Paul B. Kidd a no-show on Mediterranean Cruise with listeners

But he had a good excuse.

Super-sub John Stanley has been filling in for George & Paul on 2GB, 4BC weekend mornings while the pair take a group of paying listeners on an 18 day cruise adventure exploring the “Empires of the Mediterranean” and the Adriatic.. 
 
Except, things did not turn out so well for Paul B. Kidd who suffered a cardiac episode which kept him in hospital as the plane bound for Rome took off. 
 
No worries. In a miracle of modern medicine, the insertion of a couple of stents to prise open the blockages in the blood vessels surrounding his heart, means Paul will be on the next plane to catch up with 2GB’s intrepid group of jolly geriatrics. 
 
It seems a pretty good perk for those with high profile radio shows to go on these luxury junkets with listeners. 
 
The presenter/s involved promote a selected travel agent’s itinerary on high rotation within their show and the station provides additional exposure BMADE. In return, the presenter gets a “trip of a lifetime” for them and their partner.
 
This particular fly and cruise with George & Paul includes flights, meals and a cabin on the Queen Victoria as it steams around the Mediterranean visiting exotic ports for two and a half weeks and is worth a minimum of $16,400 per couple. If they’ve managed to sign up more than a given quota of passengers, they’ll be upgraded to business class flights and mini-suites on the ship.
 
But it’s not all set and forget for “mein hosts.” The “lucky” radio personality going on the “free” holiday with their partner is listed in the brochure as a “tour leader.” Which means they’re expected to host welcome and farewell drinks, trivia nights and bingo parties. Sometimes it seems they end up working harder than the ship’s own Cruise Director.
 
As one veteran of presenter – led listener holidays told radioinfo, “fans can be very needy and take up a lot of your time.”

Note: Our original story mentioned it was George Moore who had the medical episode. It wa,s in fact, Paul B. Kidd. The story has now been corrected. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

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