Club Med 2
Yesterday we had the Club Med 2 visiting Symi. It sat around off Nos beach and shuttled its passengers back and forth to the harbour from around eight thirty in the morning. Apparently, this boat is a ‘five-masted computer-controlled sailing ship owned and operated by Club Med and operated as a cruise ship.’ I hope they are not running it on Windows 8.
It takes up to 368 passengers and has a crew of 200 and, according to its page on its own website, it has ‘free seating in the restaurant.’ Now then… What if it didn’t? What if you had to pay extra to sit down? Would you stay standing during your ‘most delicious cuisine’? Would you loiter at the back of the ‘Gourmet table status’ of two of its restaurants? Would you slouch against the buffet refusing to pay for a seat that is, after all, a basic necessity when booked onto a cruise offering ‘elegance and comfort.’ Non-free seats would not suggest either. I just thought it was a bit of a non-advert that, ‘free seating in the restaurant.’ it’s like calling out to your bar or taverna customers, ‘Free tables!’ or even, ‘We have toilets.’ Kind of goes without saying.
We very nearly had a free meal in Georgio’s the other night, so enthusiastic was the discount we were given. It still must be one of the cheapest places on the island to eat, though we always seem to score a big discount at Meraklis as well, one of our favoured lunch stops when on a shopping spree in Yialos. A ‘spree’ in most cases consisting of a bag of cat food, cat litter, and other cat related items. And talking of cats, he’s gone on walkabout again. At least he has as I write, which is actually Thursday morning. He slipped out while we were feeding the strays up the road on Wednesday night, leaving the gate open, and he’s not come back yet. He often does this and there is no cause for alarm, even though he is the Alarm Cat. He’s been out before, for up to eight nights and still come home when he was bored. That time he looked very well fed and looked after, so I expect he’s got another staff of servants somewhere in the neighbourhood. (Perhaps he was n the Club Med 2?) He was in a strange mood all Wednesday morning, not settling and being very noisy, but eating and attacking his dirt tray in the usual fashion, so he wasn’t ill or anything. No doubt he is causing mayhem among the local chicken community and will return when he’s ready.
Going back to the Club Med 2, as I am on their site, I thought I would see how much a jaunt on it costs. You select a date and then it asks how many adults (2) and there’s a drop-down for children which starts off at ‘No kid’ which I thought was rather abrupt. You then click on to get a quote. My selected date (next Monday) was not available so it suggested one for me. If I left after the 7th September I could get a cruise for $5,432.82 (I assume the $.82 cover the cost of your chair in the dining room.) This was, by the way, a ‘special offer’ down from $5,964.90 and was for two adults with ‘no kid.’ I clicked on ‘Continue’.
Next you have to select your cabin and there are those with a woman sat on the bed waiting eagerly for a man with a tray of orange juice (these are the ‘cheap’ ones; I think the idea of breakfast in a room makes them more appealing) and then there are suites that are devoid of females and breakfasts but have a lot of space. I had the choice of a Club Cabin (might get a bit noisy), or ‘2 Separated Cabins’ which are, I assume, for those couples who like to go on holiday to argue. There was then the Deluxe Cabins (deck F) and what I thought said Amateur Suite for those of us who are not experienced in spending over $10.000 (special offer) on a holiday, but it turned out to be Armature Suite. This confused me even more when I checked the definition of ‘Armature.’ : armature ˈɑːmətʃə,-tj(ʊ)ə/ noun: armature; plural noun: armatures 1. the rotating coil or coils of a dynamo or electric motor. any moving part of an electrical machine in which a voltage is induced by a magnetic field. a piece of iron or other object acting as a keeper for a magnet. 2. an open framework on which a sculpture is moulded with clay or similar material.
At this point I stopped looking at the site just in case I hit the wrong button and committed myself to an expensive holiday in the ‘Rotating Coil Suite’ – even if it was a special offer – because apart from all else, they have a fitness centre on board and I don’t want to go there, I’m on holiday! But still. It looks lovely and it’s still sitting out there as I write. I just hope some of the guests are spending their ‘special offer’ savings on Symi.
