TLCOhio

Appreciate the kind follow-ups from R&T, etc. From the Wall Street Journal in the first hour+ of stock trading this morning, the three cruise line companies are all down 3-4%. Lots of other questions and challenges with stocks this week, especially focused on the banking sector. Right now, the lead headline at the Wall Street Journal is: "Market Stress Snarls Treasury Trading" with this sub-headline: "Traders say it is as hard to make a deal as it was in the early stages of Covid." Here are some of their reporting highlights: "The markets for the world’s safest and most liquid assets, the government bonds issued by the U.S. and other rich countries, are coming under immense stress on Wednesday following a week of worries about the health of global banks. Liquidity, the capacity to trade quickly at quoted prices, has fallen sharply in two of the keystone markets, those for U.S. Treasurys and German bunds, traders said." Full story at: https://www.wsj.com/articles/market-stress-snarls-treasury-trading-a84a5417 This thread is now over 100,000 views. Glad there is interest for keeping an eye on these various issues and questions related to the major cruise line operators. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Amazon River-Caribbean 2015 adventure live/blog starting in Barbados. Many visuals from this amazing river and Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, San Juan, etc.). Now at 71,109 views: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2076101-live-amazon-river-caribbean-many-pix’s-terryohio/

Appreciate ALL of these various comments and follow-ups. Agree with highplanesdrifters about the lack of these areas having no-one in charge of and responsible for watching "RISK MANAGEMENT"! Huge failures!! In the first 90 minutes of trading today, the three cruise stocks have rebounded a little. But, the markets are still trying to figure out of these challenged economic factors. Who knows what is next??? From the New York Times this morning, they had this headline from a media source that is not considered as very conservative: “Was This a Bailout? Skeptics Descend on Silicon Valley Bank Response." with this sub-headline: "The government took drastic action to shore up the banking system and make depositors of two failed banks whole. It quickly drew blowback.” Here are a few of their analysis/reporting highlights: “A sweeping package aimed at containing damage to the financial system in the wake of high-profile failures has prompted questions about whether the federal government is again bailing out Wall Street. And while many economists and analysts agreed that the government’s response should not be considered a “bailout” in key ways, many said it should lead to scrutiny of how the banking system is regulated and supervised.The reckoning came after the Federal Reserve, Treasury and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation announced Sunday that they would make sure that all depositors in two large failed banks, Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, were repaid in full.” Yes, as an editorial today in the Wall Street Journal details, former Congressman Barney Frank is on the board and highly paid by the failed Signature Bank. He was the co-author of the Dodd-Frank Bill that was supposed to stop these abuses, etc. Also in this NY Times analysis, they detailed: "While the definition of 'bailout' is ill defined, it is typically applied when an institution or investor is saved by government intervention from the consequences of reckless risk-taking. The term became a swear word in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, after the government engineered a rescue of big banks and other financial firms using taxpayer money, with little to no consequences for the executives who made bad bets that brought the financial system close to the abyss. Monday’s action by the government was a clear rescue of a range of financial players. Banks that took on interest-rate risk, and potentially their big depositors, were being protected against losses — which some observers said constituted a bailout." There is one absolute fact for sure: The cruise lines will not get bailed out by the Federal government and/or the banking system. They have their billions of dollars in high-interest debt and will have to dig out slowly. And, hope any future, upcoming recession is not too deep or long. Having big deposits and advanced payments with cruise companies carries certain risks and questions. We all have to be our own "risk managers". No Federal bail-outs for us as the "little people". Remember what happened with certain Crystal customers? Right or wrong? Full story at: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/13/business/economy/svb-bailout-questions.html THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Venice: Loving It & Why??!! Is one of your future desires or past favorites? See these many visual samples for its great history and architecture. This posting is now at 101,759 views. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1278226

For what it is worth in the first hour of the NY stock market being open, the value of Royal Caribbean dropped down to $63.98. That is a -4.31% decline. All three of the cruise stocks fell in a similar pattern, a much deeper decline than hit the overall market this am. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Appreciate these great comments, follow-ups and sharing from the smart and savvy R&T. Very good and helpful. From that Wall Street Journal editorial this morning, they had some of these key points and highlights: “A nationwide guarantee for uninsured deposits, even for a limited time, means this will become the default policy any time there is a financial panic. There’s also a question of the legality of such a guarantee. The FDIC created a 'transaction account guarantee' program amid the 2008 panic, but Congress explicitly let it expire in Dodd-Frank. Congress set the $250,000 insured limit to protect average Americans, not venture investors in Silicon Valley.” There is a "claim" that this current action does not involve taxpayer money. Even on MSNBC this am, they were saying that hopeful policy statement stretches the "truth" somewhat. Also, if hedge funds, tech risk artists and crypto firms with potential losses above $250K per account at these banks are bailed out, is that really legal and/or smart longer-term? Lots of serious questions and uncertainty that will probably drive down the stock market for the future? How will cruise stocks and their shaky finances be affected. Customers at these failing banks above that $250,000 limit knew their risks!! At a time when the Fed were raising interest rates, that failed bank was borrowing short-term from its. depositors. But, then they were lending long-term, without any interest-rate hedging. Who pays for that lack of supervision and poor management? Full editorial at: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-silicon-valley-bank-bailout-chorus-yellen-treasury-fed-fdic-deposit-limit-dodd-frank-run-cc80761e?mod=hp_opin_pos_1 THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Sydney to NZ/Auckland Adventure, live/blog 2014 sampling/details with many exciting visuals and key highlights. On page 23, post #571, see a complete index for all of the pictures, postings. Now at 242,419 views. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1896175-solstice-live-australianzhawaii-many-pix’s-jan-20-feb-3/

Ouch!! Agree that Silicon Valley Bank failure hurts the overall financial confidence and raises more serious longer-term questions. Not Jim Cramer's finest hour, nor his best tip!!! A Wall Street Journal headline late today noted: "Bank failure is second biggest in U.S. history, rattling investors." Here was one of their reporting highlights: "The bank is the 16th largest in the U.S., with some $209 billion in assets as of Dec. 31, according to the Federal Reserve. It is by far the biggest bank to fail since the near collapse of the financial system in 2008, second only to the crisis-era collapse of Washington Mutual Inc." Full story at: https://www.wsj.com/articles/svb-financial-pulls-capital-raise-explores-alternatives-including-possible-sale-sources-say-11de7522 From the Wall Street Journal late Friday afternoon, below are the charts for the three major cruises lines. Clearly, things finished in a down, DOWN manner. With the chart shown below for the S&P 500 during the past five trading days, it was an overall negative trend. When and if will things starts to turn around? THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise from Copenhagen, July 2010, to the top of Europe. Scenic visuals with key tips. Live/blog at 246,401 views. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1172051-livesilver-cloud-norway-coastfjords-july-1-16-reports/ From the Wall Street Journal, here are the charts for the three major cruise ship lines during the past five trading days. It was not a "roller-coaster" week of ups and downs. It was just a straight slide downhill!! Right?: (Open your screen/viewer wider to see these visuals larger/better!) For the past month, here has been the movements, mostly negative, affecting Royal Caribbean.: During the past five trading days, this WSJ chart shows the negative slide for this major sampling for broad-based stock market values.:

Very good posts on charts, curves, etc., from R&T, highplanesdrifters, Mr Luxury and Catlover54, Keep it coming!! From the Wall Street Journal late yesterday, some "things" has been happening that is not good for the cruise ship stocks since Monday morning. Later today, I will have a more complete weekly summary with charts for all three cruise companies. . As example that you can see below is the WSJ chart for Royal Caribbean. Since Monday at $75.60, RCL has gone, down, DOWN to $68.25 late yesterday. That's a three and a half day drop of nearly 10%. Kind of like real money? The other two major cruise lines suffered accordingly. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Great family history and enjoyable follow-up from Randy. Yes, as we get older and money is now always flowing as quickly, we get a little more "conservative" as to what we book, like and/or can afford. For us a verandah is nice, but not always "worth it" for the added costs. On smaller, easy-to-navigate-quickly ships such as with Silversea, we can do a Vista and have some added money to re-allocate towards certain excursions in a better, more creative manner. Funny and true history from Mr. Luxury about "Can you put your phone down I need to make an urgent call." From a financial news website and MSN News early this afternoon, they had this headline: “Here's What Royal Caribbean Has Cut Since Its Covid Restart” with these highlights: “Royal Caribbean has made some big cuts that passengers may not be happy about. Royal Caribbean made some major dining cuts and some that were more subtle. The smaller changes include minor cutbacks like using smaller shrimp in Chops and cutting the size of the sushi roll portion in half when passengers order the fixed-price menu at Izumi. The biggest dining change, however, was a massive overhaul of the cruise line's main dining room menu. This wasn't a tweak or cutting the size of portions. Royal Caribbean basically got rid of its past menus and created new ones. Now, each night has a theme like 'Italian,' 'Mexican,' or 'American Favorites.' That's a change, but it's not the big one. Along with offering nightly themes, Royal Caribbean also got rid of its 'Classics' selections. It removes some passenger favorites from the nightly menu and offers fewer choices on a nightly basis. Royal Caribbean has also now charges for a second lobster tail (and any after that). Guests will pay $16.99 plus an 18% gratuity for each lobster tail they ask for after the first one.” Here is more from this report: "Royal Caribbean room attendants no longer leave a printed copy of the 'Cruise Compass' daily schedule in your room. On some ships copies can be requested while on others no printed edition exists at all." Hopefully with Silversea does not follow too closely these food cut-back and less selection/quality trends as are being tried/done with its parent Royal Caribbean's mass-market sailing lines. YES, I am kind of "old-fashioned" in liking to have that printed summary for the next day to review and soak-up after returning in the evening after dinner and entertainment. Plus, I like to save those daily summary to do up any live/blog summaries, answer future questions, etc. Full story at: https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/heres-what-royal-caribbean-has-cut-since-its-covid-restart/ar-AA18kDkF THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Barcelona/Med: June 2011, with stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Great visuals with key highlights, tips, etc. Live/blog now at 256,133 views. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1362155-solstice-livefirst-timer-reportspix’s-italycroatian-june-7-19/

Appreciate the great photographic background and follow-up from Dave about the challenges with sports photography. Saturday, we were down in central Virginia for a soccer game with our ten-year-old grandson. FORTUNATELY, it was a super sunny Saturday and we were not inside with those high ISO challenges. Lighting was great and makes such an amazing difference. Could shoot at a good ISO setting and benefitted from the ability of better cameras to shoot multiple frames with quick auto-focus helping much. Below are some of the soccer game visual results. Also, for those who have not learned the top photo rule. Shoot lots of pictures and only share the "good ones". In shooting sports with fast action, you must anticipate what happens next and capture lots of images to find those few "magic moments" that are good and exciting. Used my Nikon D7200 with 55-300 mm lens, many shot at ISO 640, f11, 1/800. Doesn't bright sunshine help so much? THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise from Copenhagen, July 2010, to the top of Europe. Scenic visuals with key tips. Live/blog at 246,401 views. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1172051-livesilver-cloud-norway-coastfjords-july-1-16-reports/ From a soccer tournament in Fredericksburg, Va., Saturday, below are a few examples of our ten-year-old grandson in action wearing green during two different games. They won both games and went on to the Sunday championship game.: (Open your screen/viewer wider to see these visuals larger/better!)

As add proof that Spring is coming early for this part of the U.S., I have some visual "evidence" as shown below. Here in Central Ohio, for a Midwest location, the weather continues mild and very nice. Mostly sunny!!! Can you believe two days above 70F in the past six days!!! How are things in Canada and the Northeastern U.S.? We are not Florida in our part of Ohio, but doing well for early March. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Sydney to NZ/Auckland Adventure, live/blog 2014 sampling/details with many exciting visuals and key highlights. On page 23, post #571, see a complete index for all of the pictures, postings. Now at 242,419 views. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1896175-solstice-live-australianzhawaii-many-pix’s-jan-20-feb-3/ As an example for how Spring has arrived so early here in our part of the Midwest, below are some of our daffodils in full bloom in early March. You can also see that part of our front lawn is fairly green for this time of the year. Amazing weather?: (Open your screen/viewer wider to see these visuals larger/better!) Over this past weekend, we were down in central Virginia for visiting with our grandsons, family there. It was great, this early, to see so many trees fully flowering. Another sign to prove an early and nice Spring!!:

Appreciate this excellent dining tip for Singapore. Am looking seriously at a Silver Moon February 2024 Mumbai to Singapore, 18-day sailing. Would stay a little extra at the end for an our first time in Singapore. Have saved this Dr. Ron suggestion for Singapore. Look forward to J.P. providing details and visuals from that dining experience. Have the sense that many on these Silversea boards will be able to share many great suggestions for such exciting locations as Singapore, in India, etc. As add proof that Spring is coming early for this part of the U.S., I have some visual "evidence" as shown below. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Sydney to NZ/Auckland Adventure, live/blog 2014 sampling/details with many exciting visuals and key highlights. On page 23, post #571, see a complete index for all of the pictures, postings. Now at 242,419 views. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1896175-solstice-live-australianzhawaii-many-pix’s-jan-20-feb-3/ As an example for how Spring has arrived so early here in our part of the Midwest, below are some of our daffodils in full bloom yesterday afternoon in early March. You can also see that part of our front lawn is fairly green for this time of the year. Amazing weather?: (Open your screen/viewer wider to see these visuals larger/better!) Over this past weekend, we were down in central Virginia for visiting with our grandsons, family there. It was great, this early, to see so many trees fully flowering. Another sign to prove an early and nice Spring!!:

Super congratulations to Dr. Ron and very much appreciate the wonderful French dining pictures. Excellent all around. Lovely and very tasty. Making me hungry. Here in Central Ohio, for a Midwest location, the weather continues mild and very nice. Mostly sunny!!! Below is the AccuWeather chart for the current week and showing the previous week, too. Can you believe two days above 70F in the past six days!!! How are things in Canada and the Northeaster U.S.? We are not Florida in our part of Ohio, but doing well for early March. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio From AccuWeather for Central Ohio, here is our weather for the current period and upcoming. Look good for the Midwest in early March?:

Appreciate these great comments and follow-ups from highplanesdrifters. Good to look at historical data and then try to guess and speculate for future trends. Maybe? From the Wall Street Journal today, below is the three-year summary chart for the broad-based S&P 500 stock index. On March 18, 2020, this key index was down to 2305 as the start of the Covid shut-down that depressed the overall market. Things came back, but then flattened out during 2022. At the end of December 2021, this S&P 500 index peaked at 4791. That has been a 15% loss/drop during the most recent fourteen months. Where for the rest of this year? Will cruise ship stocks be riding that future trend, up or down?? THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio AFRICA?!!?: Fun, interesting visuals, plus travel details from this early 2016 live/blog. At 53,792 views. Featuring Cape Town, South Africa’s coast, Mozambique, Victoria Falls/Zambia and Botswana's famed Okavango Delta. www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2310337 From the Wall Street Journal, here is their chart for the past three years for the trends and movements of the S&P 500 Index.: (Open your screen/viewer wider to see this visual larger/better!)

For Mr. Banjo, the "GOOD NEWS" is that we can remember those details and specifics from the past in our "Way-Back" memory brains. Really loved Catlover54 saying: "Having an inside cabin with no window, and very little room to move about, much less room to let DH set up his cruise photography and computer equipment, and my small pharmacy, would not be very enjoyable." The good news for me is that I can do it "ALL" on my laptop. I can get up early, go elsewhere on the ship, open my laptop and being quickly set-up to edit pictures, post, write on Cruise Critic, surf the web, etc. Like Silversea as the ships are smaller, easier to quickly move around, have many comfortable locations to sit down and enjoy, etc. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

From the Wall Street Journal, below are the charts for the three major cruise lines during this past week. Especially on Tuesday, it was a "weak week" for Norwegian as their release of fourth quarter and year-end data disappointed the financial experts and stock market players. See below. From the Wall Street Journal this morning, they had this headline: “Cuts at Amazon, Other Tech Companies Don’t Spell Recession Yet" with this sub-headline: "Slowing corporate profits, rising rates are warnings signs amid a slump in tech and property activity.” Here are a couple of their reporting highlights: “Amazon.com Inc.’s halt to construction of a new headquarters, on top of a parade of high-profile tech layoffs, looks ominous for the economy. But the damage will need to spread much further to signal full-blown recession. When the U.S. has entered recession in the past, weakness has often started in one sector and then spread like brushfire, pulling down a widening array of industries and the people who work in them. Downturns in 2001 and 2007-09 were apt examples.” The stock market and consumers are on "Recession Watch". Hopefully, it will not happen and/or be short and shallow. Any good predictions and guesses? Here was a positive point from this WSJ article: "A close read of recent history is more reassuring. Some industry fires don’t spread. In 2015, a fracking bust took down the energy sector but the economic expansion went on to become the longest on record." Full story at: https://www.wsj.com/articles/cuts-at-amazon-other-tech-companies-dont-spell-recession-yet-244c992c?mod=hp_lead_pos2 THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Amazon River-Caribbean 2015 adventure live/blog starting in Barbados. Many visuals from this amazing river and Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, San Juan, etc.). Now at 71,083 views: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2076101-live-amazon-river-caribbean-many-pix’s-terryohio/ From the Wall Street Journal, below are the stock charts for the three major cruise lines during the past week. Tuesday was a bad day, especially for Norwegian!! Then, some recovery came later in the week as the overall market was lifted. Correct?: (Open your screen/viewer wider to see these visuals larger/better!) Since the start of 2023, here has been the trend for Royal Caribbean during the past two-plus months. Mostly upward and overall positive?:

Super appreciate these great statistical background and follow-up from our Philadelphia-area suburban neighbor. You have "NAILED IT" with these added specifics to re-enforce the point that the luxury portions of their businesses are relatively small for all three corporations. Many serious questions exist as to how the economy and consumer confidence will evolve in the next 10-15 months for the cruise line companies. My sense is that "rough waters" are still ahead. Plus, the billions of dollars in borrowed money must be managed as interest rates move higher. As to Caviar, it is not that much my "thing", so I leave it to others to decide its importance and/or quality. If and if!!?? Keep it coming!! Figuring out this current economic direction is both interesting and challenging. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Venice: Loving It & Why??!! Is one of your future desires or past favorites? See these many visual samples for its great history and architecture. This posting is now at 101,664 views. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1278226

Appreciate these great follow-ups by Lois, etc. Yes, I recall the "good-old-days" of doing a fake collect call to let people know when you had arrived home safely. I am also old enough to remember telephone "party lines" that needed to be shared and the early days for long-distance calls when you talked very, very fast as it was so very costly. Great summary comment from Mr. Banjo about "What a throwback!" It has been an amazing transition until now when most long-distance calls in the U.S. and Canada are "free" as a part of our cell service basic cost, international calls are easy and fairly affordable, etc. Then, also, there are all of the awesome things that our cell phones can do currently. Progress!!! Thinking of the changing future, from the London/UK Independent this morning, they had this headline: “World’s first three-year cruise announced – and it might cost less than renting on dry land.” Here are some of their reporting highlights: “The world’s first three-year world cruise is now open for bookings. The ambitious voyage, operated by Life at Sea Cruises, will cover more than 130,000 miles and visit 375 ports across 135 countries and seven continents. Embracing the recent shift towards remote-working, the cruise enables guests to live, work and explore from a single base. The MV Gemini vessel, which has 400 cabins and room for 1,074 passengers, will set sail from Istanbul on 1 November, with pick-ups in Barcelona and Miami. Guests can visit 13 of the 14 Wonders of the World on what it calls 'the first reasonably priced, all-inclusive world cruise, starting from only $29,999 (£24,926) per year'.” Ready to sign up? Here is more: "Working out as less than £70 per day, this unique opportunity to travel the world could cost less than renting on dry land. The fee includes access to all dining venues and alcohol with dinner, a state-of-the-art wellness centre, sundeck and swimming pool, high-speed internet, entertainment, “enrichment seminars” and housekeeping. The ship will also include a 24-hour on-call hospital with free medical visits." To get this lower price, it would be a standard inside room with only 130 to 142 sq. ft. Small? Kind of confined/limited in size? My wife and I would kill each other if we were in those tight of quarters for too long. Right? Still have questions? Here is more to consider: "Due to set sail in 2024, the ship is selling units to cruisers who want to relocate to the open seas. Narrative is planned to circumnavigate the globe every 1,000 days, stopping at each port for several nights. Residents will be able to leave the main ship via a 'Marina' on the aft side, where they can board smaller boats or jet skis to explore. Units on the ship start at £300,000 for a 12- or 24-year lease, with the most luxurious costing up to £6m to buy outright." Cruise website at: https://www.lifeatseacruises.com/pricing-and-cabins Full story at: https://www.msn.com/en-gb/lifestyle/travel/world-s-first-three-year-cruise-announced-and-it-might-cost-less-than-renting-on-dry-land/ar-AA1884al THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio AFRICA?!!?: Fun, interesting visuals, plus travel details from this early 2016 live/blog. At 53,758 views. Featuring Cape Town, South Africa’s coast, Mozambique, Victoria Falls/Zambia and Botswana's famed Okavango Delta. www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2310337

Appreciate this smart and savvy follow-up from our London friend. Agree, that I am also watching with interest as to how this New Crystal evolves and works out. The Old Crystal loyalist are strong and have great spirit/excitement. But, it will take more than those numbers to fill up these old/new ships. From MSN News and a financial news website yesterday, they had this headline: “Norwegian Cruise Line says wealthy customers are still splashing out on cruise trips despite the sluggish economy” with these highlights: “The parent company of Norwegian Cruise Line says passengers are still splurging on luxury trips. Despite passenger numbers rebounding post-pandemic, the company posted an annual net loss of $2.27 billion. The parent company of Norwegian Cruise Line says that the sluggish economy isn't deterring wealthy passengers from splashing out on luxury cruise trips.” Plus, this from their reporting: " 'We are encouraged to see that our target consumer, which tends to skew more upmarket in the broader cruise industry, continues to be financially healthy and resilient and is prioritizing consumption of experiences over the purchase of physical goods,' CEO Frank del Rio told investors Tuesday. 'It's our view that as long as consumers have a job and the labor markets remain strong, that they'll continue spending on the things they normally spend their money on, including vacations,' del Rio added. 'We simply don't see a weakening consumer.' " Yes, I heard Norwegian's del Rio make these comments Tuesday. The stock analysts heard it, too. Yes, all three major cruise companies have more upscale brands to satisfy these desired, higher-end customers with money. BUT, the reality with all three companies is they also have many big, BIG ships that need to be filled up with mostly middle-income people who are not as "flexible" with their deeper finances to afford such bookings for the future. Clearly Tuesday the stock market, however, viewed del Rio was just "SPINNING" with too much hype and wishful thinking for his company compared to his missed financial promises/targets. There are desired, wealthy passengers who can afford it. But, how many of them are there and will that be enough to fill up ALL of their brands and ships? Reactions as to how all of this Economics 101 works out? Clearly, Silversea is doing well and successfully upping their prices as happened yesterday on a Mumbai to Singapore Silver Moon sailing we are seriously considering for February 2024. Full story at: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/norwegian-cruise-line-says-wealthy-customers-are-still-splashing-out-on-cruise-trips-despite-the-sluggish-economy/ar-AA185olW THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Sydney to NZ/Auckland Adventure, live/blog 2014 sampling/details with many exciting visuals and key highlights. On page 23, post #571, see a complete index for all of the pictures, postings. Now at 242,119 views. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1896175-solstice-live-australianzhawaii-many-pix’s-jan-20-feb-3/

Which ship, ports, dates for Greece and Turkey? Many interesting locations in those two historic countries. Agree when sailing as a single, it is harder to put together private and/or independent excursions in certain ports/cities. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

As detailed below in my live/blog, we did exploring up and down the Norway coast in July 2010. We enjoyed a mix of various tours through Silversea and different private/independent touring arrangements. All worked well. Some of the names/contacts are listed in my postings. But, after the Covid shut-down period, it is hard to know now who is still operating. Or, not. At two ports, we had rental cars and that allowed more flexible to explore on our own. We were very happy with the tours through Silversea. As noted, many of these ports are fairly small and the numbers of private tour options might be limited. Good luck with your research and planning. Don't be shy with any questions. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise from Copenhagen, July 2010, to the top of Europe. Scenic visuals with key tips. Live/blog at 246,290 views. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1172051-livesilver-cloud-norway-coastfjords-july-1-16-reports/

From a travel news website two days ago, they had this headline: “These Billionaire Owners Of Luxury Hotels Plan To Start Cruise Ship Operators” with these highlights: “There was no Broadway show, mini golf or video arcades on board the Ritz-Carlton yacht which set sail from Barcelona in October on its maiden voyage. Guests were instead entertained by jazz musicians, an on-board art collection, and a shop stocked with $30,000 Birkin handbags. Welcome to cruising for the rich. The push by Marriott International Inc., the world’s biggest hotel group and Ritz-Carlton owner, into luxury cruising is part of a new wave of high-end operators targeting the wealthy." Here are more background details: "As existing operators battle to pay down debts, new entrants are seeking to take a slice of the premium market. Billionaire cruise magnate Manfredi Lefebvre, often spotted puffing on a chunky cigar, sold out of a luxury operator five years ago, frustrated he couldn’t secure the same borrowing conditions as the bigger players. Now he’s back, after buying two Crystal Cruise ships. 'We considered partnering with a hotel brand but we eventually chose to go ahead independently and to position at the high-end of the luxury sector,' he said earlier this week. 'Cruises cost 60% of an equivalent hotel vacation, and today even less than that.' Luxury travel is recovering faster than the wider market and is proving tempting to operators, according to Patrick Scholes, managing director of lodging and leisure at Truist Securities.” Interesting comments and positioning from Manfredi Lefebvre. Here is another item from this reporting: "David Bernstein, chief financial officer at Carnival Corp., has been watching the new entrants with intrigue. He accepts there will be greater competition for higher-spending customers." More luxury options and competition!! Is that good or bad for Silversea and its customers? Full story at: https://www.fa-mag.com/news/these-billionaire-owners-of-luxury-hotels-plan-to-start-cruise-ship-operators-72186.html THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise from Copenhagen, July 2010, to the top of Europe. Scenic visuals with key tips. Live/blog at 246,290 views. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1172051-livesilver-cloud-norway-coastfjords-july-1-16-reports/

As cruise lines look at how to cut costs, what will be the service changes and impacts for when sailing? From a financial news website yesterday, they had this headline: “Royal Caribbean Follows Carnival In Making Key Service Cut" with this sub-headline: "First, the cruise line cut back its main dining room menus, offering fewer choices each night, now it appears to be making another cost-saving move.” Here are some of their reporting highlights: “Covid allowed the hospitality industry to make some major changes to its standard operating procedures under the guise of social distancing. Many hotels, for example, stopped cleaning people's rooms on a daily basis. Many hotels have cut back on the frequency with which rooms are cleaned. Basically, the industry used the pandemic to make a change that saves money. That won't fly at high-end properties. Cruise lines essentially operate hotels that happen to be at sea. Even the mid-tier lines including Royal Caribbean and Carnival have traditionally cleaned passenger cabins twice a day. That has been the standard even after the industry's return from its 15-month covid-related shutdown. Now, however, it appears that Royal Caribbean is at least testing the idea of cleaning passenger tooms only once a day.” Yesterday, the top Norwegian executives indicated they are looking at this once-a-day option for the lower-level cabins on their bigger, mass-market ships. Hopefully for Silversea and other luxury lines, they will not be too quick to do such changes. BUT, all cruise lines are looking at says to save money. Future predictions as to what services will be targeted for change and/or cuts? Full story at: https://www.thestreet.com/travel/royal-caribbean-tests-a-huge-change-passengers-wont-like THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Barcelona/Med: June 2011, with stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Great visuals with key highlights, tips, etc. Live/blog now at 256,120 views. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1362155-solstice-livefirst-timer-reportspix’s-italycroatian-june-7-19/

Great to hear that both DTtravelers and highplanesdrifters will be on the same cruise. Sounds exciting and fun! Great point by our Philadelphia suburban neighbor about "Both the cruise lines and the local authorities may or may not have rules about doing so." In most cases, it will all work out fine, but doing the proper advance notification/research is important. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise from Copenhagen, July 2010, to the top of Europe. Scenic visuals with key tips. Live/blog at 246,290 views. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1172051-livesilver-cloud-norway-coastfjords-july-1-16-reports/

From a financial news website this afternoon, they had this headline: “Why Norwegian Cruise Line Stock Just Crashed” with these highlights: “Actual GAAP losses were even bigger than the pro forma losses Wall Street was watching. And Norwegian's forecast for Q1 2023 indicates losses will be bigger again next quarter.” Here is more of their details outlined: "Even heading into Q4, analysts weren't very optimistic, forecasting that the cruise operator would lose $0.85 per share, pro forma, on $1.5 billion in revenue. But Norwegian missed even this pessimistic prediction. While sales were on target, losses per share tumbled to $1.04. Worse, those losses -- the $1.04-per-share number -- were adjusted for items considered one-time in nature. When calculated according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), Norwegian's per-share loss was even bigger: $1.14 per share, despite revenues more than tripling year over year and 'revenue per Passenger Cruise Day' growing 23% in comparison to the prepandemic year 2019 (and thus coming in better than expected). Norwegian Cruise Line still burned cash for the year. Over all of 2022, the company's cash flow statement shows a rate of about $1.6 billion for the year -- but even that was only half the $3.2 billion in cash Norwegian burned in 2021." This was their bottom-line summary: "Norwegian won't be nearly as profitable as analysts hope or turn profitable quite as soon as analysts have predicted." Full story at: https://www.fool.com/investing/2023/02/28/why-norwegian-cruise-line-stock-just-crashed/ THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Early 2020, many visuals and details from New Zealand/South Pacific in going from Auckland to French Polynesia. This includes Bora Bora, Fiji, NZ experiences, etc: Live/blog; https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2735732-live-terryohio-“new”-regatta-south-pacificnz-pix’s/

Super appreciate the link help from yarramar and the patience/interest from our Wisconsin neighbor to go through all of the 31 pages from my Australia/New Zealand live/blog. WOW!! That's dedication and a great, deserved desire to research and prepare accordingly. Feel free to post any questions and/or info needs on that Celebrity live/blog and I will be happy to follow-up. My key bottom line is that there are so many different options down there, that it requires serious, advance thought and consideration in order to put your "total package/plan" together in the right logistical manner. Connected below, we went back to New Zealand and did more on their North Island, in Auckland, etc., in early 2020 right before the Covid shut-down. Don't be shy!! The only bad question is the one you do not ask. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Early 2020, many visuals and details from New Zealand/South Pacific in going from Auckland to French Polynesia. This includes Bora Bora, Fiji, NZ experiences, etc: Live/blog; https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2735732-live-terryohio-“new”-regatta-south-pacificnz-pix’s/

Just completed listening to the Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings fourth quarter and yearly report and Q/A session with Wall Street financial analysts. Interesting? Lots of spins and hopes? Certain legitimate positive financials to report? YES to all three questions. But how are the stock traders and investors reacting this morning? This below chartroom the Wall Street Journal summaries this "situation" fairly well. Will this negative trend continue and seriously affect other cruise lines? Right now, Royal Caribbean is down 2.7% while Carnival dropped 4.3% this morning. From the below website release this morning, they had this headline: “Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2022 Financial Results” with these highlights: “ '2022 was an eventful year, as we successfully completed our nearly yearlong Great Cruise Comeback, welcomed our newest ship Norwegian Prima to our world class fleet and achieved several key milestones on our post-pandemic financial recovery,' said Frank Del Rio, president and chief executive officer of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. 'We are now squarely focused on the future and are taking deliberate and strategic actions to best position the Company for its next chapter, which includes an industry-leading growth profile representing approximately 50% Capacity growth over 2019.' ” Will share more details and specifics later. But here is a quick highlight for part of what I heard this morning. Their CEO talked about: "transformation growth” and that they are "now focused on costs and better margins.” They are focusing on "balancing cutting costs versus keeping a good customer experience." They do not want to degrade the product, but must align to the new normal for the wider hospitality business where quality is not all what it used to be. Customer quality versus juicing up their bottom line to pay off the huge debts rolled up during their 500 days of Covid shut-downs? Sound familiar? You can read all of their financial details at the Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings website: https://www.nclhltd.com/news-media/press-releases/detail/534/norwegian-cruise-line-holdings-reports-fourth-quarter-and THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio Summer 2019 Calgary, Jasper/Banff National Parks, Western Canada Rocky Mountaineer rail adventure, Vancouver, sailing up to Alaska on Silver Muse, post-cruise excursion to Denali, etc. Many visuals and details from our first in these scenic areas! Live/blog: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2682584-live-terryohio-silver-muse-alaska-canadarockies-pix’s/