The Cruise

Documentary following staff and passengers on board the Royal Princess during a busy summer season around the Mediterranean. Strong winds threaten to prevent the ship docking in Marseilles, which has a huge knock-on effect across the ship. New hotel general manager Craig is only six weeks into the job and must find ways to motivate his staff, who are working long hours far from home, while on the excursion desk, Timothy is under pressure to increase his sales figures. Narrated by Hugh Bonneville.

The Royal Princess continues its busy summer season travelling around the Mediterranean. While it's hot outside and passengers try to cool themselves in the pool, inside galley staff are feeling the heat as the entire catering operation braces itself for the scrutiny of the fleet's health inspector. Executive chef David and hotel general manager Craig's necks are both on the line if the inspection is failed. Elsewhere, alcohol supplies dwindle to worryingly low levels at the specialist cocktail bar, while shore excursions agent Timothy's linguistic skills are tested to the limit. Narrated by Hugh Bonneville.

A serious shortage of orange juice causes a crisis for executive chef David, the ship welcomes a group of blind and partially sighted passengers, and the staff go the extra mile in an attempt to win the employee of the month award. The captain worries about striking a bum note when one of the ship's horns goes out of tune and Timothy realises a long-held dream when the ship docks at Genoa, gateway to fashion capital Milan. Narrated by Hugh Bonneville.

There's panic in the laundry when the large washing machine breaks down, leaving a mountainous backlog of dirty items. Above decks, Tobi takes over as cruise director, putting him in charge of the ship's entire entertainment programme, and executive chef David is in the spotlight as he prepares a fine dining experience for a dozen passengers. Narrated by Hugh Bonneville.

It's turnaround day in the Barcelona terminal, when the crew welcomes 4,000 new passengers on board - along with 120 tons of food and drink for the next week-long cruise. However, executive chef David finds he has far too many tomatoes, so he has to get creative with the menus. Engineer Gaetano discovers an oil leak in the lifeboat winch, Timothy shows his wine knowledge during a trip to a vineyard in Naples, and the Captain makes a detour into international waters so that a passenger can scatter her seafaring husband's ashes.

As the summer season draws to a close, the captain and crew of the Royal Princess face one final challenge - two weddings on one day. Passenger services manager Ina has the job of coordinating the task, from the galley team making two cakes, a buffet and a gourmet meal, to ship's florist Jess, who has eight bouquets to make in a tight timeframe. Before he officiates at the ceremonies, Captain Nick Nash has a tricky manoeuvre to make into the Spanish port of Cartagena, while a problem with the fountain display is proving a mystery for the engineers. Last in the series.