue with nearly $8 billion just in the fourth quarter of last year, and #1 in subscribers with 231 million, although this is being contested.
• Amazon is a mystery.  Early last year year, said it had more than 200 million members.  They might well be #1 or #2 or #3.
• #2 is Hulu in revenues with a strange amount revenues I won't bother to mention.  #5 in subscribers with 47 million.
• 
  #3 is Disney+ in revenues with $5 billon, but could well be #1 in subscribers when you add all of Disney+ 164 million, ESPN+ 24.3 million and Hulu 47 million.  Adds up to 236 million subscribers.
• #4 in revenues is HBO Max/Discovery+, although the number is murky.  #3 in subscribers with 96 million.
• Below them are Peacock and Paramount.
• If the above is confusing, read the article.

I've barely summarized.  Go to Time for the full article.

Decider is a nice site for streaming information.  Has features like All Things Netflix and Prime, Decider After Dark, and Stream It Or Skip It.

Yesterday began with a late morning lunch lecture by John Freedman, concluding the history of Hawaii.  Growing up in Hawaii, you would think I'd know all this stuff.  But, no, he managed to re-educate me some about the period from the mid-1800s to the present.  However, it was clear that his hour talk could have gone on for another hour, for he did not say much from the day I was born.  He did end with that famous Mark Twain quote.

He has a web page that said:

Dr. John Freedman, the Lecturer, was a WOW - 

the best we have ever heard on all our cruises and beyond!

- Posted by 'DeepFreeze63' on Cruise Critic Message Board

Regent Seven Seas Voyager, Dubai to Singapore

Then, lunch.

Thought I'd have a dessert.

On the way out of lunch I noticed a boat building contest, so took a photo of a few entries.

Had an in room dinner of caviar, Caesar salad, soup and lamb chops.

Walked 3994 steps.

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