First a, few news items: Today is Labor Day, a national holiday in the USA and Canada on the first Monday of September.  Banks, Post Offices, stock markets and schools are closed.  You can still go out to eat and shop. The U.S. war with Iran has escalated. Exchanges of fire. Strait of Hormuz remains mostly closed. No peace talks have been scheduled. Oil prices remain high, as Brent Crude oil hit a recent peak of $98 earlier today. U.S. gasoline prices reached a record-high national average of $4.15/gallon for the Labor Day weekend.  The previous high was $3.82/gallong in 2012. The Russo-Ukraine War continues with battles and drone exchanges.   It has been 1,656 days since Russian invaded Ukrain on 24February2022.  4,482 days since Russia began occupying Crimeaw on February 20, 2014. While the Trump administration has made efforts to bring those countries together, they have failed. This war will continue if Russia and Ukraine can't agree of land concession...

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,...