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,...

Anyone know where  Saint Lucia  is located?  It is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean with a population of 180,000, and a member of the United Nations.   Julien Alford is 23 and yesterday won a gold medal for the 100 meter event, the first for Saint Lucia .  She is 5'7" tall.  U.S. women's speedster Sha'Carri Richardson is 5'1".  Alford could well become the next female version of  Usain Bolt . You should remember him.  He is an 8-time Olympic gold medalist and the world record holder in the 100 m, 200 m and 4x100 m relay.  From Jamaica, won both the 100 m and 200 m Olympic races in 2008, 2012 and 2016.  An eleven-time World Champion.  While he is 6'5" tall, and Alford is only 5'7", she seems a lot bigger than most of the finalists in the Paris sprint races.   Watch  Taylor Swift narrate a new promo for NBC --featuring her  Style --paying tribute to Team USA's finest:  Si...

Today, our cruise on the Queen Mary 2 from Southampton to New York City, actually, Brooklyn.  A few things about Cunard. Has been sailing for 184 years.   Founded by Sir Samuel  Cunard  to provide transatlantic service in 1840 with the Britannia He was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1787.  His father fled the American Revolution because he was a Loyalist to the British Crown. By 1900, Cunard advertised their ships as floating palaces, and shared design features similar to The Ritz. Lusitania and Mauretania had revolutionary steam engines, where the first ship to shore by Marconi wireless transmission was made on them. The Lusitania was sunk by a German-U-boat killing 1195 people in 1915, leading to the U.S. joining World War I. When the Titanic sank in 1912, Cunard's Carpathia arrived to rescue the survivors. In the late 20's/30's, Cunard got loan guarantees from the British government, merged with its rival White Star Line and launched the Queen Mary and ...