QM2 private charter June 4-9

I read on this board somewhere that the QM2 will be on a private charter in early June (4th to the 9th, I believe), and everyone was wondering who on earth would be chartering the Queen Mary 2! Well, tonight I found out. I was talking to a friend about our upcoming June 9th TA crossing, and he told me that his company, Merrill Lynch, was hiring the QM2 for a cruise to the Bahamas and back right before that. Apparently, Merrill is doing this to reward their top stock brokers (and their spouses). So there you have it.

Reminds me of the old joke about the guy who saw all the broker's yacht in the marina and asked someone: "Where are the customer's yachts?".

Now we know the brokers have traded in their yachts for QM2 charters. Merrill must have a very fat wallet for this "perk". Suddenly, I remember why I switched brokers a few years ago from Merrill -- it was those high commissions Merrill was charging.

I wonder if the IRS knows or cares about this extravagance. I believe there are all sorts of tax rules about non-deductibility of luxury water travel. Probably, the geniuses at Merrill however have found a way to get it treated as a business expense anyway.