Original subtitles

Hello, Star Princess!

All aboard... Dee-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee!

...Star Princess... It's massive. Shall we explore?

...where a young British... Make some noise!

Big ship, big adventures. ...and international crew...

I'm so busy. There's always adrenaline.

...work. That's one job ticked off my list. On to the next.

...without ever leaving home.

There's a sea view on every shift.

Waking up in a new place every day? That doesn't happen to most people.

Life feels like a big dream at the moment.

But it's not all plain sailing...

Belize is cancelled.

Who wants to swim back to the ship?

And being a grumpy leprechaun.

...for the hundreds of shipmates and thousands of passengers.

Sun is out. SCREAMING

...sailing the stunning Caribbean.

You're getting to see the world for free and getting paid for it.

It's hard work, but it's so rewarding at the same time.

Woo!

SHIP HORN BLARES

Good morning, Guest Services. Lewis speaking. How can I assist?

Crew members from all corners of the globe...

I'm ready as I'll ever be. Hello, seafarers,

and welcome to The Wake Show.

...are gearing up for another busy day... Just doing some laundry.

My great tights ready for tonight.

Hi, Carla, Magda speaking. How are you?

...catering for their guests' every need...

We're gonna bend those knees.

Perfect. We're gonna do it again.

...on board this state-of-the-art nautical babe, Star Princess.

They're already midway through their Caribbean voyage,

taking in the tropical islands in the east and

Central America and Mexico in the west.

Today, the ship

is approaching her next port of call...

...Belize. This small country on the northeastern coast of

Central America is an excursion

gold mine, catering for water sports lovers,

culture vultures and beach bums alike,

with its reefs, ruins, Caribbean rum and ocean-view hang-outs.

Inside four. Inside Belize territorial waters.

Yes.

We've just come through the One Man Channel.

And we're now coming up to our holding position.

Guiding the 178,000 tonne

ship into port is the Cornish Commodore Nick Nash.

I'm the boss, yes.

With over 40 years of experience under his belt,

Commodore Nash is calm,

collected and no stranger to a tricky nautical manoeuvre.

All of the ports have their challenges. In nice weather,

they're all easy, but some of them

in difficult conditions can have different challenges.

Like Belize. That channel can be very challenging

with crosswinds. So about four miles away now.

So we've reduced speed slightly now to ten knots.

Working on the bridge means you get enough

high-tech wizardry to make

a cruise ship easier to park than a pedalo.

The wind is quite strong still. We've got 30 knots from the north.

We can't navigate these ships visually anymore.

We have to use all the toys we have. I have a glide path.

I have electronic charts. I've got satellites.

I also have an officer each end.

On track in the corridor and in our DP position.

Alice will be at the front

end, giving me information all the time.

So it's like parking the car with your wife

talking in the ear all the time.

But you need all that information coming

in to successfully get the ship alongside.

Commodore Nick Nash is actually

the commodore of all of the Princess ships.

He's given this title because he's

the most experienced out of all the captains

we have, who'll be overseeing the full operation.

Belize is a tender port as the depth is only 4m.

So the plan is the commodore will anchor off at sea.

Then the port will ferry the guests

to and from the shore via water shuttle.

But it's getting pretty windy out there.

The problem is, I'm not sure

what the weather's going to do, and if it's now gusting 35,

I'm not happy to stay here,

send ashore and then I don't want to get stuck here.

And I don't

want to certainly have people ashore and stuck ashore.

The forecast is the front's coming through at some stage.

I'm not sure when, and it could increase.

If the wind does go over 40 knots,

the ship and its precious cargo could face storm-force winds.

From the day I take over to the day I get off,

I'm always responsible

for everything that happens on board the ship.

Buck stops here.

Here right now, 7:46. That's both ship and local time.

Meanwhile... OK. Let us know if you need anything, OK?

...the rest of the crew...

Thank you so much for coming on the show.

I appreciate... ..are blissfully unaware that their plans for

the day could be disrupted

due to the drama unfolding on the bridge.

The winds are gusting up to 40 knots.

The weather conditions at present, certainly not safe for tendering,

and I'm unsure if the weather's going to increase,

so I'd like to get out now while we know we can.

So I'm going to abort the call. OK?

That's ship talk for, "We're getting out of here."

Hello, below.

All right? OK. I'm going to abort this call.

It's not safe to tender.

We only pull away from a port

if the conditions are such that it's just not safe.

OK, um, plan to use two generators.

A big and a medium.

Just making sure that we stay within the safety corridor.

Yes. Shouldn't be any fishermen out there today?

No, I don't think so. So we're all happy with the plan?

We're holding CP at the moment. We sent the tenders away.

Um, we'll do the announcement and then we'll move out of here.

With the Belize port authorities and navigation crew

now up to speed...

...here comes the hard part.

ELECTRONIC CHIME

All right. Good morning, everyone.

Captain up here on the bridge. Well, if you're up and around,

you can see it's a fairly breezy day.

And the winds are gusting 30, up to 40 knots,

which is certainly unsafe to hold in this position,

and certainly unsafe to run a tendering operation.

So reluctantly, I'm aborting the call here.

We're cancelling the call in Belize.

We'll shortly be turning around,

and we're going to go back out to sea

and work for a return as per schedule. The hotel will follow

this announcement with the details of the shore...

Heard that? I heard that. Tell me.

...and also extra entertainment

I know Dan and his team will set up for you.

So we know that the shore excursions were already off.

But no, we can get... We can pull something together.

Belize is cancelled!

Do take care of moving around the ship.

It is a little bit bumpy. That is all.

It's probably one of the only careers that's still out there

that we're at the mercy of the wind and the sea.

And every day is different. And an adventure.

Good morning.

So you guys know we cancelled the port for today, right?

Any guest who's upset, any guest refunding credits,

we open a gem. I'm going to need you to extend 30 minutes.

You don't need to have your float. Just walk the line.

With over 4,000 guests now stuck on board...

Aaron, what you can do is you can shadow Lewis.

...it's time for 27-year-old South African Magda...

I'll resend the schedule.

...and her team to step up to the plate.

This is our first cancelled port since sailing,

so we've never aborted a port before,

so it's going to be interesting

to see how we handle the day to day. When we don't dock,

it can impact guest experience, and as Guest Services,

we want to make sure that we are making the guests happy.

We're like, "Oh, tah! What can we do to make them happy?"

As people start to wake up and realise

we're still at see, what's going on,

then it might pick up. You know what you're doing.

Disarming them, don't argue with them,

don't fight with them, and they're going to be more calm.

Magda's newly promoted assistant,

Glaswegian Lewis is in full cruise control

manning reception. Hi there. How are you?

We are the first place guests will come

to raise their concerns about missing the port.

We are used to it. We've done it before.

It's nothing new to us

in the cruise industry, so we know what to say.

But as a guest, maybe the first time experiencing it for them.

So we have to always sympathise and make sure we listen to

the guests and explain clearly

and thoroughly why this has happened.

Yes, yes. Let's go back. Let's go back. OK.

Here, I am one of the youngest managers in the fleet.

There's a few of us who are my age, in our early 20s.

So being in a management

position like this takes a lot of responsibilities.

I don't know how I do it, if I'm quite honest.

I'll be lying if I said I knew,

but I think it just all comes with focus.

It all comes with learning what to prioritise.

ELECTRONIC CHIME

It puts more pressure on me, but we manage.

This message comes from Guest Services.

Following the commodore's announcement,

all guests booked with Belize shore

excursions for today will be refunded.

A further announcement

will be made, with an updated entertainment schedule.

That's Guest Services sorted.

We've gone up to 48 knots of winds now,

so we're not going to be able to use the tenders.

Time for entertainment director Essex boy Dan and his team mates

Amy and Fabian to rise to the challenge.

We have an entire sea day to plan

and we have about 20 minutes to do it.

So... ideas.

For entertainment,

this is our absolute worst nightmare because what we now have

is a load of guests that maybe are a bit unhappy

that they can't get off in Belize.

There's a lot of shore excursions they were hoping to take.

People wanted to go see the Mayan ruins.

And now they are going to look to us to entertain them,

and we've then got to create something

that is going to keep them engaged

and happy that they were forced to stay.

So we've got a couple of things already in the schedule.

Um, but we're going to need to add to it.

Princess Live! is pretty much empty.

It's got a movie in it at one. So, Fab,

let's fill that up. I'm going to put some dance glasses in.

So we'll do a line dance at ten.

And what I think we should do is I think you

and me need to be on the floor at some point.

So what can we do? I think big game show.

Mm-hm. One with as many of the team on as possible.

See us all together. Something that gets everybody involved.

Maybe like, er...

...Generation Gap. That'd be a good idea.

Yeah? You want me to host it? Yeah. I've not hosted it in,

like, a year, so who knows what will happen.

Meanwhile...

Vroom! What are you baking today?

Fried pickles. Fried pickles! Brownies.

I'm making Pavlova.

...Star Princess' entertainment cast, who perform two shows a night,

continue to rehearse, whatever the weather.

On super rocky days, it can end up becoming quite a safety hazard,

especially when it involves things like flying

or doing really complicated lifts in the air.

This troupe of talented singers and dancers have been bringing

the West End to the waves for the past ten months.

If the captain catches you, you'll be clapped in irons.

You do get really close as a cast and, you know, you can travel solo,

you can see the world.

But to do it with the people you care about

and that you've become

so close with, like, yeah, that's special.

28-year-old Adam from Dorset has been treading

the boards since he was 16.

I'd always been very theatrical as a kid.

I used to love puppets and magic.

I had a unhealthy obsession with The Wizard Of Oz.

And it really stemmed from that love for, like,

storytelling and the fact that you could

kind of get transported through the theatre.

Oh, so kind. Any time you need a bag doing...

Of course. ..I'll be here.

I'll be right next to you.

You eat together. You work together. You live together.

So they're not just colleagues.

You get so close in such a short space of time.

Oh, my gosh. It never feels like you have enough time.

Keeping things afloat is 28-year-old

cast manager Emma from New Zealand.

Oh, the boss! Hey!

We are this sort of family, tight-knit group of

just 16 strangers who have been thrown together.

I think everyone in the team has really taken it

and run with it and done such an amazing job.

And I haven't really needed to crack the whip,

I would say, too much on them.

Ahem! You better, like, watch out.

You don't want the Emma look.

Three minutes. Three minutes? Yeah.

Assistant manager 25-year-old Kansas girl Cassie

has been helping Emma to keep the cast on point.

Emma is probably one of my closest friends on board.

Just the stairs...

The stairs on both sides aren't attached.

I really look up to her. She's so calm in, like, the most

gruelling of situations and the most stressful times.

And this could be one of those moments.

Why is everything wobbly?

The stairs on both sides aren't attached.

INDISTINCT

Thank you. If the ship is too rocky for something,

we always have the backup options or the safer options

that we have up our sleeves.

Make sure everyone's safe first and foremost.

As the show must go on.

Star Princess and its young crew are currently touring the Caribbean.

The ship should have docked at Belize this morning.

They're going to wake up and realise, "Why are we still at sea?"

But storm-force winds and rough seas

made it impossible to drop anchor...

RADIO BEEPS

OK, my radio is off. ...sending the ship

back out to sea to its next port of call.

It's a little bit windy. We're not going river tubing today.

Which is sad, but for our own safety,

unfortunately. Absolutely.

But... extra day on the ship to explore.

So it's most likely going to be a beach day.

We could have went snorkelling. It was understandable.

The weather was a little crazy today.

With all trips to the mainland cancelled,

and over 4,000 guests now on board for the day...

The weather isn't great, so it's not

like we can just throw them up to the pool.

...it's up to Dan and his team to keep everyone happy.

So we just do it on the spot.

How is everybody doing today? We feeling still positive and good?

CHEERING

Who hasn't played Generation Gap before?

CHEERING

A day like today is a team effort.

Give it up for your team captains. Just for today,

we have dragged him out of the office.

We said, "Come and be onstage today," ladies and gentlemen.

This is our entertainment operations administrator.

If the team doesn't work together...

Please give a big round of applause.

...then we do fail.

Looks like Fabian got the brief.

It's perfect. Everything about it is perfect.

They only three out of ten. Two out of ten per the rules.

And for ex-West End performer Dan, it's his time to shine.

There's a massive difference between working on land and working at sea.

The biggest difference

is nothing's holding them back from leaving.

They've got a plethora of different things

to do across the ship. It's very good.

So you have to be very on it with making sure

that you're keeping

everybody's attention all of the time.

Ladies and gentlemen, the PowerPoint Lords have spoken.

I always had a good sense of humour, but I...I didn't know

that I actually had a skill that I could work on,

which was actually how to be really quick onstage.

Obviously, the winners are the Millennials.

And to be funny and to make people laugh

and to be able to do almost stand-up-style comedy

and be able to do back-and-forth crowd work.

Guys, it's a consolation prize

for not being able to afford a house.

And I've developed that over the last year.

How do you feel about that? Should we do another Generation Gap experience?

Today, uh, the team worked incredibly well.

They banded together.

They came up with creativity. I'm incredibly proud of them.

They made my job a hell of a lot

easier, so I'm very grateful to them.

Well done, team.

INDISTINCT

And look, the sun's come out, too!

Shall we explore? Yeah. Let's have a little wander around.

And see what's different on this ship.

Shall we see if they still have the salad bar?

Oh, yeah. Breakfast,

lunch and dinner for salad. Right.

Meat super cruisers husband and wife Jessica and Jonny from Surrey.

We met on a cruise in 2014.

We did. And we got engaged on a cruise in 2018.

We didn't get married on a cruise,

but we did do our honeymoon on a cruise.

So should we go around to see how the in-out pool is

and then...? 33-year-old Jessica and

36-year-old Jonny are self-confessed cruise addicts.

We're definitely hooked. We are. I think there's no doubt about that.

It's dangerous.

THEY LAUGH

You either love it or hate it. It's very much like Marmite,

you know? I don't like Marmite, but I love cruising, you know?

Oh, yeah. There's the bar. Yeah, there's a bar there.

Jessica has notched up 21 cruises, which is a lot.

But Jonny's been on 34.

It's been good

that you've had that previous experience.

And you love the loyalty points as well.

The loyalty points.

But... That's why she's with me, really, for my cruise loyalty points.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven... Eight. Not too small. Yeah.

You could probably squeeze a couple more in there if you were friendly.

It's obvious to see this couple are cruising experts,

and they have some top tips to share.

You have to get up well early, I reckon,

if you want one of these.

I think this would be a good morning spot.

You want to go deck by deck by deck to see everything.

Yeah. It's so easy to miss things.

You can get to the last day and you've missed a

really cool place and you'll kick yourself.

Always try the smoothie, where you pick it up,

so if it's really good, you get another one.

That's a high-quality cruise smoothie, that is. You've got to

sort of assess the ship that you're on.

I think on this ship we found that there's

sort of two buffet areas.

The first one you get to is always really busy,

but if you walk through it,

there's sort of a second buffet and usually there's no line there.

It's like celery and it's like swede.

An important part of cruising is hiding ducks.

There's a whole community about,

like, onboard a cruise ship, finding teeny-tiny ducks.

My mother hides the ducks.

She's obsessed. She's more into the ducks.

She's having a quacking cruise.

Hey!

And top of the tips is... It's a unique way to see the world.

And there's no other type of holiday that can do that.

Whilst Jessica and Jonny hunt for ducks...

Yay! ..Adam and his nautical

family could be hunting for hankies this week as,

like all the crew members on the ship, the performers

are on fixed-term contracts and theirs are coming to an end.

I've been with these people for ten months.

They don't just feel like friends - they're family to me.

It feels full circle. Like, it feels like it's time.

But it's hard to let go.

I think I'm just the most scared to, like,

close this chapter because it was so special to me.

That final show is going to

feel pretty strange, just to know that this is the last time

that we're all going to be performing together.

This is it for us.

It's going to be sentimental, for sure.

The cast's last performance will be their favourite production.

Meridian is kind of like a decadent love story.

Lots of beautiful costumes. An incredible set.

The theatrical spectacular was created especially for the ship.

Meridian is our show and we brought it from

the ground up, you know, from its bare bones.

So it's a really sort

of special show for myself and for the cast as well.

It's our baby. Yeah. It's been nice

that we've all got

to put our own input into the script and the characters.

So, yeah,

we've really made it our own, which is very special.

It's going to be sad. I'm going to miss shining shoes.

LAUGHTER

But this isn't the end of all things

song and dance for Star Princess...

...as a new troupe are waiting in the wings.

800 miles away as the crow flies...

This is more for choreography. So that we're all on the same page.

OK. The incoming team are currently in Florida,

so really close to Fort Lauderdale, and they are rehearsing

all the shows that we are currently doing.

One, two, three...

Charles is there with them and they are

busy getting ready to come on board. Some of them for the first time.

We are learning Meridian today. We're going to be setting

up for a scene which is on the good ship Celestial!

My name is Charles and I am

the incoming cast manager on the Star Princess.

It's not just taking over all jazz-hand duties that

the 33-year-old from Leicestershire is excited about.

When the ship docks back in Fort Lauderdale,

Charles gets to reunite with his sweetheart.

I'm going to be seeing my beautiful, beautiful girlfriend, Emma,

and I cannot wait to give her the biggest squeeze of my life.

HE LAUGHS

I'm stepping into her shoes. I'm sort of following the legacy.

That's quite nerve-racking. I'm going to try

not to be too hard on him when he comes.

SHE LAUGHS

Looked like you were enjoying it. Yeah, very much so.

I mean, my mum always used to say, "Pick a job that you love

"and you'll never work a day in your life."

So here I am.

24-year-old Mia from Stoke on Trent is the new assistant cast manager.

I started dancing when I was eight years old,

which, in the dance world, is seen as late.

Most little girls are in their ballet tutus at two year old.

Meanwhile, I was horse riding on a farm.

It was a cliche story of, um, I couldn't sit still.

So they're like, "You need to take her to a dance class."

And funnily enough, it was

the opening of a new dance school in town.

And that dance teacher actually ended

up adopted me and is now my mum.

And I never left her side from dance classes to life classes.

I've been working

for Princess Cruises for four years now,

and although, you know,

sometimes I miss going for breakfast in my PJs on my couch,

um, it definitely outweighs it when I can then get off the ship

and I'm in these gorgeous places.

You're all coming in close to him. Does that make any sense?

Yeah? The team only has a few days

before they join the ship, so the pressure is on.

It's a stressful time, people are learning

a lot of content very quickly

in order to get ready to go on the ship.

So just where I can give them that helping hand

of, "No, you've got this," or, "We need to go over that,"

cool, let's do it. Miss Zahra.

Hello. Zahra is a fellow Brit.

Come on over. It's going

to be her first time on a cruise ship, right?

Yeah. It is my first time on a cruise ship.

I've never been on a cruise ship before,

so I'm really excited. Like, this is like my dream.

23-year-old Zahra from Milton Keynes

has been dancing since she was seven.

I used to play the violin when I was younger,

and my nan knew that I loved classical music,

so she took me actually to see

a ballet in the Royal Opera House in London.

And it was Swan Lake, and that was it.

I was just absolutely hooked

with dance and ballet, and I just wanted to be in classes.

And I was asking my nan, "Nan, please can you take me to classes?

"Please can you find me somewhere I can do ballet."

When did we meet? Like, four, five weeks ago? Yeah.

It's been about five weeks and five days,

I think. I'm counting because I'm,

like, excited to go on the ship.

The new ents team may be raring to go, but they'll have to wait.

Before the ship heads back to Fort Lauderdale,

there'll be various stop-offs,

including today's, Roatan in Honduras.

Here we go.

This stunning island, just 40 miles off the coast of Honduras, sits on

the second largest barrier reef in the world, the Mesoamerican.

It's a must for divers and music lovers alike,

with its traditional West African high-energy drumming and singing.

Oh. Bottlenose dolphins here as well.

Oh, and some shipwrecks.

Hopefully not our kayak.

Today, Jessica and Jonny have booked a trip to do some exploring.

The cruise we met on,

I thought, like, "Oh, he seems pretty cool."

He had good chat, to be fair, and he had no idea I was interested.

Zero idea. And I had to make the first move.

She hit on me. I did. I did.

But he just had a really good energy about him.

And on the last night he said, "Oh, here's my number.

"Like, if you want to contact me, like, you can afterwards.

"But if you don't, that's fine."

So I contacted him as soon as I got off the ship.

There you go. No playing it cool.

No, no playing it cool.

Now you can get in, OK?

So what would we do? Left? No, right.

Let's just push it

so we've actually got some kayaking space.

Can you tell me what I'm doing? Right.

Left. Right. Left.

With excursions, there's something we really like to do,

and it's a great opportunity to do something a little bit different.

Oh, look at you!

Oh, I love it. Pampered princess. Yeah.

You are an absolutely pampered princess. Sorry.

Passenger princess. Oh! Passenger princess.

So we did the kayaking first, which we did not capsize in.

We did very well. The sun is out. Sun is out.

This is the best, coming through the clouds.

Oh!

SHE SIGHS CONTENTEDLY

I think the lion's share of the work...

Was me. I'm not sure that's really true, is it?

THEY LAUGH

Oh! It's a workout! It's a workout!

I didn't need to go to the gym this morning.

Thank you, Jonny.

It's all right. You're the best.

I am.

Oh, look at these guys.

They're going for it. Oh, my gosh, we have to try this.

Look at that. You know,

it's that thing where you see it and you go, "That is a bit of me.

"I'm going to love that. "That's so fun."

Yeah!

Woo! Jonny went first and he made it look so easy.

So he went in and he was like,

"Oh, I need to do that again. I can do it better."

So then I gave it a go.

SHE SCREAMS

It was so much higher...

When I was hanging on like a monkey,

I did not want to leave go.

SHE SCREAMS

I'm a little monkey on this rope going,

"I've made a terrible decision right now.

"Why? Why did I think this was a good idea?"

And then I screamed, "Three, two, one."

Three, two, one...

And I still couldn't leave go.

SHE SCREAMS

Star Princess is midway through its adventure touring

the Caribbean...

...and is currently docked in Roatan, Honduras.

Never been to Roatan. Never been to Honduras.

So a new country, a new pin in our world map.

Husband and wife Jessica and Jonny were having a lovely time.

Sun is out. Oh, look at these guys.

Until this happened.

SHE SCREAMS

I'm a little monkey on this rope going,

"I've made a terrible decision right now."

And then Jonny started shouting, "Leave go!"

You've got to let go. SHE SCREAMS

I can't!

Oh, you know, I was checking back on board time.

I thought...

And then all these

people I've never met on the island started shouting,

"Leave go!"

Ouch. That's going to hurt. But, yeah, you,

uh, you made quite an impact on the water.

Yeah. It's a conversation for another day.

But it was an experience.

Can I hold your hand? Thank you.

This is sort of our happy place. Cruising is what we love to do.

And just being on these ships

with Jess is always a great experience.

We just have so much, so much fun on them.

Yeah.

Oh, hello. What have we got here? Wow.

Sometimes your friends and colleagues are like,

"Oh, aren't you a bit young to go on a cruise?"

And we're like, "No. No, there's lots of young families on cruises.

"There are lots of young people on cruises."

It's definitely got a younger clientele,

hasn't it, since we started cruising?

We know the future for us is going to be going on cruises.

I suspect it will be, yes. But I wouldn't want to travel

with anybody other than you, if I had to choose one person.

Same. LAUGHING: Stop it!

Do you want to try and run for the ship?

Absolutely not.

Are you guys hungry? Yes. Are you ready to eat?

I am. Back at the port... Let's take a photo.

Working on a cruise ship, I love just how everything is different

every single day. Thank you. Also, being in different countries,

different ports every day, it's just... It's so much fun.

After a busy couple of days,

the Guest Services team are ready for some well-deserved R&R.

Wow. Woo-woo!

Are we going to eat lunch? Yeah. I'm starving.

I'm from a little town called Southport.

It's just by Liverpool. It's a very small little seaside town.

Um, fish and chips, ice cream, rock, stuff like that.

Underneath the shade.

Days like these are important to 22-year-old Melissa.

A big part of being on the ships is obviously your work-life balance.

To step off onto land just, like, grounds me.

Hello. What do you fancy?

Chicken fingers with loaded

nachos to share? Yes, please. Yeah. Yeah.

Please can I have the whole fried snapper, please?

Is it quite big? Yeah. Perfect.

Can I have the cheese quesadillas, please? Thank you.

Six months at sea, the people you work

with become your really close friends.

Your friends for life.

And some of them even become your family.

And I think this contract, I...

...I definitely am leaving with more family members,

more brothers and sisters than my mom knew she had.

I mean, look at her. Look at our ship.

Our home. She's gorgeous, isn't she? I can't believe how close it is.

Yeah. This is one of the better ports,

though. It means you can just, like,

get off and go straight to the beach.

Go for a little dip. Yeah, that's our house.

I know. The three team-mates

have come a long way since boarding together,

and their lunch date is a perfect

opportunity for them to catch up on Lewis's recent promotion.

But did you think you were going to get promoted this contract?

Did you know? No. I was like, "It'll be more experience under my belt,"

but I didn't think there'd be promotion.

You have been working your ass off, though.

Thank you. But I think you did well.

I'm proud of you. Thank you.

Just remember, if you mess up, it's my fault.

Magda and Melissa

both have been pushing me and supporting me,

training me and preparing me for this role.

They're giving me as many tips,

as much information as they can, but they both are amazing.

Do you know what I've learned when I became a supervisor?

It's like the small wins that matter.

That's true. Someone very wise told me that.

Was it me? Nope.

The friendships you make and the bonds you make,

it feels like you've been friends for life.

I've known some people for, like, two months,

and I feel like I've known them for years.

Wait. Let's toast to Lewis's official supervisor week.

Congratulations. Thank you so much. We talk about life,

about home, talk about experiences on board.

And you just form such a good connection

with everyone on board.

Now you can pay for all of this, right?

THEY LAUGH

Do you know what I can't wait for when I get home?

A chip butty on a buttered barm.

That's what... A roll. A what? A roll. It's not a roll.

A bread roll. No. A roll.

No, it's a butty. A roll. No.

Rolls, whatever it is.

I don't know what language she's speaking. It's a barm cake!

MAGDA LAUGHS

OK. Cheers to that. Cheers to that.

Oh! Wow!

Oh, my God. That's so massive. Beautiful.

How are we going to finish all this? Share.

Thank you so much.

What type of, like, lingo have you learnt from us?

I was going to say English... BS.

Oh!

No. You always say "BS".

That's your favourite word?

THEY LAUGH

PRODUCER: Can you do a Scottish accent? No.

SHE ATTEMPTS SCOTTISH ACCENT

Moving on.

I haven't got my cossie on. Hmm? Did you put your cossie on?

Cossie? No, I don't have a cossie. I know what's a cossie now.

Look how nice it looks. I know.

Days like this... to die for.

Needed. Yeah, it's to die for. Going out to the beach with

Melissa and Lewis is actually one of the highlights of this contract.

It's just a bonding moment. We get to acknowledge each other.

We need that sometimes.

She's going in for the both of us.

Woo!

MAGDA LAUGHS

Woohoo!

After enjoying the delights of Roatan...

...everyone is back on board.

SHIP HORN BLARES

And it's anchors aweigh to Star Princesses'

next destination.

My parents.

Hello. Hello. How are you guys?

Oh, blimey. Sun. I know!

HE LAUGHS

Haven't seen that for a while. I know, I know. I feel bad.

I always make you a bit jealous. Wasn't it like the wettest

February on record in Dorset?

Yeah, yeah. By the time I get back, it'll be perfect.

I would have missed pretty much the whole winter,

which is not a bad thing.

Performer Adam is catching up with his number one fans

4,000 miles away in Dorset.

My parents are a button away on my phone,

so we have our weekly... our weekly catch-ups,

which means so much to me.

They really are my anchors and they help me get through a lot.

Like the rest of the entertainment cast,

Adam's contract is coming to an end,

and it's been a while since he's been in Dorset.

I was actually travelling

and backpacking just before this contract,

so I haven't really been home in over a year.

So it is a really long time to be away.

And I feel like I'm so excited to go back and see them.

There's only two weeks, two weeks till I get to see you.

Two weeks tomorrow I'll be home.

Very, very excited. You're nearly there, aren't you?

Yeah. Are you going to make a little welcome-home banner?

Oh!

You'll have to see, won't you? I was telling someone the other day.

I think it's so nice when you make the...

Like, the little cardboard thing saying "welcome home"

and it's got a picture of the ship or the countries I've been to.

It's very, very cute.

My mum and dad always update me on village life.

You know, what's going on at home, what's new in Dorset.

And it makes me...

Yeah, when I get back, it doesn't feel like I've missed out on as much.

...something very exciting happening. Oh, yeah.

I'm hoping this is going to be on when you get back - the karaoke night.

Oh, no! You're going to make me go and sing karaoke.

HE LAUGHS

You do miss out on a lot. Like, you miss out on weddings,

birthdays, even funerals.

So it can be a challenge being away for that length of time.

The guests are so, so kind onboard.

I had a moment this morning,

which I think I'll kind of miss when I come back home.

I was having an omelette in the buffet at breakfast,

and this man just comes up to me and he's,

"Oh, I'm so sorry for interrupting you,

"but I just wanted to say, like, you guys are absolutely incredible.

"Like, the shows have been amazing." And just, like, having

an omelette for breakfast and then getting compliments

is quite a nice way to start the day.

I'll be expecting the same as I'm having my cereal.

Can you can you give me compliments in the morning?

WhatsApp calls or letters or phone calls, pictures, videos.

It's kind of like my gateway to my life at home.

So it really means a lot that yeah, it is so easy to talk to them.

It never feels like they're too far away, which is...

Yeah, which is great. Yes. Well,

I love you guys a lot, as I've got to run.

So nice to catch up with you. Take care. Enjoy the last few days.

Eeeee! I'll see you two weeks tomorrow.

Bye. Bye. Love you, guys! Bye!

ADAM CHUCKLES

Yay!

Enough with the bye-byes, Adam.

You've got work to do.

Let's go. Yeah.

Right now, everyone's really excited because it's our last night,

so there's a lot of, like, fun energy.

Made it after ten months. The final, final tech rehearsal.

Eeeee!

Later this evening,

the cast will perform for the very last time.

I think the more you do these shows, the more comfortable you get.

My role that I play, Barnaby Tubbs, is also known as the Squire,

it's so fun and I really get to have

a great time with it, especially during tech runs.

That's the opportunity to, like,

definitely have a bit of fun without the audience seeing.

And as they put the final show into showtime,

the team are feeling a mixed bag of emotions.

Effervescent, buzzing, joy, relief, a twinge of sadness.

It feels very strange to be doing our last tech run.

HIGH-PITCHED VOCALISATION

You've got hairspray all the way down your neck.

It happens every time.

It's, like, dried. Thank you.

Feel normal, which is weird.

Um, I know that, like...

I think it'll hit me after the show's over,

but right now, it feels like a normal show day,

and I'm just getting ready to do the show.

I'm very good at keeping it together.

You might... Maybe a single tear from me.

And cut!

As night falls on the Caribbean Sea...

Happy last show, everyone! Woo!

...it's showtime in the Arena Theatre.

And whilst Lewis wrangles a packed house...

HE LAUGHS

I'm very excited. ...backstage, spirits are high.

EXCITED SCREAMS

Tonight we are doing our final show of our time

onboard here, our final show of Meridian.

We're very excited. I'm running a bit late, though.

Thank you. Let's do it. Last night!

The energy backstage

before the show felt almost crazy, like, we were all buzzing.

We were absolutely...

It was so much energy and we were running around.

I'm ready. All of us were kind of trying not

to think about it being our last

show because, I mean, that means it's over, right?

ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen, we are just five minutes away...

Dee-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee!

The atmosphere is electric.

I'm so excited to get out there and take our final bow.

Eeeee! HE CHUCKLES

Probably it is. Most likely it is, especially in the finale.

Have a great show, Rach.

We are like a family and we are, like, trauma bonded now

from, like, all of this.

Emma made us these and she finished them in, like, January,

but she gave them to us for closing night

and they're little crocheted stars key chains.

And then Lexie got us these, um, cast picture.

THEATRICAL: It's our beautiful inaugural cast.

Don't you think we're beautiful?

HE LAUGHS

Aye, aye. SHE GRUNTS

Places!

THEY CHEER

Showtime! Woohoo! With final places called... Going to be great.

Yeah. Energy's high. Energy's so high.

Oh, my God, oh, my God. I'm coming! There's just enough time

for last-minute make-up and costume tweaks...

...adjust my wedgies. HE LAUGHS

...before taking to the stage for the very last time.

I guess being a performer, you're never sure

when you're next going to be onstage.

You know, our next job is never guaranteed.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Sir, might I offer you a glass of champagne?

We weren't just saying goodbye to the ship or our friends.

You know, we were saying goodbye to the show and also these characters

that we've become for the last ten months.

So it carried a lot of emotional weight.

That last show was a lot more...

I was a lot more emotional than I thought I'd be.

I just had... flashback, flood memory of all of our whole experience,

like, from when we were in rehearsals

and then in the shipyard and installing

the shows to now just everything just kind

of came rushing back to me and it was just very emotional.

APPLAUSE

I could not look at Lexie or Emma because if I looked at them,

we were going to start to cry.

And I could feel that energy from, like, across the room.

You could tell that everyone was trying their hardest to, like,

keep it together until the end

because you got to keep the make up on fleek, you know?

It was magical. Tears were streaming.

That final line, when I was singing, you know,

I was trying to sing, and, yeah, the emotion kind of overcame me,

just being stood together on that stage for one final time.

APPLAUSE

Give it up for the Star Princess's theatrical...

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

I said I'd only have one tear, but I think I'll have a few more.

SHE LAUGHS

That was really special. Um...

I'm sorry. Yeah.

No, it was, um... It was super special.

Just... That was it. Last time.

Woo! We did it!

SHE LAUGHS

Sobbing like a baby.

Please welcome back onto the stage, our inaugural...

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

♪ Meridian! ♪

The show has also tugged at the heartstrings of the audience.

It was so good. Honestly, that was amazing.

Yeah, the last show and we were so thankful to be part of it.

They were, like, giving it all.

Oh! Sorry. We're on a boat.

We're on a ship. We're on a boat. We're not drunk.

Why not?

SHE CHEERS

Oh, it was amazing.

As Vishal can tell you, I love a musical.

And that did not disappoint. They went out on a high note.

It was brilliant.

It was so good. Like, the acting and the performance...

And also the cast were all extremely attractive.

We're a family and it's just going to be really hard to say bye.

And I think right now I'm just going to enjoy

the fact that we're all together. To close this chapter is really sad,

but the excitement

to go home just slightly balances it out very well. Yeah.

THEY CHEER

Next time, Star Princess docks in Mexico...

It's amazing. ..where romance is in the air.

Because they're literally going to be here in a couple of minutes.

Oh!

And a grand entrance from the new dance team...

Oh, my... This is huge.

...creates couple goals.

This is our life together.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media