If you’re a proud cruise geek, you’ll surely admit to getting excited at the mere sight of a ship, whether you’re about to board it or not. So, what about if you found out that some of the old classics used a few as their movie sets? It’ll feel something like when you spot someone you know on the TV, that familiar face…
We’re not just talking about Titanic here either, we’re talking about your 21st century comedy favourites, timeless gems and the ones you least expect. You’ll never watch these films the same way again…
1 – The Parent Trap (1998)
Cunard Brings The Romance
While much of this 1998 movie takes place on land, there are a handful of scenes set on a cruise ship. The twins that Lindsay Lohan plays by herself work hard to reunite their parents who haven’t seen eachother in years and it is in fact Cunard that host this romance!
The QE2 rekindles their lost romance and the couple remarry, but whereas the ship scenes are set on-board Queen Elizabeth 2, the majority of scenes were actually filmed on Queen Mary 2 (the 1936 ship is now docked in Long Beach, California).
2 – An Affair To Remember (1957)
Love Is In The (Sea) Air
You’ll find this film on every list of the best romantic films and it’s more famously known for its focus on the Empire State building, so this movie’s cruise ship cameo goes unnoticed most of the time. Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr’s characters actually fall in love on an ocean liner from Europe to New York.
A combination of fate and the sea bring the two together and weirdly enough, the movie’s main actor, Grant, met and fell in love with his third wife on a ship, the Queen Mary! There’s something about Cunard…
3 – Alvin And The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (2011)
Cruise-friendly Kid Specials
In the famous third installment of the Chipmunk series, the Chipettes’ week-long vacation is actually onboard Carnival Dream! The only parts filmed on a set instead of the ship itself was the casino, dining room and dance club.
All exterior shots and cabin shots were filmed during an actual seven-day Caribbean cruise! So now you know Alvin and the Chipmunks can bring you right to the heart of Carnival Dream without actually having to step on-board (or it’s a great way to get the little ones convinced their cruise holiday will be more fun than expected!)
4 – Jack And Jill (2011)
Flaunting Features On Film
In this case, the cruise ship is one of the most important stars of the whole movie! Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas is the holiday destination for the family vacation that Adam Sandler and Katie Holmes star as the parents to in Jack and Jill.
Royal’s ship made its film debut in this comedy and got to show off some of its best features, including the FlowRider surfing simulator, rock-climbing wall and Boardwalk carousel. Now that’s one way to paint the perfect family getaway to Royal fans…
5 – Out To Sea (1997)
Cunard Does The Rounds
Cunard strikes again as the actual ship that certain scenes from this film were filmed on was the Queen Mary, although it is stated as Holland America Line’s old Westerdam. You’ll see the exteriors of this ship, now cruising as Marella Dream, and some interior too (just keep a lookout).
Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau are the comedy stars of the film working as dance hosts on the ship; what a way to recruit cruise ship dancers, right? The current Westerdam that was launched in 2004 also had a brief appearance in the 2009 movie, The Proposal, starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. These cruise ships have met more celebrities than us…
6 – Table For Five (1983)
A Ship To Solve A Lifetime Of Troubles
A ship that has been through a lot stars in this film as the vessel that Jon Voight’s character takes his estranged family on for a Mediterranean cruise. The Vistafjord was a British-built ship in 1973 and was operated by Norwegian America Line before being taken over by Cunard and then Saga Ruby.
At the time it was considered the largest ship in the Western Hemisphere and the tone of the movie is a familiar one with a family attempting to reconnect after a messy divorce. Has anyone else found cruise ships to be the perfect place to be for reconciliation?
7 – Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997)
Cruise Ship And Caribbean Combo
In this case, it’s a cruise that is meant to serve the purpose of relaxation and revitalization (this sounds all too familiar, does it not?) After the first part to this series of the Speed movies where Sandra Bullock’s character is exhausted from saving a bus full of people from a bomb; a Caribbean cruise is meant to be what comes to the rescue in her life.
It might not end well (Willem Dafoe’s character, an unhappy cruise ship worker, sets the ship on course to collide with an oil tanker!), but at least we get a few glimpses of the luxury ship, Seabourn Legend, as the whole film takes place on-board here. Although, this ship is now Windstar Cruises’ Star Legend- we feel these cameos reveal an awful lot of cruise ship history…
Harry Potter fans will be delighted to know that Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them (2016), features an old cruise ship as the way that the main character travels to New York to complete his mission in the 1920s!
With a history of movies like this that feature cruise ships big and small, new and old, well-known and no longer sailing, it’s not hard to see that cruises are as much a thing of the future as they are of the past. So, next time you’ve got your favourite disaster movie or family comedy on, make sure you keep a look out for that ocean liner and try and fight the temptation to book a cruise there and then…
Tell us about your favourite films from this list! Have you spotted any ocean liners on your favourite movies before? Which are you most shocked to hear about? Leave us your thoughts and comments…
