EVERYTHING WORTH KNOWING ABOUT CRUISING

There are 51 ocean cruise lines and 27 river cruise lines.

Cruise lines are either for sea or river, and distinct from passenger lines, which only transport passengers.

Cruise lines provide entertainment, food, tours, etc.
They carried 31.7 million passengers in 2023.

18 million from North America.
7.7 million from Western Europe.
35.7 million total expected in 2024.

Other fast-facts.

Global economic impact in 2019 = $154.5 billion.
34% of all passengers in the Caribbean and 18% in the Mediterranean.
Largest ports in million passengers per year.

Miami 5.1
Port Canaveral 4.3
Cozumel 3.9
Port Everglades 3.5
Nassau 3.3
Shanghai 3.3
Barcelona 2.5
Civitacchia 2.4

Pursuing net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
47,000 travel agent members.

#1 is Carnival Corporation, operating over 100 ships under this name, plus Holland American, Princess, Seabourn, P&O, Costa Cruises and Aida. Carries 42% of all cruise passengers, with 37.1% of total revenues.

#2 is Royal Caribbean Group, 23.6% passengers and 21.2% revenues. Owns Celebrity, Silversea and Azamara.

#3 is Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, 9.5% passengers and 12.6% revenues. Also operates Oceania and Regent Seven Seas Cruises.
#4 is MSC, 10.2% passengers and 6.5% revenues.

A few fun facts about cruising.

Nearly half of the top 30 biggest cruise ships are owned by Royal Caribbean, the largest being Icon of the Seas, which came into service in January of this year with a maximum capacity of 7600 passengers and 2350 crew.

The MV Lyubov Orlova, Russian ship.

Was built in Yugoslavia in 1976 for Antarctic use.
Taken out of service in 2010.
Became a derelict ship in the North Atlantic Ocean in 2013.
Probably sank....but maybe not,

In 1840 Cunard's Britannia had a cow that provided fresh milk.
Most cruise ships have a morgue for 3 people.
Most ships don't have a deck 13, so if happen to have a cabin on the 14th deck, guess what?

The Royal Princess uses 250,000 eggs each week.
There is a big X on Celebrity ship funnels because that is the Greek letter chi, which stands for Chandris, the group who founded Celebrity in 1988.

Not sure about the sanity of this investment, but a replica of the Titanic is being built in Australia for $600 million, to be called Titanic II, scheduled for sail in 2027.
Never been on one, too many young children running around, but Disney ships have a horn using the first seven notes of Pinocchio's When You Wish Upon a Star.

The second most expensive cruise in the world was by Silversea in 2013, on board their Silver Whisper ship. Named the Million Pound Cruise, the world voyage took part over 4 months and visited 28 different countries. On average it cost a million pounds per couple and features included: collection from your home by a helicopter, caviar and loads more fancy extras!

The most expensive?

The most expensive world cruise for a couple is offered by Regent Seven Seas Cruises and costs $1.7 million per person. The cruise includes a stay in the Regent Suite, which is a 4,443 square foot luxury apartment with a private spa, butler, and access to a personal tour guide and chauffeur. The cruise also includes first class airfare for domestic flights and business class airfare for international flights.

Here are some other details about that Regent Suite and the cruise:

The cruise will sail from Miami to New York and visit 40 countries, 6 continents, and 71 ports.
140 nights, departing on 11 January 2027.
The cruise will take place on the Seven Seas Splendor, which has nine restaurants, wellness options, cooking classes, and entertainment.
The Regent Suite includes a grand piano, Picasso art, and 14th-deck ocean views.
The Regent Suite also has a private spa with a steam room, sauna, and jetted tub.
The Regent Suite has a handcrafted Hästens Vividus mattress that retails for over $200,000.

Cruise Critic lists the nine most expensive cruises we love.

But back to the Norwegian Encore, walkway decor. Stopped for a Margarita.

Dinner at Cagney's Steakhouse.

Steaks ready to be delivered.

We went with a Cabernet Sauvignon.

An excellent Caesar's Salad. The croutons were my best ever. Added a Chardonnay.

Prime Rib and Rib Eye, with creamed spinach, truffle fries, baked potato and more.

Went to bed early. Walked only2594 steps.

Buffet lunch.

Ended with a coconut and Rocky Road cone.

We next arrive in San Francisco.

A NEXT COVID SUBVARIANT?

By now most know that the Omicron BA.5 subvariant has become the dominant infectious agent, now accounting for more than 80% of all COVID-19 cases. Very few are aware that a new one, BA.4.6, is sneaking in and steadily rising, now accounting for 13% of sequenced samples . However, as BA.4.6 has emerged from BA.4, while there is uncertainty, the scientific sense is that the latest bivalent booster targeting BA.4 and BA.5 should also be effective for this next threat. One concern is that Evusheld--the only monoclonal antibody authorized for COVID prevention in immunocompromised individuals--is not effective against BA.4.6. Here is a reference as to what this means. A series of two injections is involved. Evusheld was developed by British-Swedish company AstraZeneca, and is a t ixagevimab co-packaged with cilgavimab . More recently, Los Angeles County reported on subvariant BA.2.75.2 . which Tony Fauci termed suspicious and troublesome. This strain has also been spreading in

Part 3: OUR NEXT AROUND THE WORLD ODYSSEY

Before I get into my third, and final, part of this cruise series, let me start with some more newsworthy topics. Thursday was my pandemic day for years. Thus, every so often I return to bring you up to date on the latest developments. All these subvariants derived from that Omicron variant, and each quickly became dominant, with slightly different symptoms. One of these will shock you. There has been a significant decline in the lost of taste and smell. From two-thirds of early patients to now only 10-20% show these symptoms. JN.1, now the dominant subvariant, results in mostly mild symptoms. However, once JN.1 infects some, there seem to be longer-lasting symptoms. Clearly, the latest booster helps prevent contracting Covid. A competing subvariant, BA.2.86, also known as Pirola , a month ago made a run, but JN.1 prevailed. No variant in particular, but research has shown that some of you will begin to lose hair for several months. This is caused by stress more than anythi

HONOLULU TO SEATTLE

The story of the day is Hurricane Milton, now a Category 4 at 145 MPH, with a track that has moved further south and the eye projected to make landfall just south of Sarasota. Good news for Tampa, which is 73 miles north. Milton will crash into Florida as a Category 4, and is huge, so a lot of problems can still be expected in Tampa Bay with storm surge. If the eye had crossed into the state just north of Tampa, the damage would have been catastrophic. Milton is a fast-moving storm, currently at 17 MPH, so as bad as the rainfall will be over Florida, again, a blessing. The eye will make landfall around 10PM EDT today, and will move into the Atlantic Ocean north of Palm Bay Thursday morning. My first trip to Seattle was in June of 1962 just after I graduated from Stanford University. Caught a bus. Was called the Century 21 Exposition . Also the Seattle World's Fair. 10 million joined me on a six-month run. My first. These are held every five years, and there have only been

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