The Cruise

Tonight it's the beginning of the busy summer season sailing round the Mediterranean and the ship is fully booked. As the crew race to get the ship ready for departure from Athens, making up beds in almost 1800 cabins – the hordes of passengers begin to arrive.

On the bridge is brand new officer Lauren who's never worked on a ship as big or complex as Royal Princess. Before the Captain will sign her off to man the ship's controls she faces a series of tests. Her first job on board is to help with an anchor drop in one of the itinerary's most demanding locations - the beautiful island of Santorini. Lauren must prove that she has got what it takes to get the job done safely.

And while passengers enjoy the finest cuisine on board, munching their way through a whopping 110 tons of food each week, the unenviable job of keeping the ship's 3000 lavatories in good working order falls to hotel services engineer Scott.

At passenger services, while front desk hopeful Nico struggles through a trial shift, experienced passenger services agent Timothy needs all his inimitable humour and charm to deal with a case of lost luggage. A Scottish family who are on the cruise to forget their troubles are threatening to fly home if he doesn't get their bags back pronto.

The weather takes a turn for the worse, causing an emergency at sea and threatening to make one young British couple's wedding a washout. It is the first time new officer Lauren has to deal with an emergency on board and she must keep constant watch on a semi-submerged boat close to the liner. Concerned there may be lives at stake, the rescue team are poised for action. Despite choppy seas, the show must go on in the ship's theatre, where the magicians are attempting to pull off a gravity-defying illusion that sees ex-dancer Trish balance on the tip of a metal sword. It is a heartstopping performance for passengers as the unpredictable weather ramps up the danger of their daring headline act.

Executive chef David McDonald is on the warpath after receiving a complaint about the afternoon teas, and hauls the pastry team into his office for a severe dressing down. New 25-year-old bridge officer Lauren faces a series of tests as she is left in charge of mooring the 330-metre-long ship in a port designed to take much smaller vessels. Hotel services engineer Scott is dealing with a flood from one of the ornamental marble fountains in the busiest area of the ship, and has only a few hours to fix it before passengers start to return from their excursions.

In this episode on their cruise round the Mediterranean the ship is heading for the medieval port of Kotor in Montenegro.

Tonight, on their cruise round the Mediterranean, the ship is heading for the British overseas territory of Gibraltar, where the local monkeys are running riot on the famous rock. With some of their unfriendly antics belying their cute appearance, a few passengers find themselves making an unscheduled stop at the ship's medical centre to be treated for some vicious monkey bites.

Tonight, as the passengers and the ship continue on their journey around the Mediterranean, some members of the crew are coming to the end of their own trips.

After 11 years at sea, dance captain Eleanor has decided it's time to hang up her dancing shoes and return to her native Yorkshire. With her mum Jayne on board to support her, she must get through a final emotional performance on the stage that has been her home for more than a decade.