Reality TV goes cruising - starting this Sunday!

[Robinson Cruisoe, Mrs]

This captivating six-part series due to start on the National Geographic Channel, features the Costa Serena, one of Europe's largest cruise ships.



Longer than London Bridge and with entertainment areas covering more space than 20 football pitches, her 1,000-strong crew are pushed to the max keeping some 3,800 passengers in check.

Follow all the action at sea as Italian Captain Russo and his crew cope with the onslaught of bad weather, demanding guests, wacky entertainers and medical emergencies.

Expect tango, tempers, brawls and birthdays - this is the inside story of cruise ship life.

EPISODE GUIDE
Cruise Ship Diaries: Honeymoon SeasonCruise Ship Diaries: Inspectors On Board Cruise Ship Diaries: Magic And Mayhem
After leaving Venice, drama awaits the crew of the Costa Serena as a new magic show and a sudden death on board disrupt their plans.
Showing: Sunday 21 February at 7:00PM
Repeats: Monday 22 February at 2:00PM
& Friday 26 February at 8:00PM

Cruise Ship Diaries: Rock Concert
The entertainment team are forced to work double shifts as the crew face up to the added stress of having a famous rock band on board.
Showing: Sunday 28 February at 7:00PM
Repeats: Friday 5 March at 8:00PM &
Saturday 6 March at 1:00AM

Cruise Ship Diaries: Dirty Dancing
As the ship leaves Venice, Captain Russo and his team are tested by their demanding guests and an eccentric onboard entertainer.
Next Showing: Sunday 7 March at 7:00PM
Repeats: Saturday 27 March at 12:00PM

Cruise Ship Diaries: The Final Countdown
Follow the trials and tribulations on board the Costa Serena, one of the biggest cruise ships on the ocean.
Next Showing: Sunday 14 March at 7:00PM
Repeats: Saturday 27 March at 1:00PM

For more information & photos go to: http://natgeotv.com/uk/cruise-ship-diaries

Do you think you'll be tuning in?

[Grant, West Sussex]

Suggestion: It could be worth putting the channel name in the post, I only got it because of the URL - AVAILABLE IN HD

[Grant, West Sussex]

So for Sky viewers the channel number are:

526 NAT GEO
543 NAT GEO HD - yup it's in High Definition wohooooo

Series link set on Sky+HD for me - THANK-YOU :D:D:D

[Hampshire Thorn, Fareham]

Should be worth a look. I've never been on a Costa ship so it will be an interesting way to look at the Serena.

[Deefitz, Boston]

So for Sky viewers the channel number are:

526 NAT GEO
543 NAT GEO HD - yup it's in High Definition wohooooo

Series link set on Sky+HD for me - THANK-YOU :D:D:D

I'll be doing the same, no use paying for HD and not using it.

[MarieC, Troon]

So for Sky viewers the channel number are:

526 NAT GEO
543 NAT GEO HD - yup it's in High Definition wohooooo

Series link set on Sky+HD for me - THANK-YOU :D:D:D

Thanks for that Grant. Have series linked it.

[Robinson Cruisoe, Mrs]

Done!

Suggestion: It could be worth putting the channel name in the post, I only got it because of the URL - AVAILABLE IN HD

Doh! THanks for pointing out Grant. Edited to include NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHANNEL now. Lol.

[Barrowman, Bedford]

.
This should be a great programme - now in my series link as well, look forward to veiwing this.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cruisings Cool

[Issyalex, Glasgow]

So for Sky viewers the channel number are:

526 NAT GEO
543 NAT GEO HD - yup it's in High Definition wohooooo

Series link set on Sky+HD for me - THANK-YOU :D

thanks Grantthomas series link set and hubbie will be happy cos it's in HD:D
have cruised on Costa Serena. it is a beautiful ship but a bit OTT design wise, a bit like Las Vegas. it's just different from the more traditional cruise ship but beautiful in it's own way. Oh and the best pizza :D
What is it and you men with high definition?

[haggis, kent]

costa serene

I shall be watching this with interest. I was on this ship in october from Venice to Istanbul. Can only praise the staff we had a fantastic time.

[kevs46, manila]

Darn! It's not listed for showing in my neck of the woods

[Grant, West Sussex]

Darn! It's not listed for showing in my neck of the woods

Neck of the woods? Do you have cable or Sky TV? I don't think National Geographic Channel is regionalised on cable or Sky?

[Grant, West Sussex]

Bit more info on the upcoming series:

According to cruise director Federica Giammarioli - in five different languages - Costa Serena is one of the most beautiful ships in the world. According to the narrator of a new TV series, it's one of the world's most spectacular cruise ships.

And if you can stand the tension over the next six weeks it will be the most watched cruise ship in the world, as the star of Cruise Ship Diaries - in glorious HD (that's high drama as well as high definition).

The series promises to take us behind the scenes among the 1,000 crew who look after 3,800 passengers each week as the ship sails between Venice and Istanbul. They are no ordinary crew. Captain Guiseppe Russo, seen steering the ship through the Guidecca Canal, is "known as the best manoeuverer in the world." Of course he is . . . he's Italian.

Federica is "one of the most sought-after cruise directors in the business, well-known for her even temperament and expert communication skills." She's certainly impressive, but I'm not sure her assistant CD, Paula Olivera, is convinced: "Federica is the one in charge of the whole entertainment department; she's the one who takes the decisions . . . and I'm the one who puts them into practice, ha ha," she snorts at the camera.

There are plenty of facts and figures - for example the 230,000 kg of food loaded each week, including 1,600 kg of pasta and 2,500 kg of fresh tomatoes, and the fuel bill of 500,000 euros. The cameras linger on a different kind of figure - the ship's dancers, who include 22-year-old Heather Gould from England, at sea for the first time in her life.

Choreographer Gerald van Vuuren, on board for a week to scream at the performers until they get it right, says he likes his female dancers thin and with long legs, but not too thin. And he's worried.

"It's very important for a girl to watch her diet. We are working for an Italian ship, so we're gonna have a lot of starch - lot of bread, lot of pasta. After four months, six months on a ship, a lot of girls do roll off the gangway, you know"

Gerald's not the only one who is worried about how things are going on the ship. Life is constantly being lived against the clock - but then it almost always is in this sort of documentary. There has to be tension at every turn. So the routine task of loading 1,200 tonnes of fuel, which probably passes off without incident every single week of the year, is made to sound like a crisis-packed procedure fraught with danger.

And Irish hotel manager Ann Ryan, about to leave the ship and go on holiday, is almost apopleptic about a crew member whose jacket was unbuttoned. The fact that there are 580 honeymooners on board instead of the expected 420 sends everyone into a spin, although to be fair, Gerald and leader of the entertainment team Beppe are excitable chaps at the best of times. Little wonder two male dancers were thrown off the ship for fighting.

Thankfully, Captain Guiseppe remains calm throughout, whether he is leading a theatre full of couples renewing their wedding vows, or donning a curly wig to amuse the kids' club. The first episode of Cruise Ship Diaries will be broadcast on National Geographic (Sky channel 526, and in HD on 543) on Sunday.

In the coming weeks, tension mounts as safety inspectors come on board to inspect the ship during a spell of bad weather, and a sudden death on the ship adds to the stress for the crew. Funny how it all looks so calm and peaceful among the fluffy clouds of designer Joe Farcus's fantasy nine-deck atrium, where the most hectic activity is passengers videoing their surroundings and each other.

Source: Mirror.co.uk

[Bill Blyth, Dundee]

Sadly we get the Sun; stars and the moon but NO Sky

[Bosscat, Argolida]

I have no access to SKY and my pals in Spain who usually tape stuff for me haven't got this channel. Boo!