Captain Crowther (Sid James) is about to head the staff of a cruise liner when five of his crew fall ill and are replaced by five new staff members who seem comically unsuited to be working on a cruise liner.

Carry On Cruising is the first film in the series to be shot in colour and it looks beautiful! It’s as if every frame has been painted individually. It’s a sight to behold.

There are two absentees from the regular troupe- Joan Sims who fell ill just before filming began and Charles Hawtrey who was dropped after he demanded more money and star billing. He would return for the next film however and would stay on for all of the films bar Columbus. Sims would return for Cleo a couple of years later.

Cruising has some great cast additions in Dilys Laye (replacing Sims) and Lance Percival as the new chef aboard the ship. Both are excellent.

But, in my opinion, the best new arrival is Esma Cannon as the very eccentric Bridget Madderley. She’s a hoot.

Whilst there are plenty of very funny slapstick sequences, there seems to be more hilarious wordplay with an added emphasis on the dialogue with this film.

An excellent entry in the series.

4 out of 5 stars