Civvi Aug 2012

Firstly I must say sorry, yes sorry for not writing my blog for a few weeks, due to lots of things not even worth mentioning I’m here once again! Its been a crazy few weeks, what with trans shipping all over the place, since the wonderful cruise on Brilliance of the Seas with my Mam and Dad and two lovely cruises with my wife and son Sam I have done and been all over the place. I have had my fair share of coughs and colds so much so I even had to cancel a Saga Cruise for which I am truly sorry, I was looking forward to joining the Saga Quest of Adventure, oh well its now booked for next year now.

A big highlight for me this summer was a few weeks ago when I was joining the beautiful Grandeur of the Seas in Palma Mallorca, I flew into Palma and my good friend Mark Bailey who owns Trade Centre Wales and who I do Radio Adverts for, met me at the airport and then took me to where his private yacht was moored and invited me to stay onboard for the night, what a boat, I was expecting something much smaller, I mean this thing was huge, with 3 bedrooms all with en-suite bathrooms, a fully fitted kitchen, a huge living space including the bridge controls, an outside dining area aft enough for 8 people, a speed boat on the back, upstairs another dining area with bench seats and a bar-b-que, sunbathing space and another bridge, this was the real deal, what an amazing experience. He took me out to dinner that night to his favorite restaurant and that was spectacular, I had suckling pig, that was so lovely. We sat on the open deck for hours chatting away until time for bed, unfortunately I had a cold and a troublesome cough but it didn’t spoil it for me. The next morning I got up having slept well in the forward cabin and walked around this magnificent marina and took loads of pics, Mark then took me for a big boys breakfast over looking the marina and then said to me “I have a surprise for you, I am taking you to the ship in the Yacht” well I could have fallen through the floor. Mark had a Captain arrive at the Yacht and we sailed down the coast to Palma, it was a wonderful trip, I even drove for a while, the sea was an amazing colour and the coast line spectacular, soon Palma came into view and my ship was now visable, then I started to panic as I couldn’t see where we were going to dock for me to disembark, he only pulled up right next door to the Grandeur of the Seas and that’s where I got off and walked a few yards to the ship, I am still on cloud nine, thank you Mark that was just an amazing kind thing you did for me and I will never forget it!

The two cruises with my family were a blessing , Independence of the Seas which I have already told you all about in an earlier blog and most recently Serenade of the Seas only 2 days ago. We flew from Cardiff to Rome via Amsterdam and Sam was a really good boy all the way, he is becoming a very good traveller and he’s only 5yrs old bless him. Soon in Rome and finally in our Hotel the Hilton Garden Inn which did the best Pizza I have ever tasted and had the most comfy beds ever which they called “a sleep system” they were just so comfy. The next day we made our way to Civitavecchia with a dear old pal who I have know for nearly 20yrs Pete Matthews, he was the best company and made a huge fuss of our Sam and Sam loved him. Pete worked that night and absolutely stormed the crowd, he’s a fantastic act and it’s a pleasure to work with him, boy he’s come on since our days on the Canon and Ball Show in Blackpool. The Serenade is a beautiful ship and its what they call a Radiance Class Ship, it is identical to the Brilliance, Jewel and Radiance, it packs in a lot of ship for 90,000tonnes. Sam loved the water slide the best and Pete went down with him loads of times, I did once and Marie went loads of times, we all enjoyed the mini golf and played a lot, the weather was very hot sunshine, average 37c so we had Sam well covered. We loved the production show called Vibe Oligy it was music from over the decades Elvis, Beatles, Queen, The Who to todays music, very cleverly done with some outstanding vocals from all. My show was on Kusadasi night, the night before we travelled home, Kusadasi is a fab place but for poor little Sam it was just too hot 39c so we only walked around the market for 20mins, you can buy anything your little heart desires in Kusadai. Time for my show, the band 100% brilliant as was the sound and lights, the crowd were a mix of British, Americans, Spanish and others people from around the world, I loved my shows and went down great so that part done and dusted. I had a few drinks with Pete after the show with some friends and soon bed and an early call the next day. We had a very long day ahead of us a good 11hrs travelling and as I say our Sam just takes it all in his stride and gets on with it, we can take him anywhere. So Athens to Amsterdam then onto Cardiff, I got my precious cargo home, then for me it was unpack and re pack as fast as I could then bed for 4 hours and a car at 4am to take me back to Heathrow for a flight back to Rome so to join the Grand Princess in the port of Civitavecchia. I stayed in a nice little hotel and had all afternoon to walk around and enjoy a cold beer and another pizza. I had a rude wake up call this morning at 7.30am “Come down NOW sir, bus is waiting” I had no idea the bus was taking me so early, so no brushed teeth and no shower and a panic stricken run to reception, as I was running out the door I hear “sir you had a bottle of water from mini bar yes…@euro please” after searching for the 2 damn euros I found myself apologizing to the full bus of crew members for holding them up, “huh entertainers” I heard one say, I was so embarrassed. Once on the ship I unpacked had a nice café latte and a bacon, egg and cheese bagel I ventured off the ship for a walk only to find P&O Oceana is in with us, I do hope I get to meet up with Cruise Director Nigel Travis later on, I miss P&O! I with quite a few people off the Oceana, I first bumped into Roger Carr who is the musical director and I have known him since 1995 from Oriana days, then my old pal Colin “Fingers” Henry came along for a drink, Colin is a great act and we have known each other for years, we sat in the shade having a few beers and laughed away for a good hour, I had a call from Nigel Travis the cruise director of Oceana and so then jumped back on the shuttle bus and met him on the quayside for a quick catch up, I used to work with Nigel loads of times so would see each other every year many times through out the year and now I hardly see him, or work on P&O Cruises, it’s a shame as I miss the company, or is it the people that work there? We sailed away from Civitavecchia and the Oceana sailed right after us, got some great pics of her just off our stern. I had an early night last night, I should have gone out as the McDonald Brothers were on in the Princess Theatre, you may remember them from the X Factor a few years ago, a great act and very nice lads. I had a message under my door this morning from a real good mate of mine Mark O Malley, so he got on today and I’m so pleased as he really is a tonic, a real happy guy to be around, I’m looking forward to spending time with him. We did just that, Mark and I went ashore and enjoyed the lovely Naples sunshine, it wasn’t as hot as it was in Civitavecchia, it was over 40c yesterday, today was 36c, still hot mind! I have my show tonight and have a rehearsal at 5.30pm so see you later! Rehearsal went great as they have a great band and sound man, I had a nice rest before the show and I have just come in from the 8.30pm show and enjoyed it, a great crowd and they were quite young as its summer so a lively lot, the sound wasn’t as good as rehearsal unfortunately so I need to talk to the sound man before I go back on. Yes, much better and really enjoyed it up there and even throwing in some new ideas. Today we are in Corsica and what a beautiful Island it is, the sun is shining strong and there is a light breeze to help the day along. Tonight its Mark’s turn and he has two show tonight so I will be going along to the 8.30pm show. I met two very nice people at one of the pool bars John and Sharon from Neath, we had a good chat and a few drinks and they wanted me to know how much they enjoy the Trade Centre Wales Ads which I was delighted to hear. Marks show was spectacular and everyone loved him, he sings some great songs, he was once in “Miss Saigon” in London, a great mate and a great act! Today we are at sea, and the sea state is flat calm, it really is like a mill pond. My boy Sam learn’t to ride his bike, that was the great news sent to me today by text, I am so proud of him, we bought him one of those balance bikes and he only went on it about six times and now he’s on his big bike without the stabilizers, again I am not there, its hard but I’m not going to go on about it, well done Sam. I had my rehearsal at 10.30am which went really well and this afternoon I had a letter delivered to my cabin from someone…wait for it…accusing me of saying something offensive to some teenagers who walked out of my show the other night, well I am not happy about this and I look forward to meeting with this man and talking to him about it, I have worked on some of the best cruise lines in the world and know exactly how to behave…thank you very much, do I sound angry to you? My show is in 35mins so best I get going, bye for now! Both my shows went great, the early show felt easier than the late show but that’s how it goes! After the show I went for a nice pint with Mark and the Cruise Director Billy, so just kicked back and relaxed. Today is the last day and we are now almost through the Bay of Biscay, the Independence of the Seas is somewhere around here too but I can’t see her, Mark O Malley is back on tonight and to be honest I’m glad its not me as I don’t like to perform the night before you go home, you just can’t pack fully. I can’t wait to get home tomorrow and see my lovely little boy Sam and my wife Marie. It has been another wonderful time here on Grand Princess and I look forward to the next time which is in a couple of weeks time, I’m off to Celebrity Eclipse next on Sunday and I do hope Marie and Sam come with me. Thank you for following me on my blog, keep an eye on the website, as I have lots coming up, what with a few theatre gigs and the Panto of course! You can also follow me on twitter search @Mike DoyleComedy and I’m on facebook too!

Grand Princess July 2012

I flew out of Copenhagen after a successful week on RCI’s beautiful Jewel of the Seas and landed in Gdansk Poland, unfortunately there was no one there to pick me up from the airport, so I took a taxi to my hotel in the port of Gdynia. My hotel was “ok” and as I was so very tired I didn’t care really what it was like, I went for a walk around the town and took some photos, as you can see it has a lovely church.

I ended up in a lovely little bar and as I didn’t have any Polish money on me I had to charm the ever so nice lady behind the bar and she allowed me to pay in euros, they had some very nice beer spelt with a “Z” sorry I can’t remember now, but it was a great pint. Soon tucked up in my hotel bed and feeling a tad homesick I fell asleep. I woke around 7am and was soon in the taxi to the ship, we arrived on the quay side and watched the Grand Princess sail in, a truly magnificent sight, she looked splendid coming into the Harbour. The weather wasn’t kind at all and I stood at the gangway shivering in the rain and cold waiting to board. Once on and in my cabin and the heating turned up I soon recovered. The ever so talented Emily Reed is on in the theatre tonight, I last worked with Emily last year on Celebrity Eclipse, she has a huge voice for such a tiny frame, she tells me she is getting married next year, so congratulations to you and your Husband to be! I saw most of Emily’s show and then went to bed. My day wasn’t great as I got myself down a bit, I’m really missing home and my family at the moment, I’m hardly ever home and sometimes, well, as the Americans would say, it just sucks! Good Morning. It is a good morning too, I slept really well and as we are sailing very close to land with Demark and Copenhagen close by and we sail under the bridge there is a good signal so spoke to Marie for ages, I needed that, I miss her and Sam like mad, and at the moment really hugely miss them. Ha, on my iTunes Westlife has come on singing “Home” now that’s spooky isn’t it, every word in this song I can identify with. I love my home, but to have that home I have to be away from it? My rehearsal is at 5pm and my shows at 8.30pm and 10.30pm in the 900 seat Princess Theater and I am looking forward to working tonight. I had a lovely lunch sat all alone with a beautiful plate of pork and mash and a relaxing afternoon in my cabin working on my show for tonight. My rehearsal went very well, the band are really tight and the sound is fab, so I feel well up for it tonight. My 9pm show was 100% packed and I really enjoyed it, thanks to Mary in the front from the USA and to the rest of the crowd really, the 10.45pm felt a little different and I had to up the pace a bit but it turned out to be another great show. After the show I went to the Officers Wardroom with one of the Entertainments Officers Luke from New Zealand, he’s a great bloke and a great laugh too, we had a couple then had toasted ham and cheese sarnies on the way home, well when I say home, I mean our cabins! We were in Oslo yesterday, I have been there quite a few times and when the sun shines it really is an amazing place to walk around and take in the breath taking views and enjoy the waterfront, but it was quite a mixed bag weather wise, they are getting much the same as us at home with lots of rain, but it didn’t rain much and I was able to get around the town taking some pics, one particular seagull was the perfect subject, it just stood there letting me snap away taking pics of it, have a look! Last night I went to see a brilliant entertainer Gareth Oliver in the Theater, what a show he put on, it was hilarious and he stormed the crowd, he also had his girlfriend in the act with him and it was so clever what they did, if you ever get a chance to see Gareth work you must go, he is a fantastic act! Good Morning. We are at sea today in the North Sea making our way to Southampton. I’m on tonight with the brilliant Emily Reed who is an amazing singer, we have 7pm and 8.45pm shows and there is an hour back on the clock tonight, so that will come in very handy in terms of an extra hours in bed let me tell you! I have my show to work on for tonight now, then sort out some receipts for my VAT accounts, then work on my speech for tomorrow night in Rhoose for Aberthaw Cement, then pack ready for getting off tomorrow, I have to be up by 6.30am to be ready for the Immigration people at 7am, then I hope to be in a taxi and on the 8.10am train back to Bridgend and home to my family!

Jewel and Grand Princess

With only the 2 days off this time I had to try and enjoy every minute of it, I loved playing with my little boy Sam and I loved listening to his news of school and his funny jokes he’s had with his pals, I miss my family like mad and I sometimes wonder what on earth is it all about, to have the home and life I have, I have to be away from it, work that out someone please! I also managed to drive up to Nottingham to pick my son Tom up from his digs and bring him home, he has just finished an 18 week tour of the stage play Birds of a Feather with the original cast from the hit TV show, he did a grand job and we are all so very proud of him.

I then flew from Cardiff to Amsterdam where I then had to endure an 8hr wait in-between flights, my next flight to Tallinn in Estonia wasn’t until 8pm and I had landed in Amsterdam at 11am. I have a good friend at the airport who works as a bartender at the Het Pallais Bar his name is Jan, I first met him just over 5 years ago, the reason I can remember how long ago it was is because, when our son Samuel was born I missed the birth as I was on the P&O Arcadia, Sam came early and I missed it, I flew back two days after the birth and missed my flight to Cardiff so ended up at Amsterdam awaiting a late flight back home, so like most people would have been in my situation, I went to find the bar, I walked through the door with tears in my eyes and this wonderful man Jan looked at me and said “now here’s a man who needs a beer” in his thick Dutch accent, I said back to him “I have just missed the birth of my son” he said “ I think we should have two beers” we laughed and we have been good friends ever since. So here I am once again at Amsterdam and as always I made my way to the bar and there was Jan, I had a couple of beers and a lovely meal, I had 8hrs to kill in this airport, I am so glad I have a Priority Pass which means I have access to business lounges all over the world and in cases like this they come in very handy, with free food and drinks and free internet. The time passed and I was soon on the flight back to Tallinn, yes I was only there a few days ago on Celebrity Eclipse, it went quite quick, thanks to my IPad. I was soon at my hotel and the comfiest bed and pillows ever and a jaccusi (sorry can’t spell it and neither can my MacBook Pro) but very nice. I joined the beautiful Jewel of the Seas and was given the loveliest welcome as always and settled into my beautiful suite. I bumped into Susan Foster who is the Stage and Production Manager and a brilliant photographer; she has done most of my publicity, on the way to the ship I also bumped into an old pal and brilliant singer Gary Williams who I am taking over from, I do hope he has left me something in the fridge! I had dinner with the cruise director Clo and her lovely friends who are Airline Hosts one with Virgin and the other with BA, very nice people. My show is day after tomorrow so time to relax a bit…its 10.20pm here and its like daylight out there, we are now on our way to Gothenburg in Sweden, we dock right outside the Volvo Factory…how exciting!!!!! Goodnight! A day at sea and a mix bag of sunshine and showers and an old film on the telly, I felt quite lonely today, so what do you do when you feel lonely, you go to the bar of course, I had a lunchtime pint and met two terrific guys at the bar Mike and Shaun, Mike didn’t drink but still insisted he buys a round and Shaun so it happened turned out to be a Catholic Priest, so his name soon became “Father” what a great man, I enjoyed telling him of my days St. Mary’s RC School in Carmarthen and St. John Lloyd RC Secondary School in Llanelli, he is from Ireland and very proud of that, he is coming to my show tomorrow night and we are meeting afterwards for a pint, it was great to meet the two of them. The sea is calm and the sun is still out and with the cloud formation its making an interesting sky, oh quick where’s my camera! It’s a school night for me tonight as I am on tomorrow night for 7pm and a 9pm shows so its goodnight from me! I had the best shows ever, well it certainly felt that way, 2 shows and they went really quick, especially the 9pm and I ended up doing 1hr and 15mins, I really shouldn’t have over ran like that but it was just one of those nights, I couldn’t do anything wrong, couldn’t put a foot out of place, a great night. It was also a great night as Father Shaun and his party from County Galloway had an impromptu sing song in the Safari Club and what great singers they had in that group, I enjoyed so very much, it was lovely to hear some of the old Irish folk songs I used to hear as a child, wonderful night! I was up early this morning as Father Shaun invited me to go along to Mass, well I made it and very glad I did, it took me back to my days at St. Mary’s RC Church in Carmarthen, the responses came flooding back as did my tears at times, I just couldn’t help crying, nobody noticed so all was well, it was so good to meet Father Shaun and I wish him well and his parishioners as they fly back to Ireland tomorrow. I have been happy here in this beautiful suite and I have just been told that I have to pack my stuff and prepare to move to another suite, which will be the suite I normally get, just when I thought I was settled, oh well never mind, stop moaning Doyle and pack that case. Tomorrow we are in Harwich, I do love Harwich and I’m looking forward to going for a pint in the Hanover Inn and then some traditional fish and chips up the road from there, the weather was stunning the last time I was in Harwich, I do hope its going to be at least dry tomorrow! We sail away tomorrow evening for Copenhagen then I fly to Gdansk in Poland where I shall stay in a hotel and the next morning join the beautiful Grand Princess and sail back to Southampton. I had a great day as always in Old Harwich, firstly breakfast in the “Cuppa Coffee” in Dovercourt and free internet which is great, then jumped on the bus down to Old Harwich, the weather is awful today so haven’t taken too many photos, I have taken loads here before when the sun was out and the skies were lovely and blue, oh well it’s still good here. I popped into my local pub when I’m down here, the “Hanover Inn” and was given a great welcome by the Landlord Baz, he keeps a crackin pint of Thwaites Original Bitter and the locals are great with some sharp banter that keeps you laughing all day long, after that is was fish and chips that taste fantastic. Back on the ship and soon time for the emergency drill, as I have said before, after what happened with Costa O never complain about going now, I used to, but not any more, it’s so important! We are now sailing out of Harwich and on our way to Copenhagen, my show is tomorrow night and then off I go to Poland! I slept well last night and stayed in bed until 10am in-fact if Clo our cruise director hadn’t have rang me to say that her husband and son were up at breakfast waiting to see me I would have stayed in bed for another hour. It was lovely to see Clo’s other half Dave and there beautiful son Connor who has the most lovely long hair, our Sam likes it when Connor is here as he has someone to play with. My voice is very dry today, it’s the air-con, it plays havoc with your throat, my shows are tonight at 9pm and 10.45pm and we have a large Spanish and Mexican contingent so lets hope they can understand me, I do wish I could speak Spanish!

Eclipse July 2012

With just a few days off and “Team Doyle” safely back from the Independence of the Seas with flights from Lisbon and Dublin I even managed a round of golf at Coed Y Mwstwr Golf Club, I do love this course! We had an afternoon down Rest Bay Porthcawl after a lovely Sunday lunch at the Rose And Crown in Nottage also near Porthcawl, but the weather was so wet and windy, we also enjoyed looking around the newly refurbished Garden Centre in Pyle, we bought two hanging baskets in the hope we get some kind of summer quite soon! I was soon back at Cardiff Airport and my flight to Tallinn via Amsterdam, I had a very tight connection and due to the fact the Tallinn flight was delayed I made it and so did my luggage. I met with an old pal and great entertainer Mark Donahue at Amsterdam and we had a good old catch up on the plane to Tallinn. We arrived at Tallinn and my case came off first as it went on the plane last I suppose, I was relieved to see it I tell you. A short taxi ride to the ship and the Eclipse was looking magnificent docked in the Harbour, we were next to the Aida and we just looked so much more modern and luxurious, she really is a beautiful ship and I feel very honored to be working on here. Once in my stateroom and the previous acts luggage at the doorway, that luggage belonged to another good friend of mine and my brother Phill, Taffy Spencer, who I soon bumped into, he’s a great bloke and we enjoyed a bit of lunch together, he does make me laugh. The cruise director is a really nice man called Mike Gibbons who is also a good friend of my brother Phill, I’m looking forward to meeting him as Phill has told me all about him. The show tonight was a brilliant singer called Cheryl Sinclair, what a voice, what an act, I can’t wait to meet her and tell her how much I enjoyed her show. It was an hour back on the clock tonight so I took advantage of that and went to bed, I was so tired as I had been up since 3.30am, I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. Good Morning all, we are at sea in the Baltics, it’s a chilly day with scattered clouds, so different from yesterday in Tallinn with lovely hot sunshine. I had a light breakfast and then met up with the cruise director Mike Gibbons, we went for a coffee and just as my brother said, what a lovely man, he clearly thinks allot of Phill as they have worked together before on another cruise line, he gave me a huge plug over the ships PA System and after my show tonight he has his own show then after that we are going for a drink. I have 2 hours now until my band call, sound check and rehearsal so I will catch up with you later. Its great to be back on Celebrity Eclipse! Rehearsal went perfect, they are 100% professional on here and I am so up for tonight. The 7pm went brilliant, when I walked into the theatre at 6.50pm there were about 150 people sitting there and all at the back, but by the time I went on at 7.05pm it was almost full, where did all those people come from, I had the most wonderful time up there tonight, I have my next show in 35mins, I’m really looking forward to it too! I do love this ship and this theatre, its just a brilliant theatre to work, it has 1350 seats and loads of technology to help make your show sound and look amazing, thanks guys. Copenhagen came and went, but I did have a great day, Mike the cruise director invited me off the ship for lunch with his family, we had a great time, just look at the photos. Later on that evening we met up with another good mate Rikki Jay, he’s a really nice man, he gave me the “Feed The Fish’ routine which I did in panto a few years ago, he was joining the Caribbean Princess that day. We all had a few drinks and just sat there at the quayside enjoying the sunshine and crack so to speak, yes it was a lovely day. Today we are at sea and I had a lay in till 11am…ah that was lovely! Its another sunny day here on Celebrity Eclipse in the North Sea, I do hope the weather at home has improved, poor little Sammy, all he wants to do is kick his ball in the garden! What do you think of this photo of Sam with his football, it is fab isn’t it, even if I say so myself! Tonight I have been invited to take part in “Liars Club” it’s a take on the old TV Show “Call My Bluff” to be honest I’m not very good at it, but I will do my best, the word Tittup is a good one to get a few laughs! I’ll soon be home again, we are going to he circus on Saturday as it’s coming to our area, Sam is very excited! The next day I’m driving up to Nottingham to pick my son Tom up and bring him home as his tour of “Birds of a Feather” will have finished, he has done so well, travelling all over the UK on trains and sorting his own hotels out, he was the Technical Assistant Stage Manager (TASM) he has also been booked for panto and he’s going back to Wolver Hampton to the Grand Theatre where he was last year with our dear lovely friends Sam Kane and Linda Lusardi, but this year Tom won’t be with them, which is a real shame as he loves to work with them, Sam Kane has done so much for Tom and he has learn’t an awful lot and it has helped him on his way. I need to go back on my diet, I’m ashamed I let it go, I lost two stone on the Lighter Life Light diet, so I am going back on it asap! My phone just rang and it was the production manager Maddie, she tells me I have to be in front of the immigration officers at 6.30am on Saturday, oh well maybe I could get on an earlier train then! The Liars Club event went w storm, it was a great laugh, I over heard an American guy say “oh my dear Lord, that was a riot” we did have fun! Today is our last day and we are at sea heading for Southampton, I am back on tonight in a variety show with Mark Donahue, Cheryl Sinclair and the cast of the Theatre Company who are amazing by the way! I have really enjoyed being back on Celebrity Eclipse and I look forward to coming back throughout the year, I have also been booked back for next year already…must be ding something right then!

Brilliant on the Brilliance!

What a month it has been, my mothers 70th birthday, Sam’s 5th Birthday and Mam and Dad’s 52nd Wedding Anniversary, I took Mam and Dad with me on the Brilliance of the Seas to Norway and the Fjords, they loved it, we flew to Molde in Norway from Cardiff via Amsterdam and Oslo, it was a long day that day what with three flights, but well worth it when we finally got to Molde, the sun was shining the sky was blue and snow all over the nearby mountains, just look at the these photos!

Fab isn’t it, our hotel was very nice and very comfortable and right on the water, it did not go dark at all whilst we were there, 24hr daylight, Mam and Dad couldn’t get over it, we were having a drink in a bar at 11.45pm and the sun was out. Oh yes the drinks, Dad nearly fell through the floor at the price of the drinks, it was in our money £10 a pint of beer and the same for a glass of red wine, crazy isn’t it! We all loved our time in Molde, it’s a very nice quiet little town with the best drivers in the world, everyone and I mean everyone drove at the speed limit, 30mph really is 30mph in Norway, they must have some kind of huge fine if you break the speed limit! Please forgive me but I am writing this blog a few weeks after our time on the Brilliance, I usually write day by day and sometimes in real time. We also went to Alesund and beautiful Olden I think these photos say it all. The only thing that went wrong on this trip, well it worked out ok in the end but, my audience were 60% Spanish 30% German and the rest Brits and Americans, it was tough but somehow I did it, I even made myself laugh, I tried to talk in a Spanish accent but in English, so surreal! We got back home and my Mam and Dad just had the most wonderful time, Mam made friends with Sheila Trott my boss and they are going to keep in touch! The next cruise just 2 days after my parents was to Alicante with Marie and Sam my wife and our son, Sam had his 5th Birthday on the ship, this time the 160,000ton Independence of the Seas, we were only on the ship for 3 days in which I worked one of the nights but we had a great time, we played in the water park called H20 Zone, we went to an Ice Show, saw one of the spectacular production show called Once Upon A Time, Sam loved that show, it’s a great ship for families as there is heaps to do!

Here’s some phots of our time on Independence of the Seas.

Grand Princess June 9th 2012

I had 3 lovely days off at home with Marie and Sam and boy what awful weather, I have never in my life seen such bad weather, 80mph winds and driving rain, oh well it was still good to be home, my bad chest has got a lot better and I am now back on the Grand Princess and back in the same cabin I vacated only 4 days ago. My show is tomorrow night in the Princess Theatre and then another show in the Vista Lounge the next night, then I’m done as I’m flying home the next day from Seville Spain after docking in Cadiz. My dear old pal Mark O’ Malley is onboard and what a terrific act he is, Mark has a great voice and when we get together we laugh until it hurts! We had our emergency drill and Mark and I laughed so much at times, he’s a great bloke and has that “always laughing” face, it’s great to see him again! We sailed away at 4.15pm and the Celebrity Eclipse sailed before us and then we passed the Azura and then the much loved Oriana, my heart skipped a beat as we sailed passed her, our ship the Grand Princess gave her a salute by means of many loud blasts on the ships horn and Oriana sounded hers back to us, I felt like saluting her myself, I owe so much of the success I now enjoy to that wonderful ship, I joined her in October 1996 so have been associated with her all this time, gosh 16yrs, so that’s means Oriana is now 17yrs old, it seems only like yesterday she came out as the brand new kid on the block and making the old QE2 look old and tired, but there again, what an amazing ship QE2 was, I have been so blessed to have travelled on all these magnificent ships. Ok, it’s a school night for me tonight as I have two shows tomorrow night and two shows the following night, enjoy the photos of all these wonderful ships as we sailed away from Southampton. A couple with Mark O Malley and a good meal and I was away to my bed. Good Morning. We are at sea today crossing the Bay of Biscay and the sea isn’t too bad, a bit bumpy but nowhere near as bad as we were all expecting. My rehearsal went great and tonight I am in the Vista Lounge and felling a tad nervous as I would in all honesty prefer to work the theatre, oh well it’s not like it’s the first time I have ever worked a lounge and it does look fabulous. Just back from the 8.30pm show in the Vista Lounge, it went great but felt different, I worked different, I worked “the room” more if you know what I mean, I over ran so I must have done a good job, but felt like I was really having to work hard for the laughs, well that is good for you too! I have 30mins to my next show, so now I have done a show in there I now know what to expect and just get on with it and not expect it to happen, I have to make it happen, a lesson learn’t! Oh yes…I learnt from the first show and really upped the pace. I worked at lightning speed and got great results, everybody happy. After the show I went to the Officers Wardroom with Mark and Chris the Deputy Cruise Director and had a couple of beers then off to bed and slept like a log until 11am next day. We are still at sea and now sailing closer to Cadiz in Southern Spain and I am on again tonight, this time in the beautiful Princess Theatre, so music to get ready and comedy materiel to look at and then I have to pack my case, I pack and unpack so many times I can do it in around 15mins. Rehearsal is in 3hrs 30mins and I can hear my old pal Tony Wright saying “yeah but what a lovely 3hrs 30mins” haha! A very good rehearsal and a lovely 8.30pm show from which I have just come in through the door, the next show in 35mins, I hope the next crowd will be just as good. Oh the late show crowd were fantastic, thank Sylvia for the dance on stage you were amazing. After the show I headed down to the Officers Wardroom for a pint and then back to my cabin to finish off the packing. I woke at 8.30am and after a good breakfast it was time to go, my taxi was there waiting for me to take me to Seville Airport and my flight to Madrid where I am right now, my flight for London Heathrow is in an hour and I have been sitting here for that time too, I’ll soon be home and a nice 3 day break and then it’s off to Norway on the RCI Brilliance of the Seas and I’m taking my parents with me, so see you then! Thank you as always for visiting the website and following me on the blog, I know I write in a day to day way but it really helps me and to think you are reading it gives me a great pleasure! Thank You!

Grand Princess June 2012

Last night I flew from Copenhagen to London Heathrow and stayed at the beautiful Sheraton Hotel, I had a lovely meal before bed and then I couldn’t sleep a wink all night, the alarm went off at 5.15am and before you knew it I was on the plane to Gibraltar, I did manage to sleep for an hour on the plane so at least that was something. We landed a tad late due to a helicopter problem at the airport, and then I was whisked off to join the Grand Princess, which was docked right next to another ship I have worked on the Crystal Serenity. I got a very nice welcome onboard and was escorted to my stateroom, the stateroom has to be the smallest room I have ever stayed in, but hey I’m new here so head down and go out there and do my very best. It is a very nice ship and of course I new my way around as it is the same layout as P&O Ventura and Azura only much older, when this ship first came out it caused a stir all over the world as it was then the biggest ship in the world with an unusual design. My rehearsal is in 20mins at the Princess Theatre so best I get going. Just back from rehearsal and what a lovely bunch of people working in that theatre, the musical director Gordon has to be one of the nicest guys in the world, not only has he taken the rehearsal brilliantly he even took me down to the laundry to get my suit pressed, he didn’t have to do that, he is very much thought of on this ship and indeed with Princess, so he has connections on here, so many thanks Gordon. The sound is big on stage so that’s good for me, my voice is getting there so I am looking forward to my show tonight at 8.30pm and 10.15pm in the 1000 seat Princess Theatre. Yyyyyeeeeesssss! Sorry about that, but it did go very well, a full packed house and it just flew, the comedy was fluid and I enjoyed myself, but my voice is still drying out onstage about ¾ the way through? Oh well thank God I have my comedy to fall back on, shame though as no What Colour Is The Wind or Nessun Dorma. I’m back on in 35mins for a 10.15pm show. Thank you late show people I loved it and I’m so pleased, as this was my first time on here. Today we are at sea sailing north towards the Bay of Biscay and onto Southampton where we will be turning around and off again for Copenhagen, I feel I know Copenhagen like the back of my hand now as I’ve been back and for there loads of times this year. I spent some time with Gary alias Manuel Martinez, he’s a great act and a top bloke, we chatted for hours today, you may have seen him on the telly, he was on Pen and Tellers Magic show with Jonathan Ross hosting, he’s a funny man too! I’m back on tomorrow night and sharing the stage with the very talented Siobhan Phillips, another great act with a fab voice and a funny girl to boot! Please let my voice be there tomorrow night God! Another day at sea and the weather had turned grey and it’s raining, I rang my mate Gary and we had a nice cup of Earl Grey Tea, forgot how nice that tea is. I’m on tonight so I have to sort my music and act out so see you later. I found out how to send voice notes on my phone so sent one to Marie and she sent one back and Sam spoke on it to, it was so lovely to hear their voices, only thing is, it makes you even more homesick, oh well home soon. I’m just through the door from the 8.30pm show and it was just so comfortable, I loved it, my voice is just hanging on in though, Siobhan Phillips stormed the opening spot, she’s a great act. I’m looking forward now to the 10.15pm show and can only hope they will be as good an audience, well actually there are no bad audiences so get on there Doyle and do your 100% best! Tomorrow morning I have to be up ay 6.30am for the UK Border Immigration to see me with my passport so no late to bed tonight, but at least we have an hour back on the clock! Good Morning. I was up and about by 6.15am and in front of the Immigration Officer at 7am, I decided to walk into town, the sun was shinning and the walk would do me good. Once in town I took a few photos of Southampton City Centre and all of a sudden I started to bump into old friends from P&O Cruises as Aurora and Azura was in and the RCI Independence of the Seas was in and I even bumped into the production manager Tony Smart, what a day it was lovely to see everybody Paul from the band Kool Blu, Ray the Printer, Martin the chippy, Nat Cruise Director, Hale Bars, and some of the members of the orchestra, I love that about a turnaround day in Southampton, you can’t help but keep bumping into your mates from the ships, there were 4 big ships in and that equates to 12,000 passengers not to mention all the crew. I’m off tonight so see you tomorrow. Hello from Zeebrugge, it’s cold, wet and grey here, much the same as it is in London and of course it’s the Queens Jubilee celebrations today, what a shame about the weather not much I can say about where we are today, its just too cold to get off the ship, so a day in my little cabin. I spoke to Marie for a while and we’ve text back and for. I’m back on tonight with my rehearsal at 6.15pm and on tonight back in the beautiful Princess Theatre at 8.30pm and 10.15pm. I so enjoyed the Queens Jubilee celebrations from the River Thames, I thought it was amazing and I felt so very proud to be British, it was such a shame the weather was so awful, it’s the same here in Zeebrugge, wet and cold and horrible. Its time now for me to go and rehearse in the theatre for my show tonight, see you later! Great sound onstage and Gordon the MD is so good, we have a new trumpet player and a new drummer so our rehearsal took longer than usual but turned out great in the end. I have 1hr and 15mins before Showtime! I’m back from the 8.30pm show and once again a packed house, the crowd are a little more quiet than the crowd we had last cruise but then again this is only their 2nd night, so just finding their feet a bit I suppose, but I loved it and the good news is my voice was stronger, its still not 100% but its getting there! I have 50mins now till the next show. I had another great show; in fact the late show went even better. So thank you all for making my first visit to Grand Princess a very nice one, thank you Billy London, Peter Tranget, Gordon and all the wonderful staff onboard this amazing ship. It was rough seas last night all through the night and indeed all through the day today, it has only just calmed down, we reached a force 10 gale today, not very nice at all. I’m sat up in bed now watching the Jubilee Concert outside Buckingham Palace, what a line up and at least the weather has cheered up. I travel home tomorrow from Copenhagen and do you what I can’t wait, Marie has been so down this time I have been away so I need to get home and look after her for a while, well, 3 days at least! Its not easy this show business life you know, but its what I am in, its what I always wanted to do ever since I was a little boy with dreams and fantasies about being on the stage.