It is now
almost 24 hours since I watched the first episode of the new ITV documentary
which follows the maiden season of the Royal Princess, sailing around the
Caribbean and the Bahamas and I am still almost lost for words. Words that do
spring to mind are along the lines of 'cheesy',
'cringe worthy', 'seventies tastic', 'tacky', to name but a few.
"You
must watch it" I said to friends and family, "I attended the launch
last year and she is one of the most beautiful ships I have ever been on"
(and there have been a few I can tell you). Well I can only assume that any
street cred I ever had is in tatters! It was like a re-enactment of some
horrible 70's serial drama, even the opening titles were a throwback to Dynasty
complete with 70's 'plink plonk' music and a split screen.
Before the
first episode aired, Paul Ludlow, Princess Cruises' Managing Director for UK
and Europe said "“We are thrilled that ITV chose Royal Princess as the
focus for this upcoming series. Viewers will get unparalleled insight into this
magnificent ship and her crew.
“Cruise
holidays are an increasingly popular choice in the UK and we are confident that
this series will widen the appeal even further.”
I'm sorry to
say, I doubt that this series will do anything to widen the appeal of cruising
Paul! If there was anyone watching who was unsure whether they would like
cruising then lats night's first episode will have confirmed their worst fears
- the programme focused on 'hotel general manager' Dirk and his problems with
an overflowing laundry, Exec chef Brent and his efforts to serve 14,000
canapés, homesick hairdresser Kelly on her first trip away from home, passenger
'moaning Mandy' and 'gorgeous George' the crooning entertainments director,
with sarky voice over from Cold Feet
star John Thompson. The camera work on the ship itself was shocking - even the
revolutionary double sized stunning Atrium, one of Royal Princess's most fantastic
assets looked pokey and dingy the way it was filmed.
As someone
who has been on board let me reassure you that Royal Princess is stunning, she
is the fleet's flag-ship and rightly so. She had the most wonderful facilities,
serves top notch food, the service is wonderful, and she just has the most
fantastic ambience about her.
It just
beggars belief that the Marketeers at Princess Cruises think this series is a
good move.
Obviously I
will be tuning in next Friday evening at 8pm - out of morbid curiosity more
than anything, or maybe I'll just give it a miss and watch Eastenders instead. Let's hope that in the next episode we see something of this beautiful vessel and leave Dirk and his laundry issues and Brent and his Canape crisis behind.
To read my
take on Royal Princess after I attended her launch last June take a look here,
and to view her fabulous carpets click here, and if you want to be wowed by her
light fittings then you need to click here. I am sure I can 'market' Royal
Princess far better than ITV - what say you Paul?
For more info on Princess Cruises, their stunning ships and inspiring itineraries give me a call on 0800 408 6084 or email me at hannahw@cruise.co.uk
For more info on Princess Cruises, their stunning ships and inspiring itineraries give me a call on 0800 408 6084 or email me at hannahw@cruise.co.uk
They obviously set out to make an entertaining programme rather a factual one. That's why they concentrated on colourful characters, both passengers and crew.
ReplyDeleteI remember that the BBC did a series a year ago about a world cruise on one of Fred Olsen's ships. Although centred around the onboard priest and the choir, they also chose to film colourful characters. Had both the BBC and ITV selected Mr and Mrs Boring to film on their umpteenth cruise, eating, drinking and sunbathing, they would have had a very boring programme.
Surely Princess Cruises did not think ITV were going to put out a 30-minute free advert for them?
I agree with you that it was the most awful programme! I said to my husband , if I was not a cruise fanatic and had never been on one I would never want to , if that is what's like!. I don't think Princess is for me if that's how the crew are. Whoever that awful woman was get her off the ships!.
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