Carnival brings the crowds to Athens

MY COLUMN FROM SATURDAY’S DAILY MIRROR
You can hardly blame Micky Arison for puffing out his chest and boasting a little.
The billionaire chairman of Carnival Corporation took to Twitter this week to brag: “We have more than 10,000 guests in Athens today.”
As indeed he had. On board the cruise ships Costa Magica, Carnival Sunshine, and his newest baby, Royal Princess.
The crowds, together with those from two other ships in the port of Piraeus, bought gridlock to the steep paths leading up to the Acropolis.
For once, Arison was on board one of his ships, rather than in his directors’ box seat at Miami Heat, the championship-winning basketball team he also owns.
Micky, 64, and his English-born wife Madeleine joined 4,000-plus passengers on Royal Princess, which was christened in Southampton on June 13 by Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge.
He missed the naming ceremony because it clashed with a vital game for the Heat.
He had spent a couple of days on board Carnival Sunshine in Venice, examining the results of a £100 million makeover of the ship.
Then he travelled on Royal Princess via Athens and Istanbul to Naples, where he disembarked to return to his private yacht.
Miami Heat have also gained a distinguished new fan in the form of Wimbledon champion Andy Murray – seen here in the official shirt.
It remains to be seen whether Micky can convert him to cruising.