I flew to Palma from Heathrow’s Terminal 1 via Frankfurt and arrived last night around 7pm. I stayed in a hotel which was “ok” but I did manage to find some nice places to go and have a drink and some food, I met a couple of guys in a bar they were Skippers on huge private boats and were great company, Ed and Stu I think, one from New York and the other from Sydney Australia, anyway great company.
Joined the ship with an old mate called Andy Leach he’s a very funny man with an equally funny act, you may have seen him on the telly. We got onboard around 11.30am and soon settled in to our rooms, we met for lunch. The weather by the way is ever so hot 35degs so I think it’s a bronzing afternoon for me, I may as well as the summer over at home, I know, what summer I hear you say, hasn’t it been awful this year, it seems we have our summer in April now?
We sailed at 4.30pm having done our emergency drill where we all go to our muster stations next to the life boat we would go to is the emergency signal should ever sound which is 7 short and 1 long in the ships horn.
It’s 7.30pm now and it’s a beautiful evening, have a look at the photos, we just sailed past Santa Ponca where Marie Sam and I had a holiday a couple of years ago, it is funny seeing from the ship!
My show is in the Palladium Theatre on Wednesday, I have 2 shows as is normal I have an 8.45pm and a 10.45pm to do, the guests seem to be mainly British but I have heard quite a few American and Spanish people around the ship.
Tomorrow we are in Barcelona.
Goodnight.
Barcelona (lalalalalalalalal) Barcelona (lalalalalalalal)
Sorry that was meant to be Freddie Mercury’s Barcelona, well it was in my head! Good morning and what a lovely morning it is, the sun is shining and it is already 25degs at 9.50am, the weather at home is awful, I spoke to Marie first thing and she was rushing around getting Sam ready for school and she said it was ever so wet and windy, funny isn’t it Barcelona is not really that far from the UK and yet the difference in weather is vast, I can see how so many people consider moving to Spain or the South of France, I know the grass is always greener and all that but we are just having the worst summers aren’t we. I haven’t played much golf this year at all, I haven’t played one single game with my society the wedges www.wedges.org I have missed that very much especially the crack with the boys, oh well I am very grateful to have work and that is very important, I know my job takes me all over the world but it isn’t all glamorous let me tell you, some people take two flights a year to go on holiday I am doing around eight a month as it’s not very often I get direct flights and sometimes there isn’t much time in-between fights so it can be a mad dash to get to the next gate, I have missed connecting flights loads of times and I have missed the ship once, on boy that was serious stress, it was a long time ago now and Marie and I were sailing on Cunard Caronia and we docked in Montego Bay Jamaica, we got off the ship dressed in beach wear, I was wearing a vest, shorts and flip flops and Marie had shorts on with a t shirt and yes flip flops, we had $100 on us and headed for the beach and the bar, we asked some people on the shuttle bus to the beach what time the ship is sailing and they said confidently 6 o’ clock so we thought we would have a nice morning on the beach then have lunch in the beach bar, as we were enjoying a Red Stripe beer and listening to Bob Marley music pumping out of the bar Marie said to me “have you noticed there are no people here from our ship”, we knew this because we all take the ships pool towels with us when we go ashore to the beach, I decided we should go back to the ship as I had a bad feeling about this, the people by the way who told us it was a 6 o’ clock sail were on another ship that was docked around the corner, they weren’t on our ship at all. We got to the ship terminal and we could see the funnel of our ship and then thought everything was ok but it was actually sailing, we went into the shop to get some gifts for family and when we came out the ship had gone, Marie just looked at the empty space where the ship was docked and cried like a baby bless her, I had to take charge here and we ran to find the port agent and we were met with a laid back approach like you have never seen “Ah relax man, relax yourself, every ting is every ting man, no problem” well we were beside ourselves. We were put up in a cheap and dirty hotel in Montego Bay with now $25 to our names, no passports, no medication, no change of clothes and no toiletries, what were going to do? We stayed there for 5 days until the ship came back into Ochoa Reus (if that is how you spell it) I went to the ship and what I didn’t think about was what has happened to our personal things, they had people pack all our stuff and believe me they just threw it all in sat on the cases and that was it, I had a good telling off and quite rightly so, the good news after all this I was given my money for the cruise in CASH so we were ok from there on. We flew to Miami and had an 8hr wait in a que as we were on standby, we did get back home eventually but what a story and it happened to us.
Boy I went on then didn’t I...ok on with my day and time for a run!
I didn’t go for a run I went into town with Andy Leach and we must have walked miles and we power walked, we saw the beautiful cathedral and walked through some of the back streets of this mysterious city. I forgot to take the camera but I have some photos from the last time I was here only a few months ago. Tomorrow we are in Ibiza and I have never been there so it makes a change to go somewhere different so I am looking forward to that. It’s 10pm now and I’m about to go to bed, I met some people earlier from Scotland and they are playing golf tomorrow and they kindly invited me to play with them, so you never know, let’s see how I feel in the morning.
Goodnight.
It’s Ibiza day! I had a nice extra couple of hours in bed this morning until 10.20am lovely, once upon a time I could stay in bed until noon and go and have a curry for lunch, ha those days have long gone!
It is a beautiful sunny day, the weather is just stunning here. I took a walk around the ship this morning and the pool area was ram jam packed with people watching a load of overweight guys belly flopping into the pool, check the photos out. Talking about photos as I was taking a few pics of the beautiful 1000 seat Palladium Theatre the battery icon on my camera was flashing so I took as many pics as I could before it ran out, when I got back to my room I couldn’t find the charger, I have only left it at home haven’t I, I am gutted as I haven’t been to Ibiza before and we are now sailing into the harbour and it looks stunningly beautiful! AAAAhhhhrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh well onwards and upwards at least I have the belly flop pics to show you, it was so funny and a tad old fashioned but as you can see people love it, fun in the sun!
We were all tied up and docked at 2pm and I went down to the guest relations desk and met with a great guy called Davey who was organizing the golf that day, I had met him and his lovely wife a few months ago on the Celebrity Eclipse, anyway I then met the man who ever so kindly lent me his brand new Ping and Taylormade golf clubs, his name was George, unfortunately he couldn’t play as he was not feeling too good and he lent his clubs to me, what a nice man. Our four ball was Davey, Dave, Lucky Jerry and me. The golf club was a great set up and we even had buggies as it was far too hot to walk the course, we had a fantastic days golf and even better company, Davey won with a mighty 41 points, then Lucky Jerry with 36 points (you will never play with anyone as lucky as Jerry, I didn’t tell him I once played Lucky Eric in Bouncers) then Dave with 32 points and I got 30 points so what a day, thank you Davey for your kindness and one of the best days golf ever.
I had a quick night cap with my mate Andy Leach and off to bed around 11.45pm.
Good morning. It is a day at sea today as we sail for Malaga, it’s another sunny day here, Marie tells me it has been shocking weather at home so lucky me eh!
I have my show tonight in the 1000 seat Palladium Theatre check out these photos I took with the theatre empty and just before my battery died on me, isn’t it beautiful, I am so lucky to work in some of the best theatre’s in the world I really am.
OK, I have packing to do this morning, take another look at my act, sort the music out for the 9 piece band and I have my rehearsal and sound check at 4pm, show time is 9pm and 10.45pm tonight.
My rehearsal and sound check went great, I haven’t worked this theatre for nine years and it’s great to be back, the sound is not quite as good as Independence, Jewel or Eclipse but not bad at all, so I am now just waiting to go on tonight, I have 2hrs 45mins to wait and I’m almost packed and I am so looking forward to going home now, I should be back in my house around 5pm tomorrow, I can’t wait to see Marie and Sam.
I just looked out and we are now passing the South of Spain so I tried my mobile phone and got a signal so I rang home and spoke to Marie, she was in the middle of a concert by Sam in the living room, I so wish I was there to see it! I’m on stage myself in an hour so I had better get my skates on and get showered and dressed for the show, I am a little nervous as I haven’t worked this theatre for a while, but the guests are mainly British so all should be fine, I know here I go again! See you later after the show.
I have just come back from the 9pm show, what a crowd possibly the best ever on a ship, what a great time I had and they gave me a proper standing ovation and I over ran and the Cruise Director was happy...result! Let’s hope the 10.45pm goes as well!
All good and probably one of the best cruises ever!
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