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Constanta Hoping for Black Sea Rebound “Trends in the Black Sea are in constant motion, and Romania, as an EU and NATO member, is a pole of stability in the area,” said Nicolae Dan Tilvilichi, general manager of the Maritime Ports Administration in Constanta, Romania. Constanta has seen its cruise traffic fall off following geopolitical issues in the region. Four ocean ships called in 2017, but there have been none since. The port does have a number of river calls, averaging around two per month, Tilvilichi said. “Currently efforts are being made in the Black Sea ports to improve the situation, but the effects will be seen in a year or two,” he added. “All the Black Sea ports are going through bad times in terms of cruise ships, but even under these circumstances, the port of Constanta has maintained its position as destination number one in the Black Sea.” When the business returns, the port authority has plans ready to go to expand its passenger terminal, explained Tilvilichi. Other ongoing projects include dredging the navigational channel and turning basin to allow for larger ships, as well as developing a new berth. Two berths currently server passenger ships, along with one terminal. The berths are 300 and 400 meters long, respectively, with a water depth of 13.5 meters. The port has not increased its rates in the last 10 years, and is offering various incentives to both river and ocean ships to call. Hoping to remain top of mind, Constanta was named a member to the board of directors at MedCruise in 2017, a seat that it will hold through 2019. “In this capacity, for the next three years we have the responsibility to help develop and attract new cruise lines to the Black Sea region,” Tilvilichi continued. “That is why we want to attract new members to the MedCruise group and to persuade the new entrant ports to get involved and give greater importance to the development of cruise tourism in the region.” An EU-funded project is helping the port drive another modernization platform to reconfigure the port entry area, streamlining road and pedestrian traffic. In addition, an 800,000 euro investment will see a new security building go up at the entrance to the port later this year.

AIDAnova Offering New Entertainment Experiences for German Market AIDA Cruises is promising that the new AIDAnova will offer “different and innovative entertainment experiences for all tastes every day in a total of 13 venues.” The company said there will be a number of new entertainment formats exclusive to the ship. AIDA said that five new shows will premier in the Theatrium, which continues to be the brand’s signature entertainment venue. In the evening – it's showtime on the 360-degree stage, featuring technical highlights such as the 11 LED walls, seven different laser shows and the LED Tube inclusive of an "artists' elevator." A new venue is Studio X, the ship’s TV studio. Guests can observe live how AIDA TV shows are produced. Another venue is The Mystery Room, where players go on a treasure hunt. In the Rock Box, guests will get "an earful" of music, according to AIDA, either with a mix of favorites from the jukebox, or unplugged and live. Guests can also enjoy dinner in the Time Machine Restaurant – described as the realm of Professor Tempus. He will take them on a voyage through time to distant worlds. The Four Elements venue is a highlight for the whole family featuring a rope course, waters slide and next door, a Caribbean-like beach that doubles as a night spot with live music and dancing. In addition is nightly entertainment at The Cube dance club and at the Casino.

Manila maiden visit for Voyager of the Seas Royal Caribbean International’s Voyager of the Seas called in Manila for the first time on Friday, becoming one of the largest cruise ships to call at a Filipino port. The ship was on a 4-night cruise from Shenzhen, carrying over 3,600 guests. Ovation of the Seas is the largest cruise ship to visit the Philippines, having arrived last month. To celebrate the maiden call at Manila, a traditional plaque exchange ceremony was held onboard between Voyager of the Seas’ Captain Sindre Borsheim and local officials including Francisquiel Mancile, port manager of Philippine Ports Authority and Patrick Chan, vp, operations of Asian Terminals Inc. Shorex from Manila included the ‘Enchanting Hidden Valley’ Tour – a secluded and private resort featuring rare collections of orchids at the crater of an extinct forested volcano in Laguna, with secluded waterfall, followed by traditional Filipino buffet lunch and snacks. Spanish colonial-era landmarks On the ‘A Glimpse of History’ Tour, guests experienced the rich heritage of the Philippines by visiting Spanish colonial-era landmarks such as Fort Santiago; Casa Manila, the exact reproduction of a Spanish 'Ilustrado' home; and the centuries-old 'Walled City' of Intramuros that consists of fortified walls, church ruins and relics from Spain’s Conquistadores. Voyager of the Seas is currently sailing a 5-night cruise from Shenzhen to Okinawa (Naha), followed by a 9-night cruise from Hong Kong to Kochi visiting Okinawa (Naha), Kyoto (Osaka) and Kobe on August 10; and an 8-night cruise from Hong Kong to Singapore with calls at Nha Trang, Ho Chi Minh City (Phu My) and Bangkok (Laem Chabang) on August 29. Longest ever season in Southeast Asia The ship will then embark on her longest ever season in Southeast Asia with over 70 sailings out from Singapore until next June, which includes 4-night cruises to Kuala Lumpur (Port Klang) and Phuket, 5-night cruises to Kuala Lumpur (Port Klang), Penang and Phuket, and 5-night sailings to Bangkok (Laem Chabang) with an overnight stay. Posted 23 July 2018

Queen Elizabeth to sail into Liverpool Next Monday Queen Elizabeth will sail into Liverpool on her seventh visit to the port and Cunard’s spiritual home. Her latest call marks the 80th anniversary of the launch of Cunard’s second Mauretania at Cammell Laird’s shipyard in Birkenhead in July 1938. To mark the occasion a special sail away show will take place on the cruise berth, at Princes Dock at 16.30. The show will have a variety of musical performances including opera singer Joanne Dennis, followed by a confetti show as she sails onto Dublin and Guernsey before returning to Southampton on July 27. Cunard founded in Liverpool A Cunard visit always plays a highly significant role in Liverpool’s cruise season, as Cunard was founded in Liverpool in 1839 and the city was home to its head office for nearly 130 years. The second Mauretania was the first ship to be built for the newly formed Cunard White Star Line and was laid down on May 24, 1937. She was the largest ship ever to be built in an English shipyard at the time. Head of cruise & maritime operations at Cruise Liverpool, Peter Murney said: ‘To have Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth visiting us on the anniversary of the Second Mauritania launching at Cammell Laird shipyard is extremely special for us. We’re incredibly proud of our maritime heritage and our strong connection to Cunard.’

Branson wants Virgin to keep Fincantieri 'busy for decades to come It sounds like Virgin Voyages isn't stopping at three ships, and it's possible the fourth could be of a different design. 'It's great to be involved in this new venture. It's ridiculously exciting,' Richard Branson said Friday at Fincantieri's Sestri Ponente yard on the occasion of the steel-cutting for the second ship. The third will follow soon and 'We're pushing. Hurry up with the fourth!' Branson said. To which Virgin Voyages president and CEO Tom McAlpin responded: 'I feel your pressure.' McAlpin elaborated there might be a fourth ship in the series or 'opportunities for a different class of ship as well ... We don't know yet.' Meanwhile, Scarlet Lady is taking shape, and the company unveiled its innovative 'Vitamin Seas' wellness program. All the tables must be strong enough to stand on 'We love to create real quality products which are fun, fun, fun—and make sure all our tables on the boat are strong enough to stand on,' Branson quipped. Virgin Voyages' product will be 'cool and fun' with every little detail thought through—in the same way that made the Virgin Hotel Chicago Condé Nast Traveler's No. 1 US hotel (and it's the first one stateside) and how the airline has won many awards. 'Everything's going to be five-star, really, really great quality and not five-star prices,' he said. Branson expressed distaste for the little things people hate being charged for, like a bottle of water. 'You bought the cruise—you don't want to be ripped off,' he said. Pricing will be more inclusive than that of others in the marketplace but shore excursions won't be bundled in, according to McAlpin, who added the tours will be curated and very different. Some day, a Virgin ship for kids The first three ships are likely to stay adults-only, but 'at some stage we'll definitely have cruise ships with kids,' Branson told reporters. He compared the no-kids policy to Virgin Atlantic's no-smoking flights decades ago: 'People thought we were mad ... [but] everyone all over the world came to fly on us.' For its cruise venture, 'We wanted to do something fairly radical,' hence the 'adult by design' concept. On Virgin Voyages, people will 'like to go off on their honeymoon or meet other people and fall in love and party.' 'By not having children, it really allows us to elevate the product,' McAlpin added. Virgin can deliver a much more sophisticated experience in a child-free environment. No screaming kids in the pool or 'gangs of teenagers running around.' 'If you're not having kids, your nightclub can be oriented to adults,' Branson chimed in. 'The experiences when you come to cities can be more adult-oriented. 'In a few years' time,' he added, 'we'll have a lot of fun creating a kids' ship: Virgin Kids.' While he may have been joking, Branson did seem serious about going beyond three Lady Ships. As he put it: 'We want to keep this yard busy for decades to come.' Virgin Voyages is not a millennials' cruise line, as many have speculated. Rather, it's for the young at heart. 'We're for people who want an elevated, premium experience that's a bit edgier,' McAlpin said. Bain Capital's research determined 'We can open the market for cruising massively to millions and millions who'd never consider going on a cruise ship,' Branson stated. Second ship to the Mediterranean It's likely the second ship will be deployed seasonally somewhere other than the Caribbean—probably the Mediterranean—and return to Miami in the winter. 'We have a lot of different options,' McAlpin said. 'We're looking at the Med, the Baltic, the Southern Caribbean. We've looked at Barcelona. The Mediterranean is a fun place to go.' He added that sailors (passengers) want to visit the big-name places but also places off the beaten track. 'Hidden gems' are going to be in the itineraries. Scarlet Lady will be a 'sunshine ship,' though, sailing in warm-weather destinations so sailors can get the most of the 85% balcony cabins. Following Scarlet Lady's delivery, Virgin might show her off in the UK—popping up the Thames (a bit) or maybe in Southampton—but probably won't cruise from there. 'I think most people in the UK would rather get out of the UK and go somewhere else, whether Italy or Spain,' Branson said. Unfortunately, he noted, the collapsing pound and Brexit make it more costly for Britons to cruise abroad. (As an aside, Branson views Brexit as a 'dreadful mistake' because it will impact people's earning power: 'The pound is below $1.20. We had the strongest GDP in Europe; now it's the weakest.') Imitators expected As the newly announced 'Vitamin Seas' programming shows, Virgin Voyages intends to stand out in every area. Competitors will certainly be looking to copy some aspects, but that doesn't bother Branson. 'We'll have five or six years when our cruise ships are unique, then other people will start copying them, and by then we'll have reinvented it,' he said. With reporting from Italy by Luca PeruzziVirgin

Princess inks MoA for two 175,000gt newbuilds, first LNG-powered cruise ships built in Italy for Carnival Fincantieri signed a memorandum of agreement with Princess Cruises for the construction of two next-generation, 175,000gt ships which will be the largest built so far in Italy, with deliveries scheduled in Monfalcone in late 2023 and in spring 2025. The vessels will accommodate approximately 4,300 guests and will be based on a next-generation platform design and the first Princess Cruises ships to be dual-fuel powered, primarily by LNG. The delivery schedule from late 2023 makes the first vessel also the first LNG cruise ship to be delivered at an Italian shipyard (subsidiary Vard is building a hybrid ship for Ponant in Romania for delivery in 2021) as the first (of two) TUI Cruises’ LNG-powered ships inked at Fincantieri announced recently is due in 2024. First LNG-powered cruise ships built by Fincantieri for Carnival The pair are also first LNG-powered cruise ships built by Fincantieri for Carnival Corp & plc. ‘This revolutionary platform for next-generation, LNG-powered cruise ships will introduce innovative design and leisure experiences driven by the future vacation and lifestyle trends of our guests – further evolving the already best-in-class Princess Cruises experience we deliver today. We look forward to collaborating with Fincantieri to bring our vision for this next- generation premium cruise ship into service,’ said Jan Swartz, president of Princess Cruises. Giuseppe Bono, ceo of Fincantieri, stated: ‘We are proud to further extend our long-established partnership with Princess Cruises, a brand we are indeed tied to since our comeback to the cruise ship industry in 1990. After so many years, we are getting ready to enter, together, into a new era of our industry, increasingly aimed at reducing environmental impact.’ Carnival group - the largest foreign investor in Italy Bono concluded on the news said, ‘this allows us to keep a solid partnership between our country and the Carnival group - the largest foreign investor in Italy - and at the same time to maintain know-how and increase employment.’ Fincantieri has built 85 cruise ships since 1990 (62 from 2002), 65 of which for Carnival’s different brands, while other 49, including agreements, are currently being designed or built in the Group’s yards. Additional reporting from Italy by Luca Peruzzi. Posted 23 July 2018

West Coast Cruise Market On the Comeback Trail The West Coast and Mexican Riviera cruise market is experiencing a renaissance in 2018 and is expected to deliver more growth in 2019 and beyond, according to the 2018-2019 Cruise Industry News Annual Report. Capacity is set to grow in 2018, up more than 5 percent and led by increased deployment from Carnival Cruise Line, in addition to increased deployment from Norwegian and Disney as well. Earlier this week, Norwegian added even more to future growth forecasts when it announced the Norwegian Joy would offer a seasonal program as well. Numbers are inching back to levels not previously seen for years, when the economic recession combined with security concerns in Mexico as well as a head tax in Alaska had operators pulling ships. Now, Mexico is on the comeback trail, and Alaska is set for a record year – both good for West Coast ports, whether it be for seasonal and shoulder season operations. And in late 2019, another vote of confidence will arrive in the Carnival Panorama, a brand new ship set to offer year-round itineraries to the Mexican Riviera from Southern California. Carnival is the biggest operator on the West Coast, with an estimated 63.2 percent of the market, followed by Princess, at 20.8 percent, and then Norwegian, Holland America and Disney.

Norwegian Changes 2019-2020 Itineraries, Pulls Joy From China Norwegian Cruise Line has announced changes to its 2019 and 2020 itineraries. Among these, the Norwegian Joy is leaving China to join the Norwegian Bliss, sailing seasonally in Alaska in the summer 2019, and will offer Mexican Riviera and Panama Canal voyages during the winter 2019-2020. The Norwegian Spirit will replace the Joy in China in 2020, leaving Norwegian out of the Chinese market for one year, and the Spirit will only sail there on a seasonal basis. The Pearl, which is in Alaska now, will sail to Europe as the cruise line’s sixth ship in the region in summer 2019, while the Jade and Jewel will expand Norwegian’s presence in Australasia in winter the 2019-2020 winter season. The Joy repositions to Seattle in April 2019 to offer seven-day voyages to Alaska, replacing the Pearl as Norwegian’s third ship in the region, joining the Bliss and Jewel. Prior to her arrival in Seattle, the Joy will undergo approximately $50 million in work to match her sister ship, the Bliss. When she goes to Europe in 2019, the Pearl will be sailing from Amsterdam as well as Civitavecchia, Barcelona and Venice. With the Joy on the West Coast, the Jewel will go to Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific, sailing from Honolulu, Papeete, Sydney, Auckland, Singapore, Hong Kong and Yokohama. In addition, the Jade will offer sailings throughout Southeast Asia departing from Singapore and Hong Kong for the 2019-2020 season. Norwegian Cruise Line said it remains committed to serving the Chinese cruise market. Prior to her 2020 arrival in China, the 1999-built Spirit will undergo a previously scheduled bow-to-stern revitalization as the final ship to undergo enhancements under the Norwegian Edge® fleet refurbishment program.

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Fire destroys historic Boblo Boat Ste. Claire The Boblo boat Ste. Claire, seen here moving from its dock in Ecorse to one in River Rouge in 2015, had a fire break out inside the ship on June 19, 2017, but its owner said it was minor and would not impede ongoing repair work. Photo courtesy of Boblo Boats: A Tale of Two Sisters A piece of Detroit area history has gone up in flames. The Ste. Claire, one of two boats that ferried passengers to Boblo Island amusement park for decades, was destroyed by fire early Friday afternoon. The boat was docked at Detroit’s Riverside Marina, but for many years was moored at U.S. Steel property in Ecorse. Published reports state that firefighters were sent to the scene at about 11:30 a.m. and that the fire was already out of control. Firefighters could not reach all areas of the boat with their hoses, so took a defensive posture to keep it from spreading. The Ste. Claire, built in Toledo in 1910, has a sister ship, the Columbia, which was built in Wyandotte in 1902. Both ships took generations of Detroit-area residents to and from Boblo Island, 18 miles southwest of Windsor, Ontario. The Columbia and Ste. Claire were last used as Boblo boats in 1991, a couple years before the amusement park shut down. The fate of the two boats is vastly different. An organization known as the S.S. Columbia project purchased the Columbia several years ago and took the boat to New York state, where an estimated $18 million is being spent on its restoration. The Ste. Claire was purchased in 2006 by Ron Kattoo, a physician at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, and business partner Saquib Nakadar. On several occasions over the last decade, Kattoo announced that the boat would be restored. Kattoo and Nakadar had big plans for the Ste. Claire, including private suites, a concession stand, a ballroom, a restaurant, bars and even a collapsible movie screen. However, they encountered a number of obstacles along the way that set back the timeline by many years. Sam Buchanan, a Brownstown Township resident who serves as captain of the J.W. Westcott II, a mailboat that delivers boats to freighters, has a connection to both Boblo boats that goes back decades. For many years he served as ship keeper for the Columbia, as a non-paid volunteer. He also was a caretaker for the Ste. Claire. “I took care of her for 5 years, no fires,” Buchanan said. “That boat and her crews was my inspiration for my career. A sad day for sure.” A Facebook page for former crew members and Boblo employees, The Bob-Lo Crew Reunion Group, has several comments posted from members expressing their grief over losing something they held so dear. “I will always treasure the days I walked the SS Ste. Claire decks as an employee and later as a volunteer,” said Karen Clement Winkler, who used to work security on the boat. Some former Boblo employees described the ship’s loss as “sickening and sad,” and another called it “heartbreaking.”

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Cruise Traffic Up 15 Percent for St. Maarten July 06, 2018 The Port of St. Maarten announced that cruise passenger traffic was up 15 percent for the first half of 2018, for the period ended June 30. 733,666 cruise passengers visited the island between January and June on 230 cruise ship calls. Port officials said they expect a stable off-season and even stronger 2018-2019 cruise season, similar to pre-Hurricane Irma numbers in 2017. The month of March has the highest number of calls with 55 and 137,375 cruise passengers cruise passengers, followed by April with 39 calls and 128,714 passengers; the months of May (120,907) and June (120,266) saw more than 120,000 cruise passengers for each month calling at the port via 30 and 27 ship calls, respectively. “Starting in October, destination St. Maarten will see an increase in the number of European cruise lines that will call at the port. This will further add to current forecast numbers for the high season bringing us to the level of cruise calls and passengers before the hurricanes of September 2017. At that point in time cruise sector recovery would have taken a year. We commend the staff of Port St. Maarten for all their hard work, diligence and resilience in helping the port recover," said the port, in a statement. June 30, 2018 Princess Cruises announced a Sip and Sail promotion offering free beverages onboard for select cruises on sale between summer 2019 and spring 2020. Guests booking balcony, mini-suite or suite staterooms will receive a free Premier Beverage Package for two people. Plus, free Unlimited Soda & More Packages for third and fourth guests in the stateroom, the company said. The Premier Beverage Package includes beer, wine by the glass and cocktails $12 USD and under, all non-alcoholic beverages including bottled water (500ml only), fountain sodas, fresh juices (if available), specialty coffees and teas, Gong Cha items, Frappes at Coffee & Cones, milk shakes (if available) and energy drinks. Additionally, all bottles of wine, one liter bottles of water, canned soda and bottled juices can be purchased at 25% discount from the menu price. Examples of Sip and Sail cruise deals include: Alaska cruise — 7 days: $1,749 balcony stateroom; $2,049 mini-suite stateroom Alaska cruisetour — 11 nights: $2,599 balcony stateroom; $2,899 mini-suite stateroom Caribbean cruise — 7 days: $1,399 balcony stateroom; $1,699 mini-suite stateroom Mediterranean cruise — 7 days: $1,699 balcony stateroom; $1,999 mini-suite stateroom British Isles cruise — 12 days: $2,949 balcony stateroom; $3,449 mini-suite stateroom Scandinavia & Russia cruise —11 days: $2,649 balcony stateroom; $3,149 mini-suite state By Jacob Resneck, KTOO - Juneau - June 22, 2018 The Holland America cruise ship Zaandam docked in Juneau on June 22, 2018. (Photo by Adelyn Baxter/KTOO) The Centers for Disease Control is reporting an outbreak of norovirus on a Holland America cruise ship in Alaska. Vm P Some 73 people reported falling ill on the Zaandam which is carrying more than 2,000 passengers and crew. Juneau’s top attraction is the Mendenhall Glacier. The glacier’s visitor center can receive as many as 6,000 cruise ship visitors in a single day. The U.S. Forest Service monitors reports of outbreaks on cruise ships so it can step up sanitation as a precaution. “We take it really serious,” Visitor Center Director John Neary said. “Hand washing is just super important for our health, or else we’re not going to survive the season well with a lot of losses of staff time. So it’s a pretty important issue.” The 781-foot Zaandam was docked in Juneau all day on Friday. It’s scheduled to depart at 10 p.m. and is headed to a number of Alaska ports including Hoonah, Anchorage, Homer, Kodiak and Sitka before it returns to Seattle on July 2. It’s the sixth reported norovirus outbreak on a cruise ship this year and the second in Alaska, according to the CDC. The 610-foot Silver Shadow reported 36 people fell ill during a May voyage that included Dutch Harbor, Kodiak and Homer. Norovirus can cause vomiting and diarrhea usually a day or two after exposure. Most people fully recover within a few days. U.S. B Holland America cruise in Alaska hit by norovirus By Jacob Resneck, KTOO - Juneau - June 22, 2018 The Holland America cruise ship Zaandam docked in Juneau on June 22, 2018. (Photo by Adelyn Baxter/KTOO) The Centers for Disease Control is reporting an outbreak of norovirus on a Holland America cruise ship in Alaska. Vm P Some 73 people reported falling ill on the Zaandam which is carrying more than 2,000 passengers and crew. Juneau’s top attraction is the Mendenhall Glacier. The glacier’s visitor center can receive as many as 6,000 cruise ship visitors in a single day. The U.S. Forest Service monitors reports of outbreaks on cruise ships so it can step up sanitation as a precaution. “We take it really serious,” Visitor Center Director John Neary said. “Hand washing is just super important for our health, or else we’re not going to survive the season well with a lot of losses of staff time. So it’s a pretty important issue.” The 781-foot Zaandam was docked in Juneau all day on Friday. It’s scheduled to depart at 10 p.m. and is headed to a number of Alaska ports including Hoonah, Anchorage, Homer, Kodiak and Sitka before it returns to Seattle on July 2. It’s the sixth reported norovirus outbreak on a cruise ship this year and the second in Alaska, according to the CDC. The 610-foot Silver Shadow reported 36 people fell ill during a May voyage that included Dutch Harbor, Kodiak and Homer. Norovirus can cause vomiting and diarrhea usually a day or two after exposure. Most people fully recover within a few days. U.S. Buzz Aldrin Fights Family For Control of His Space Legacy The former astronaut’s children say their father is in mental decline and want a court to appoint them his guardians; he is sui At issue are the operations of his private company, Buzz Aldrin Enterprises, and his nonprofit ShareSpace Foundation, overseen by his son and daughter, Andrew and Janice Aldrin. Col. Aldrin said in an interview he was shocked last month when his two children asked a Florida state court to appoint them his co-guardians because he is “in cognitive decline” and experiencing paranoia and confusion. That would give them power to make decisions on his behalf, and give them control of his finances and business dealings. Buzz Aldrin photographed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2016. PHOTO: MIKE MARSLAND/WIREIMAGE They also requested that their father undergo a competency examination by three mental health specialists appointed by the court because, they say, he is associating with new people who appear to be manipulating him, according to documents they filed with the court. Col. Aldrin denies that. He is scheduled to undergo the examination this Tuesday and Wednesday, he and his lawyers say. In an interview last week, Col. Aldrin said: “Nobody is going to come close to thinking I should be under a guardianship.” Col. Aldrin responded this month with a lawsuit, accusing Andrew Aldrin and his business manager of recent years, Christina Korp, of elder exploitation, unjust enrichment and of converting his property for themselves. The suit also accused his daughter Janice of conspiracy and breach of fiduciary duty. In a statement through lawyers, Andrew Aldrin, 60 years old, and Janice Aldrin, 51, said they are “deeply disappointed and saddened by the unjustified lawsuit that has been brought against us individually and against the Foundation that we have built together as a family to carry on Dad’s legacy for generations to come. We love and respect our father very much and remain hopeful that we can rise above this situation and recover the strong relationship that built this foundation in the first place.” 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2020 1966 Buzz Aldrin sets a record for being outside a vehicle in space, staying outside his spacecraft for 5 1/2 hours. On Apollo 11 mission with Neil Armstrong, becomes second man to walk on the moon. Appointed to National Space Council Advisory Board. Received U.S. patent for design of permanent space station. Appointed by President Bush to commission on future of U.S. Aerospace Industry.2002. Buzz Aldrin ShareSpace Foundation is revamped to spark excitement about space among elementary school children. Col. Aldrin's son, Andrew Aldrin, is vice president. Col. Aldrin’s business manager, Christina Korp, is a director. Col. Aldrin travels with Ms. Korp to South Pole with small group who had paid for the trip to raise money for his foundation. Col. Aldrin becomes ill and has to be evacuated. Col. Aldrin’s lawyer sends a cease and desist letter to Ms. Korp demanding that she stop representing that she has authority to promote or manage Buzz Aldrin. Col. Aldrin’s children, Andrew and Janice, file a petition with probate division of Florida circuit court saying Col. Aldrin “suffers from cognitive decline,” and asks the court appoint them co-guardians. Col. Aldrin sues his two children and Ms. Korp. He accuses Andrew and Ms. Korp of elder exploitation. Sources: NASA; Buzz Aldrin; court documents Ms. Korp, 45, did not respond to an email seeking comment and could not be reached by telephone. In the Aldrin children’s request for a mental examination of their father, they mention Ms. Korp as a person with knowledge of his “cognitive decline.” It isn’t uncommon for family members to disagree over how aging parents spend their money or handle their affairs, or for some spats to escalate to all-out legal combat. Rarely do such disputes involve a moonwalking American icon. Col. Aldrin, in his lawsuit, accuses Andrew and Ms. Korp of improperly using his credit cards and bank accounts, and of transferring nearly a half million dollars in the past two years from his savings account to his private company and his foundation for their own purposes. They have also assumed control of Col. Aldrin’s “space memorabilia, space artifacts, social media accounts and all elements of the Buzz Aldrin brand,” according to the suit, filed in a Florida state court. It also alleges that Andrew Aldrin and Ms. Korp slandered Col. Aldrin by saying he has dementia. Robert Bauer, a lawyer in Gainesville, Fla., who represents Col. Aldrin there and has talked with Andrew Aldrin, says “What Andy is doing is saying to Buzz, ‘you’re old, you’re not in your right mind anymore because you don’t agree with me’.” Buzz Aldrin aboard the Lunar Module during the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission, July 1969 in a photo taken by Neil Armstrong. PHOTO: NEIL ARMSTRONG/SPACE FRONTIERS/GETTY IMAGES In April, Col. Aldrin voluntarily submitted to a mental evaluation by Dr. James Spar, a professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral sciences at UCLA Medical School. Dr. Spar concluded that Col. Aldrin is “cognitively intact and retains all forms of decisional capacity,” according to the report, reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. Col. Aldrin, who grew up in Montclair, N.J., graduated third in his class at West Point and earned a PhD in astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. But he has never paid much attention to money matters, said his longtime lawyer and friend Robert Tourtelot. “Buzz is a genius, he’s the smartest guy I ever met,” Mr. Tourtelot said. “But Buzz has never been street smart.” His relationship with his kids has been a rocky ride, according to Mr. Tourtelot. There have been periodic estrangements, Mr. Tourtelot said. Col. Aldrin was rarely home when they were young. His eldest son, James Michael, is not involved in the legal dispute between his father and siblings. Col. Aldrin said he has tried unsuccessfully to bring all the children together in recent years. “I intend to disengage as a repairman of family ruptures,” he said. Janice Aldrin, 11, and her brothers, Andrew, 10, and James Michael 13, give a thumbs up after the 1969 launch of Apollo 11 spaceflight carrying their father. PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS He divorced his children’s mother, Joan, in 1974, remarried and divorced two more times after that. Mr. Aldrin has spoken publicly about his bouts with depression and alcoholism after he returned from the moon. He said he’s been sober for nearly 40 years. It was after his last divorce in 2013 that Ms. Korp gradually took over the business, according to Col. Aldrin and Mr Tourtelot. Hired as an executive secretary at the Aldrin operation around 2007, she is a director of the ShareSpace Foundation with Janice Aldrin. Andrew Aldrin is president. An aspiring singer and songwriter, Ms. Korp had worked for radio personality John Tesh more than a decade ago, her LinkedIn profile says. In 2005, court records show, she filed for bankruptcy owing $22,500. After working for Buzz Aldrin Enterprises, she set up Christina Korp Management in 2016 “to manage media and entertainment projects and interesting world changing personalities,” according to her LinkedIn page. “My motto is: I bring astronauts back down to Earth.” In 2015, the Aldrin operation was newly incorporated with a board consisting of Col. Aldrin, Andrew Aldrin and Janice Aldrin. After a share transaction, Col. Aldrin lost control of the company, and had just one vote out of three, according to Mr. Tourtelot who has examined the transaction. Buzz Aldrin stands beside an American flag at Tranquility Base on the surface of the moon during the Apollo 11 mission. PHOTO: NASA/CORBIS/GETTY IMAGES That year, the Florida Institute of Technology launched the Buzz Aldrin Space Institute. Col. Aldrin joined the university faculty as research professor of aeronautics and served as the institute’s senior faculty adviser. Andrew wasn’t working at the time, Col. Aldrin said, and he asked him to assume the position of a graduate assistant the university had offered him. In the interview, Col. Aldrin said his son “began to broadly interpret that and soon he became the director of the Institute.” Meanwhile,Ms. Korp continued to oversee Buzz Aldrin Enterprises, planning annual fundraising galas for ShareSpace and managing the former astronaut’s Twitter and other social-media accounts, according to Col. Aldrin and Mr. Tourtelot. The Florida Institute did not immediately return an email seeking comment. She fired the agency sometime after 2013 that had been booking Mr. Aldrin’s speaking engagements and began making those arrangements herself, Mr. Tourtelot said. She received a 5% commission on any deals, he said, a set-up Col. Aldrin didn’t know about or authorize. By 2016, Col. Aldrin said he increasingly grew frustrated that his foundation wasn’t moving in the direction he wanted. While it focused on educating elementary-school children about Mars through maps, he wanted to work more urgently on getting a permanent human settlement on the planet. He said he also was booked for events he didn’t want to attend and encouraged to pursue endorsement deals he didn’t favor. For instance, he “never quite saw why I should get involved with Faberge eggs and French perfume,” Col. Aldrin said. He rejected the suggestions, he said. Annual reports indicate that his foundation hasn’t granted scholarships. Revenues are generated by annual galas and the sale of Mars maps and T-shirts, the reports shows; some, designed by Ms. Korp, say “Get Your Ass to Mars.” In 2016, the most recent figures available, those sales generated $59,101. Last year, Mr. Tourtelot said, Col. Aldrin expressed concerns that he didn’t know how much money he had. In September, on his client’s behalf, Mr. Tourtelot demanded seven years of financial records of Buzz Aldrin Enterprises and the ShareSpace Foundation. After months of back and forth, he said he recently received documents from 2017. They show Buzz Aldrin Enterprises paid the former astronaut a salary of $36,000 in 2017 and reimbursed him for expenses, according to Mr. Tourtelot and documents reviewed by the Journal. Andrew Aldrin and Ms. Korp, meanwhile, each received salaries of $153,000 from the company as well as reimbursements for expenses such as first-class air travel, according to Mr. Tourtelot and documents reviewed by the Journal. Over the years, Mr. Tourtelot said, Ms. Korp has exerted control over Col. Aldrin. At a birthday party for him at a Los Angeles restaurant a few years ago, Mr. Aldrin was speaking to the roughly 200 guests about his childhood, telling stories many had never heard. Mr. Tourtelot, who was there, said Ms. Korp strode to Mr. Aldrin and took the microphone away from him. “That’s enough, Buzz,” she said, according to Mr. Tourtelot. In October 2016, Col. Aldrin set up a new revocable trust with Andrew as trustee. In it, Andrew and Janice Aldrin are set to receive more than James Michael, their sibling. The trust, which was reviewed by the Journal, stipulates that no changes can be made to its terms without Andrew’s written permission. The rift in the Aldrin family deepened later that year, after a trip to the South Pole with Col. Aldrin to generate revenues for the foundation. Several people paid to join him on the trip, which he said he was reluctant to take. It required a long walk at over 9,000 feet above sea level from where the airplane landed near the Pole. Col. Aldrin tired and collapsed; medics said he appeared to have high-altitude pulmonary edema and had to be evacuated. He was flown to a New Zealand hospital to recover. After that, Col Aldrin said, Andrew and Janice started limiting his activities. They have also told him he can no longer scuba dive, his favorite hobby, and have taken away his passport. Recently, when Col. Aldrin fired Ms. Korp from his company, he said Andrew told him he did not have the authority to do so because the board had given Janice and Andrew control. Ms. Korp remains at the foundation. —Jim Oberman contributed to this article. Write to Gretchen Morgenson at Gretchen.Morgenson@wsj.com Corrections & Amplifications Buzz Aldrin became the second man to walk on the moon in July 1969. The timeline in an earlier version of this article incorrectly said it was January 1969. (June 25, 2018) SHOW COMMENTS uzz Aldrin Fights Family For Control of His Space Legacy The former astronaut’s children say their father is in mental decline and want a court to appoint them his guardians; he is suing for ‘elder exploitation’ Edward ‘Buzz’ Aldrin, center, is shown with his family in 1970. From left to right are son Andrew, Edwin Aldrin Sr., Buzz, former wife Joan, daughter Janice and son James Michael. ASSOCIATED PRESS By Gretchen Morgenson Updated June 25, 2018 12:32 a.m. ET 147 COMMENTS Link copied… Buzz Aldrin has walked on the moon and received the Distinguished Flying Cross in the Korean War and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. At 88, the former astronaut has visited the White House to discuss space exploration, and envisions humans living on Mars. His legacy in space is secure. On earth it’s another matter. Col. Aldrin is grounded in a legal fight with two of his adult children and a former business manager, who he says are trying to grab his legacy and money. At issue are the operations of his private company, Buzz Aldrin Enterprises, and his nonprofit ShareSpace Foundation, overseen by his son and daughter, Andrew and Janice Aldrin. Col. Aldrin said in an interview he was shocked last month when his two children asked a Florida state court to appoint them his co-guardians because he is “in cognitive decline” and experiencing paranoia and confusion. That would give them power to make decisions on his behalf, and give them control of his finances and business dealings. Buzz Aldrin photographed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2016. PHOTO: MIKE MARSLAND/WIREIMAGE They also requested that their father undergo a competency examination by three mental health specialists appointed by the court because, they say, he is associating with new people who appear to be manipulating him, according to documents they filed with the court. Col. Aldrin denies that. He is scheduled to undergo the examination this Tuesday and Wednesday, he and his lawyers say. In an interview last week, Col. Aldrin said: “Nobody is going to come close to thinking I should be under a guardianship.” Col. Aldrin responded this month with a lawsuit, accusing Andrew Aldrin and his business manager of recent years, Christina Korp, of elder exploitation, unjust enrichment and of converting his property for themselves. The suit also accused his daughter Janice of conspiracy and breach of fiduciary duty. In a statement through lawyers, Andrew Aldrin, 60 years old, and Janice Aldrin, 51, said they are “deeply disappointed and saddened by the unjustified lawsuit that has been brought against us individually and against the Foundation that we have built together as a family to carry on Dad’s legacy for generations to come. We love and respect our father very much and remain hopeful that we can rise above this situation and recover the strong relationship that built this foundation in the first place.” 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2020 1966 Buzz Aldrin sets a record for being outside a vehicle in space, staying outside his spacecraft for 5 1/2 hours. On Apollo 11 mission with Neil Armstrong, becomes second man to walk on the moon. Appointed to National Space Council Advisory Board. Received U.S. patent for design of permanent space station. Appointed by President Bush to commission on future of U.S. Aerospace Industry.2002. Buzz Aldrin ShareSpace Foundation is revamped to spark excitement about space among elementary school children. Col. Aldrin's son, Andrew Aldrin, is vice president. Col. Aldrin’s business manager, Christina Korp, is a director. Col. Aldrin travels with Ms. Korp to South Pole with small group who had paid for the trip to raise money for his foundation. Col. Aldrin becomes ill and has to be evacuated. Col. Aldrin’s lawyer sends a cease and desist letter to Ms. Korp demanding that she stop representing that she has authority to promote or manage Buzz Aldrin. Col. Aldrin’s children, Andrew and Janice, file a petition with probate division of Florida circuit court saying Col. Aldrin “suffers from cognitive decline,” and asks the court appoint them co-guardians. Col. Aldrin sues his two children and Ms. Korp. He accuses Andrew and Ms. Korp of elder exploitation. Sources: NASA; Buzz Aldrin; court documents Ms. Korp, 45, did not respond to an email seeking comment and could not be reached by telephone. In the Aldrin children’s request for a mental examination of their father, they mention Ms. Korp as a person with knowledge of his “cognitive decline.” It isn’t uncommon for family members to disagree over how aging parents spend their money or handle their affairs, or for some spats to escalate to all-out legal combat. Rarely do such disputes involve a moonwalking American icon. Col. Aldrin, in his lawsuit, accuses Andrew and Ms. Korp of improperly using his credit cards and bank accounts, and of transferring nearly a half million dollars in the past two years from his savings account to his private company and his foundation for their own purposes. They have also assumed control of Col. Aldrin’s “space memorabilia, space artifacts, social media accounts and all elements of the Buzz Aldrin brand,” according to the suit, filed in a Florida state court. It also alleges that Andrew Aldrin and Ms. Korp slandered Col. Aldrin by saying he has dementia. Robert Bauer, a lawyer in Gainesville, Fla., who represents Col. Aldrin there and has talked with Andrew Aldrin, says “What Andy is doing is saying to Buzz, ‘you’re old, you’re not in your right mind anymore because you don’t agree with me’.” Buzz Aldrin aboard the Lunar Module during the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission, July 1969 in a photo taken by Neil Armstrong. PHOTO: NEIL ARMSTRONG/SPACE FRONTIERS/GETTY IMAGES In April, Col. Aldrin voluntarily submitted to a mental evaluation by Dr. James Spar, a professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral sciences at UCLA Medical School. Dr. Spar concluded that Col. Aldrin is “cognitively intact and retains all forms of decisional capacity,” according to the report, reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. Col. Aldrin, who grew up in Montclair, N.J., graduated third in his class at West Point and earned a PhD in astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. But he has never paid much attention to money matters, said his longtime lawyer and friend Robert Tourtelot. “Buzz is a genius, he’s the smartest guy I ever met,” Mr. Tourtelot said. “But Buzz has never been street smart.” His relationship with his kids has been a rocky ride, according to Mr. Tourtelot. There have been periodic estrangements, Mr. Tourtelot said. Col. Aldrin was rarely home when they were young. His eldest son, James Michael, is not involved in the legal dispute between his father and siblings. Col. Aldrin said he has tried unsuccessfully to bring all the children together in recent years. “I intend to disengage as a repairman of family ruptures,” he said. Janice Aldrin, 11, and her brothers, Andrew, 10, and James Michael 13, give a thumbs up after the 1969 launch of Apollo 11 spaceflight carrying their father. PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS He divorced his children’s mother, Joan, in 1974, remarried and divorced two more times after that. Mr. Aldrin has spoken publicly about his bouts with depression and alcoholism after he returned from the moon. He said he’s been sober for nearly 40 years. It was after his last divorce in 2013 that Ms. Korp gradually took over the business, according to Col. Aldrin and Mr Tourtelot. Hired as an executive secretary at the Aldrin operation around 2007, she is a director of the ShareSpace Foundation with Janice Aldrin. Andrew Aldrin is president. An aspiring singer and songwriter, Ms. Korp had worked for radio personality John Tesh more than a decade ago, her LinkedIn profile says. In 2005, court records show, she filed for bankruptcy owing $22,500. After working for Buzz Aldrin Enterprises, she set up Christina Korp Management in 2016 “to manage media and entertainment projects and interesting world changing personalities,” according to her LinkedIn page. “My motto is: I bring astronauts back down to Earth.” In 2015, the Aldrin operation was newly incorporated with a board consisting of Col. Aldrin, Andrew Aldrin and Janice Aldrin. After a share transaction, Col. Aldrin lost control of the company, and had just one vote out of three, according to Mr. Tourtelot who has examined the transaction. Buzz Aldrin stands beside an American flag at Tranquility Base on the surface of the moon during the Apollo 11 mission. PHOTO: NASA/CORBIS/GETTY IMAGES That year, the Florida Institute of Technology launched the Buzz Aldrin Space Institute. Col. Aldrin joined the university faculty as research professor of aeronautics and served as the institute’s senior faculty adviser. Andrew wasn’t working at the time, Col. Aldrin said, and he asked him to assume the position of a graduate assistant the university had offered him. In the interview, Col. Aldrin said his son “began to broadly interpret that and soon he became the director of the Institute.” Meanwhile,Ms. Korp continued to oversee Buzz Aldrin Enterprises, planning annual fundraising galas for ShareSpace and managing the former astronaut’s Twitter and other social-media accounts, according to Col. Aldrin and Mr. Tourtelot. The Florida Institute did not immediately return an email seeking comment. She fired the agency sometime after 2013 that had been booking Mr. Aldrin’s speaking engagements and began making those arrangements herself, Mr. Tourtelot said. She received a 5% commission on any deals, he said, a set-up Col. Aldrin didn’t know about or authorize. By 2016, Col. Aldrin said he increasingly grew frustrated that his foundation wasn’t moving in the direction he wanted. While it focused on educating elementary-school children about Mars through maps, he wanted to work more urgently on getting a permanent human settlement on the planet. He said he also was booked for events he didn’t want to attend and encouraged to pursue endorsement deals he didn’t favor. For instance, he “never quite saw why I should get involved with Faberge eggs and French perfume,” Col. Aldrin said. He rejected the suggestions, he said. Annual reports indicate that his foundation hasn’t granted scholarships. Revenues are generated by annual galas and the sale of Mars maps and T-shirts, the reports shows; some, designed by Ms. Korp, say “Get Your Ass to Mars.” In 2016, the most recent figures available, those sales generated $59,101. Last year, Mr. Tourtelot said, Col. Aldrin expressed concerns that he didn’t know how much money he had. In September, on his client’s behalf, Mr. Tourtelot demanded seven years of financial records of Buzz Aldrin Enterprises and the ShareSpace Foundation. After months of back and forth, he said he recently received documents from 2017. They show Buzz Aldrin Enterprises paid the former astronaut a salary of $36,000 in 2017 and reimbursed him for expenses, according to Mr. Tourtelot and documents reviewed by the Journal. Andrew Aldrin and Ms. Korp, meanwhile, each received salaries of $153,000 from the company as well as reimbursements for expenses such as first-class air travel, according to Mr. Tourtelot and documents reviewed by the Journal. Over the years, Mr. Tourtelot said, Ms. Korp has exerted control over Col. Aldrin. At a birthday party for him at a Los Angeles restaurant a few years ago, Mr. Aldrin was speaking to the roughly 200 guests about his childhood, telling stories many had never heard. Mr. Tourtelot, who was there, said Ms. Korp strode to Mr. Aldrin and took the microphone away from him. “That’s enough, Buzz,” she said, according to Mr. Tourtelot. In October 2016, Col. Aldrin set up a new revocable trust with Andrew as trustee. In it, Andrew and Janice Aldrin are set to receive more than James Michael, their sibling. The trust, which was reviewed by the Journal, stipulates that no changes can be made to its terms without Andrew’s written permission. The rift in the Aldrin family deepened later that year, after a trip to the South Pole with Col. Aldrin to generate revenues for the foundation. Several people paid to join him on the trip, which he said he was reluctant to take. It required a long walk at over 9,000 feet above sea level from where the airplane landed near the Pole. Col. Aldrin tired and collapsed; medics said he appeared to have high-altitude pulmonary edema and had to be evacuated. He was flown to a New Zealand hospital to recover. After that, Col Aldrin said, Andrew and Janice started limiting his activities. They have also told him he can no longer scuba dive, his favorite hobby, and have taken away his passport. Recently, when Col. Aldrin fired Ms. Korp from his company, he said Andrew told him he did not have the authority to do so because the board had given Janice and Andrew control. Ms. Korp remains at the foundation. SHOW COMMENTS

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Popular Mississippi River cruises offer fresh view of American history The American Queen steams along Big Muddy in Vicksburg, Miss. (American Queen Steamboat Co.) Ellen UzelacChicago Tribune When it comes to river cruises, most Americans look to Europe for storybook waterways like the Danube, Rhine and Seine. Lots of rivers, lots of ships, lots of itineraries. But the Mississippi River, right here at home, is getting a fresh look from travelers who want to experience a cruise without having to fly to another continent. When I cruised on the 436-passenger paddle-wheeler American Queen in July, I had tamped down my expectations. How, after all, could St. Louis compare to Paris? How would rows of high corn and lush green tobacco fields measure up to terraced vineyards that produce some of the world's finest wines? Seriously, grits or gougeres? RELATED: TRENDING LIFE & STYLE NEWS THIS HOUR All questions to ponder during the seven-night cruise — a span of 680 miles that Mark Twain helped put on the map with ports of call including Cape Girardeau, Mo.; Paducah, Ky.; and Madison, Ind. We sailed south from St. Louis, then took a hard left onto the Ohio, winding up in Cincinnati. By the time American Queen tied up across the street from the Cincinnati Reds stadium, ablaze in neon just before dawn, I got it. No wonder European giant Viking River Cruises announced plans last year to build six ships that will ply the waters of Big Muddy and its tributaries. It's a big deal from a big brand and would mark Viking's foray in the U.S. river boat market. Meanwhile, American Cruise Lines added a second ship, the 185-passsenger America, to the river this year. A new company, French America Line, will launch the boutique-style Louisiane on its inaugural cruise in October. And Memphis-based American Queen Steamboat Co. executives say they want to enhance their position on the river with a high-end, suites-dominant ship that will be far different than the steam-powered American Queen, the world's largest paddle-wheeler. "The Mississippi River is where so much of America's history was written," said Gary Seabrook, the firm's senior vice president of operations. "We don't have castles to take you to. Our boat and our itineraries are a little more homespun. But the Mississippi is our Nile, and it runs right down the middle of the country. There's a sense of rediscovering our own antiquity." Remember, too, that the Mississippi River Valley was settled by European immigrants, whose influence is still on display today in everything from cultural traditions to cuisine. There's the riverside Oktoberfest every fall in La Crosse, Wis.; the Norwegian Norskedalen settlement just outside of La Crosse; the French Quarter in New Orleans; mansions on the lower Mississippi that easily rival some of Europe's chateaux; and Dutch windmills in Clinton, Iowa. American Queen has even developed Christmas market cruises modeled after those in Europe. There's nothing wrong with a shipboard menu that features regional favorites like sweet potato poutine; confit of duck with fig and lemon preserves over dirty rice; cornmeal-crusted Mississippi catfish; and fried green tomatoes. As with river boats in Europe, the six-deck American Queen, because of its nimble size, can dock in the center of town — within easy walking distance of the iconic Gateway Arch in St. Louis, as an example. The day we pulled into Cape Girardeau, we were greeted by musicians performing "Basin Street Blues" — a nice touch. Other pluses: The ship has bicycles passengers can use onshore and onboard lecturers, and, unlike anything I've experienced in Europe, American Queen features robust evening entertainment in the Engine Room Bar and the Grand Saloon, a venue patterned after Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. The ship has a sense of humor, too; each cabin is named after a real waterway: Mosquito Creek, Raccoon River, Dog Tooth Bend. The ship also offers something I really like — guided hop-on, hop-off tours. Buses meet passengers at the dock and stop at various points of interest. Passengers hop on and off as they wish. Without "ho ho," as the crew calls it, I would never have appreciated the thriving arts scene in Paducah or enjoyed the expanse of one of the country's largest National Historic Landmark districts, consisting of 2,000 structures across 133 blocks in the Ohio River town of Madison. Then there's the river system itself. The Mississippi and the Ohio remain hardworking waterways. The scenery during my cruise wasn't all pretty — fertilizer plants, rock quarries, refineries, granaries. But things don't have to be pretty to be interesting. Watching a towboat pushing as many as 40 barges downriver — now that's something you don't see every day. Half of the passengers onboard had already cruised Europe, and many expressed concern about the threat of terrorism overseas. And I heard this comment, over and over: "We were looking for something different." There's also a lot to be said for the ease of travel on a cruise like this — a short flight, no currency to exchange and, in my case, the pleasure of waking up in Ohio on disembarkation day in my own time zone. Donna and Jim Pratt, honeymooners from Maryland, chose the American Queen as their first river cruise. She didn't want to leave the U.S. because of the long-haul flights and global unrest. "Plus there's so much to see here," she said. He, meanwhile, was reveling in the history of the river valley that Mark Twain called America's heart. "It's easy to reimagine what early America looked like, to see what the pioneers must have seen," Pratt said. "Use your imagination and you can just take yourself back in time." When I talked to the Pratts again in early August, they were making plans to book a cruise next summer on the upper Mississippi, a St. Louis-to-St. Paul itinerary popular in part because of the region's limestone bluffs, waterfowl and waterways that are a bit wilder than the lower stretches of the river. This time, they plan to take along family and friends.