The cruise industry is worth a jaw-dropping two and a half billion pounds a year. And for those choosing to spend big and go luxury, only the best will do. From 18-deck liners that look more like floating hotels at sea to luxury yachts where your every whim is catered for. When luxury cruises go right, they’re perfect getaways. But when they go horribly wrong, they can be catastrophic. Actress Glynis Barber narrates this 90-minute special that features first-hand interviews with people whose luxury cruises ended in disaster.
Highlights include the story of a family on a voyage around the Gulf of Mexico which ended in misery when the ship caught fire and lost power leaving them and almost 3000 passengers stranded at sea for days. Dubbed the ‘poop cruise’, instead of sipping cocktails in the lap of luxury, they had to endure the stench of raw sewage backed up on deck.
We have an exclusive interview with two sailors who thought they’d landed the gig-of-a-lifetime when they got asked to charter a private yacht from the UK to its owner in Greece. The picturesque journey onboard the lavish vessel was plain-sailing at first, until the crew found themselves surrounded by a pod of killer orca whales, leaving them fearing for their lives.
One of the first passengers to be quarantined onboard a luxury cruise ship at the start of the Covid Pandemic looks back at their trip from hell. A cruise on the River Thames ends in disaster and three jet-skiers holidaying in Florida’s exclusive Cape Canaveral recall the terrifying moment they came face to face with a 100-ton liner.
Expert interviews include travel presenters Sara Damergi, Debi Jones and Jonnie Irwin and journalist and broadcaster Simon Calder.
Rating 760,000 4.8% share beating BBC2 & Ch4 25% above slot average
Consolidated rating 862,800 and a 5.33% share.